China’s Cyberspace Administration has announced the deletion of 1.4 million social media posts as part of a two-month investigation into various issues, including misinformation, illegal profiteering, and impersonation of state officials.
The probe, which was part of a broader “rectification” campaign, resulted in the closure of 67,000 social media accounts and the removal of hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22.
China’s clean-up campaign and “self-media”
China has been implementing measures since 2021 to “clean” its cyberspace, targeting billions of social media accounts in order to enhance control over online platforms.
The recent crackdown as per a Reuters report specifically focused on popular Chinese social media apps such as WeChat, Douyin, and Weibo, with a particular emphasis on “self-media” accounts – characterised as those that publish news and information, but are not government-operated or state-approved.
The accounts impacted by this rectification campaign
Out of the 67,000 permanently closed accounts, nearly 8,000 were taken down for spreading fake news, rumours, and harmful information.
Approximately 930,000 other accounts faced less severe penalties, ranging from losing all followers to suspension or cancellation of profit-making privileges.
Additionally, the regulator conducted a separate campaign that closed over 100,000 accounts, targeting those allegedly misrepresenting news anchors and media agencies to combat the rise of fake news facilitated by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
The Cyberspace Administration of China revealed that around 13,000 counterfeit military accounts were targeted during the recent campaign, featuring names like “Chinese Red Army Command,” “Chinese Anti-terrorist Force,” and “Strategic Missile Force.”
Furthermore, 25,000 accounts were targeted for impersonating public institutions such as disease prevention and control centres and state-run research institutes.
Moreover, almost 187,000 accounts faced repercussions for impersonating news media organizations, while over 430,000 were flagged for providing professional advice or educational services without the necessary qualifications.
A further 45,000 accounts were closed for engaging in activities such as “hyping hot issues, clout-chasing and illegal monetisation.”
Citizen participation
The Cyberspace Administration said that it had actively collaborated with public security and market supervision departments to tackle illegal “self-media.”
It encouraged citizens to participate in monitoring and reporting such accounts.
“At the same time, (we) also call on the majority of netizens to actively participate in monitoring and reporting (illegal ‘self-media’), provide clues … and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace.”
The Chinese government, as per Reuters, frequently detains individuals’ and censors’ accounts that share or publish factual information deemed sensitive or critical of the Communist Party, the government, or the military, especially when such content goes viral.