The Beijing Olympics from the start has been overshadowed by complaints over China’s human rights record, harsh COVID-19 rules, and disputes over referees’ decisions. That would not be so apparent if one stumbles upon a recent ad on CNN. “A Winter Sporting Event like No Other,” so reads the headline of the article that begins with a glowing account of China’s effort to make the occasion more environmentally friendly than ever. The sponsored article, supplied by Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency, features imagery of children skiing on snow-covered fields—including a toddler with a heart-warming smile sporting full ski gear and eye-catching vermillion ski goggles. The “most anticipated winter sports event” has “become even greener,” claimed the article before it delivered a glowing account of virtually every aspect of the Beijing Olympics, from its harsh pandemic protocols to technologies it said would make the Games a carbon-neutral event. It cited an …