In 'People's War' on coronavirus, Chinese propaganda faces pushback

FILE PHOTO: A screen shows a CCTV state media broadcast of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Wuhan at a shopping centre in Beijing, China, as the country is hit by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) - As Xi Jinping toured the coronavirus-stricken city of Wuhan this week, setting the tone for an official narrative that China will win a "People's War", numerous social media users went to extraordinary lengths to make an alternative voice heard.

The effort to get around China's censors and publish the words of Wuhan doctor Ai Fen, the first to sound the alarm over the virus, was among the most elaborate in an outpouring of dissent against the government narrative as the outbreak exacts a devastating human and economic toll.