This rap video is the Chinese Communist Party's latest abysmal attempt at propaganda

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has given us the gift of another propaganda video for the holidays. Produced by the state-run media outlet CCTV, the video features rapper Wu Wenduo singing the praises of the party’s stances against corruption and pollution. The song samples speeches that Chinese president Xi Jinping has given over the past year.

Some of the lyrics, according to the South China Morning Post, include, “Cure the water, cure the air, cure the land, CURE CURE CURE CURE!/Clear water and lush mountains equals a mountain of gold.”

And the samples from Xi include this line: “The principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.”

The video has been making the rounds on Chinese social media, where it’s been getting pretty consistently panned. Some Weibo users were pretty harsh in their criticism:

“I got a case of ’embarrassment cancer’ listening to this.”

Others had some questions about the government’s much-touted attempts to cut down on pollution:

“Wonder why there is still smog after this much sucking up.”

And some people said they actually thought this was a step up for CCTV news:

“Compared to the stale news broadcast method of propaganda, this new format is much easier to accept. Making this first step is in itself progress.”

A number of Weibo users took the opportunity to shed light on some very specific issues. Many comments, including the most-liked one, mentioned problems such as the education department leaking standard test questions, fraud at a driving school in Guangdong Province, and sexual assault at a kindergarten.

We can all agree that this is a step down from that last propaganda video about China’s latest Five Year Plan, with the Bowie-like figures and catchy pop song:

That video was made by an outside production company, not the state broadcaster. Maybe stick to outsourcing your propaganda production, CCP.

Isabelle Niu is a digital video producer at Fusion.

Nidhi Prakash is a journalist in NYC via Sydney, London, Santiago, Auckland, Mumbai. She reports on international news, healthcare, labor news, and more for Fusion.