Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., demanded that nine U.S. media outlets cut ties with China Daily, a Chinese state-controlled newspaper.
The demand came in letters to the Seattle Times, Houston Chronicle, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, Financial Times, South Florida Sun Sentinel, and Chicago Tribune.
"China Daily, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda publication that caters to English speakers, has actively worked with U.S. news outlets in spreading the party's lies," Rubio's office said in the statement.
In the letters to the media outlets, the senators added: "No American media outlet should serve as a mouthpiece for the CCP. Despite mounting evidence of the CCP's attempts to harass and intimidate American citizens, spy on sites of national security importance to the U.S., and influence our elections, your outlet has chosen not to cut ties with China Daily.
"By continuing to do business with China Daily, your outlet is disseminating CCP propaganda to an American audience. No company based in the United States, including news outlets, should be complicit in legitimizing the CCP's heinous acts or promoting the regime's outright lies. We write to urge your outlet to end its involvement with China Daily — the English-language newspaper owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party Central Propaganda Department.
"The CCP's efforts to infiltrate American institutions are extensive, and news outlets are not immune to these ventures. China Daily is one of the CCP's leading organs to subvert U.S. news media by amplifying the goals and ambitions of the party.
"Several years ago, China Daily's propaganda efforts made headlines when Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings revealed that, in addition to repeatedly violating FARA reporting requirements, U.S. media outlets were accepting hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars from the outlet.
"In response, several outlets severed ties with China Daily. Your organization's continued involvement with the Propaganda Department of the CCP impedes the countless federal efforts working to combat China's influence peddling schemes."
Just over three years ago, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, demanded that then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., use her power to stop China Daily from being delivered to congressional offices.
"Frankly, I was appalled when I walked into work Friday morning and saw my office had received an unsolicited copy of China Daily," Hinson said at the time.