China’s cyberspace regulator said 1.4 million social media posts have been removed after a two-month investigation into alleged misinformation, illegal profiteering and other “obvious problems” including the impersonation of state officials.
Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Friday that it had closed 67,000 social media accounts and removed hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22 as part of a wider “correction” campaign.
Since 2021, China has targeted billions of social media accounts to “clean up” its cyberspace and make it easier for authorities to control.
Accounts including popular Chinese social media apps have been targeted in the latest crackdown WeChat, DouyinAnd Weibo Which falls under the category of “self media”, a term that broadly refers to accounts that publish news and information but are not government-run or state-approved.
Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical of the Communist Party, government or military, especially when such information goes viral.
According to the CAC, of the 67,000 permanently disabled accounts, about 8,000 were removed for “spreading fake news, rumors and harmful information”.
About 930,000 other accounts received less severe punishment, from removing all followers to suspending or revoking profit-making privileges.
In a separate campaign, the regulator recently blocked over 100,000 accounts that allegedly misrepresented news anchors and media agencies to counter the rise of online fake news coverage aided by AI technologies. Were.
The CAC said on Friday that its latest campaign had targeted nearly 13,000 fake military accounts, which included names such as “Chinese Red Army Command”, “Chinese Anti-Terrorism Force” and “Strategic Missile Force”.
Some 25,000 other accounts were targeted for impersonating public institutions, such as the Centers for Disease and Prevention Control and state-run research institutes.
Nearly 187,000 were punished for impersonating news media professions, while more than 430,000 allegedly offered professional advice or educational services without relevant professional qualifications.
About 45,000 accounts were closed for “bumping hot issues, stalking and illegal monetization”.
The regulator said it “actively coordinated with public security, market supervision and other departments to deal a heavy blow and rectify illegal ‘self-media’.”
“At the same time, (we) also call upon the majority of netizens to actively participate in monitoring and reporting (illegal ‘self-media’), provide clues, and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace.”
© Thomson Reuters 2023