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On August 25， Beijing police released a statement saying that journalist Liu Hu had been detained on allegations of fabrication and dissemination of false rumors online. Liu works for New Express， a local newspaper published in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong Province. The police didn’t release any further details other than stating that the case was currently under investigation.
On the same day， Zhou Lubao， a blogger， was arrested in east China’s Jiangsu Province for an alleged extortion linked to the spreading of misinformation online. Zhou is suspected of posting more than 15，000 items of misinformation online within the last year. The Ministry of Public Security said that Zhou had blackmailed more than 20 separate entities and individuals.
The moves came after the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide campaign to combat the spread of false rumors online on August 21.
On the day of the campaign’s launch， Beijing police confirmed that they had closed down Erma Co.， a company that allegedly made and spread misinformation on the Internet for profit. Two men connected to the operation were also arrested.
The founder of Erma Co.， Yang Xiuyu， who goes by the alias of Lierchaisi on Sina Weibo， China’s leading micro-blogging service， and Erma employee Qin Zhihui， who uses the screen name Qin Huohuo on the same microblog service， were found to have created and spread online false rumors and profited from their illegal actions， according to a statement from the Beijing Public Security Bureau.
“The spreading of false rumors can cause harm to the reputations of individuals and their interests as well as having a negative impact on social stability. It is necessary to take measures to better manage online content，” said Cheng Manli， Deputy Dean of Peking University’s School of Journalism and Communication.
Systematic lies
According to the 2013 Annual Report on the Development of New Media in China released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on June 25， micro-blogging sites have become the major avenue used to spread false rumors， with micro-blog posts accounting for more than a third of rumors verified to be false.
By the end of June， there had been 536 million registered users with Sina Weibo and 540 million registered with its closest competitor in China， Tencent Weibo， with an average of 220 million posts each day across both， statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center show. The number of Internet users in China is estimated to have reached 591 million. Min Dahong， a researcher with the Institute of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， said that some Internet users create false rumors in order to attract attention， while others do so to blow off some steam. “Those fabricated with the intent of defaming someone or spreading misinformation about public events can be dangerous and incite panic，” he said.
The authorities have recently intensified efforts to foster a positive online environment， with an emphasis on the conduct of “opinion leaders” online.
Lu Wei， Director of the State Internet Information Office， said on August 8 that spreading the truth is one of the “baselines” for Internet celebrities.
In the Erma case， both Yang and Qin were active micro-bloggers. They were accused of conspiring to fabricate rumors in order to gain followers on Sina Weibo and influence opinion leaders online. Since 2011， Qin had opened 12 micro-blog accounts for the spreading of misinformation， according to the police.
Among the many false rumors they started was an accusation that the government had granted compensation worth 270 million yuan（$44 million） to the family of a foreign national who died in a train crash in Wenzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on July 23， 2011. The maximum compensation awarded to the families of Chinese nationals who died in the crash was 450，000 yuan （$73，500）.
The micro-blog was forwarded about 12，000 times within two hours and triggered public anger over the large difference in compensation before the Ministry of Railways denied the claim.
In 2011， a woman self-identified as Guo Meimei claimed on Sina Weibo that she was head of an organization linked with the Red Cross Society of China and posted photos online detailing her lavish lifestyle. Though it was later proved that Guo lied about her connections to the Red Cross Society of China， her lies have still greatly damaged the perceived credibility and the public image of the charity and the volume of donations that it has received following the Guo incident have plunged.
Regulating rumors
Sina Weibo established a team in 2010 to label misinformation after confirmation. Last year， it went further by opening a platform for Internet users to report false rumors online. The number of participants has reached around 20，000. It has received approximately 11，380 reports of deceptive information and dealt with 11，358 of them， the company said. In the wake of the Erma case， Sina Weibo has pledged to improve its system for monitoring rumors.
Fabricated details， exaggerated facts， publishing old information and interpreting information out of context are common， said Mao Taotao， a Sina Weibo employee in charge of monitoring rumors.
“We also deal with cases in which someone published and spread completely false rumors online or published photos that were not in accordance with their text，” he said. “In addition， some incomplete information was identified as fake.”
Internet regulators have also taken actions against online false rumors. On August 1， the Beijing Internet Information Office， along with the Beijing Internet Association， coordinated six Internet service providers to launch an antimisinformation platform.
The platform was jointly launched by Sina Weibo， search portals including Baidu. com and Sogou.com， as well as Web portals including Qianlong.com， Sohu.com and 163. com. It collects statements from member websites in order to refute online false rumors and expose the websites running phishing scams where users are tricked into giving up the username and password for their e-mail or social media accounts so that a third party can gain control over these.
“The platform is a new attempt by these Beijing-based websites， aiming to help Internet users to separate false rumors from the truth，” said Chen Hua， Director of the Internet Information Service and Management Department under the Being Internet Information Office.
Meanwhile， many legal experts have called for stricter criminal sanctions in order to curb online false rumors.
“Citizens’ right to express themselves should be protected， but if their speeches violate others’ legitimate rights and interests， they should be held accountable，” said Liu Deliang， a professor with the Law School of Beijing Normal University.
Liu believes that the openness of the Internet provides an environment that allows for rumors to spread quickly. “Someone who creates false rumors may think they might evade punishment， and other netizens may repost rumors without verifying its truth first，” Liu said.
China now has a number of laws and regulations that specify punishments for rumormongers， including the Criminal Law， the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments and the Regulations on Information Services on the Internet.
According to the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments， enacted in 2006， spreading misinformation and false reports is punishable by five to 10 days in jail for disturbing public order. Culprits also face fines of up to 500 yuan （$82）. “Users of the Internet should assume the same legal responsibilities as they would in the real world，” said Cheng Bin， a lawyer with Beijing-based Guandao Law Firm， adding that citizens should fulfill their obligations of maintaining online order while enjoying their right to free speech.
“Freedom and responsibility are inseparable in the field of information transmission，” said Liao Shengqing， Dean of the Communications Department at the Journalism School at Shanghai-based Fudan University. “Citizens should shoulder social liabilities when reposting and sharing information.”
Liao said that people should express their views on the Internet within the scope allowed by law， adding that legal procedures should be established to combat the spreading of false rumors.
The value of transparency
According to observations of Wu Chenguang， Director of Sohu.com’s News Center， false rumors travel especially fast in times of natural disasters and other mass incidents.
For example， soon after downpours hit Beijing on July 21， 2012， Internet users began sharing photos of severe flooding that had been taken years earlier.
“Such false rumors have an extremely harmful influence，” Wu said， adding that the government’s slow pace in releasing information has allowed Internet users to spread their rumors more easily.
Peking University’s Cheng agreed. She said that official delays in releasing information on issues people find important is one of the main reasons why false rumors spread on the Internet so successfully.
“Nowadays， most government departments prefer to debunk fake news after it’s been circulating than to disclose the truth upfront，” Cheng said， warning that such delays weaken the authority of official information and provide an opportunity for people with bad intentions to spread rumors， especially online.
On May 3， a woman fell off from the seventh floor of a shopping mall in Beijing and was confirmed dead by the police.
After that， a micro-blogger wrote seven shopping mall security guards raped the woman before she was thrown off the building， and that the police refused to investigate. Hundreds of people crowded outside the mall on May 8， calling on the police to investigate the case.
On May 9， Beijing police confirmed that the woman’s death was a suicide and said that no evidence was found to indicate she was raped or poisoned.
“In this case， the police failed to prevent false rumors from the beginning and someone exploited that in order to set off public speculation，” Cheng said. “The false rumor was further damage to the deceased and her family， as well as disturbing public order.”
If police authorities published more information about the case soon after they came to the conclusion， maybe similar rumors would be reduced and even prevented， she added.
“Each government department should constantly disclose truthful information in situations that the public may be doubtful or be confused about， instead of ignoring the public’s questions and concealing vital details，” Cheng said. “The more detailed information authorities disclose， the fewer misunderstandings and rumors there will be.”
On the same day， Zhou Lubao， a blogger， was arrested in east China’s Jiangsu Province for an alleged extortion linked to the spreading of misinformation online. Zhou is suspected of posting more than 15，000 items of misinformation online within the last year. The Ministry of Public Security said that Zhou had blackmailed more than 20 separate entities and individuals.
The moves came after the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide campaign to combat the spread of false rumors online on August 21.
On the day of the campaign’s launch， Beijing police confirmed that they had closed down Erma Co.， a company that allegedly made and spread misinformation on the Internet for profit. Two men connected to the operation were also arrested.
The founder of Erma Co.， Yang Xiuyu， who goes by the alias of Lierchaisi on Sina Weibo， China’s leading micro-blogging service， and Erma employee Qin Zhihui， who uses the screen name Qin Huohuo on the same microblog service， were found to have created and spread online false rumors and profited from their illegal actions， according to a statement from the Beijing Public Security Bureau.
“The spreading of false rumors can cause harm to the reputations of individuals and their interests as well as having a negative impact on social stability. It is necessary to take measures to better manage online content，” said Cheng Manli， Deputy Dean of Peking University’s School of Journalism and Communication.
Systematic lies
According to the 2013 Annual Report on the Development of New Media in China released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on June 25， micro-blogging sites have become the major avenue used to spread false rumors， with micro-blog posts accounting for more than a third of rumors verified to be false.
By the end of June， there had been 536 million registered users with Sina Weibo and 540 million registered with its closest competitor in China， Tencent Weibo， with an average of 220 million posts each day across both， statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center show. The number of Internet users in China is estimated to have reached 591 million. Min Dahong， a researcher with the Institute of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， said that some Internet users create false rumors in order to attract attention， while others do so to blow off some steam. “Those fabricated with the intent of defaming someone or spreading misinformation about public events can be dangerous and incite panic，” he said.
The authorities have recently intensified efforts to foster a positive online environment， with an emphasis on the conduct of “opinion leaders” online.
Lu Wei， Director of the State Internet Information Office， said on August 8 that spreading the truth is one of the “baselines” for Internet celebrities.
In the Erma case， both Yang and Qin were active micro-bloggers. They were accused of conspiring to fabricate rumors in order to gain followers on Sina Weibo and influence opinion leaders online. Since 2011， Qin had opened 12 micro-blog accounts for the spreading of misinformation， according to the police.
Among the many false rumors they started was an accusation that the government had granted compensation worth 270 million yuan（$44 million） to the family of a foreign national who died in a train crash in Wenzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on July 23， 2011. The maximum compensation awarded to the families of Chinese nationals who died in the crash was 450，000 yuan （$73，500）.
The micro-blog was forwarded about 12，000 times within two hours and triggered public anger over the large difference in compensation before the Ministry of Railways denied the claim.
In 2011， a woman self-identified as Guo Meimei claimed on Sina Weibo that she was head of an organization linked with the Red Cross Society of China and posted photos online detailing her lavish lifestyle. Though it was later proved that Guo lied about her connections to the Red Cross Society of China， her lies have still greatly damaged the perceived credibility and the public image of the charity and the volume of donations that it has received following the Guo incident have plunged.
Regulating rumors
Sina Weibo established a team in 2010 to label misinformation after confirmation. Last year， it went further by opening a platform for Internet users to report false rumors online. The number of participants has reached around 20，000. It has received approximately 11，380 reports of deceptive information and dealt with 11，358 of them， the company said. In the wake of the Erma case， Sina Weibo has pledged to improve its system for monitoring rumors.
Fabricated details， exaggerated facts， publishing old information and interpreting information out of context are common， said Mao Taotao， a Sina Weibo employee in charge of monitoring rumors.
“We also deal with cases in which someone published and spread completely false rumors online or published photos that were not in accordance with their text，” he said. “In addition， some incomplete information was identified as fake.”
Internet regulators have also taken actions against online false rumors. On August 1， the Beijing Internet Information Office， along with the Beijing Internet Association， coordinated six Internet service providers to launch an antimisinformation platform.
The platform was jointly launched by Sina Weibo， search portals including Baidu. com and Sogou.com， as well as Web portals including Qianlong.com， Sohu.com and 163. com. It collects statements from member websites in order to refute online false rumors and expose the websites running phishing scams where users are tricked into giving up the username and password for their e-mail or social media accounts so that a third party can gain control over these.
“The platform is a new attempt by these Beijing-based websites， aiming to help Internet users to separate false rumors from the truth，” said Chen Hua， Director of the Internet Information Service and Management Department under the Being Internet Information Office.
Meanwhile， many legal experts have called for stricter criminal sanctions in order to curb online false rumors.
“Citizens’ right to express themselves should be protected， but if their speeches violate others’ legitimate rights and interests， they should be held accountable，” said Liu Deliang， a professor with the Law School of Beijing Normal University.
Liu believes that the openness of the Internet provides an environment that allows for rumors to spread quickly. “Someone who creates false rumors may think they might evade punishment， and other netizens may repost rumors without verifying its truth first，” Liu said.
China now has a number of laws and regulations that specify punishments for rumormongers， including the Criminal Law， the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments and the Regulations on Information Services on the Internet.
According to the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments， enacted in 2006， spreading misinformation and false reports is punishable by five to 10 days in jail for disturbing public order. Culprits also face fines of up to 500 yuan （$82）. “Users of the Internet should assume the same legal responsibilities as they would in the real world，” said Cheng Bin， a lawyer with Beijing-based Guandao Law Firm， adding that citizens should fulfill their obligations of maintaining online order while enjoying their right to free speech.
“Freedom and responsibility are inseparable in the field of information transmission，” said Liao Shengqing， Dean of the Communications Department at the Journalism School at Shanghai-based Fudan University. “Citizens should shoulder social liabilities when reposting and sharing information.”
Liao said that people should express their views on the Internet within the scope allowed by law， adding that legal procedures should be established to combat the spreading of false rumors.
The value of transparency
According to observations of Wu Chenguang， Director of Sohu.com’s News Center， false rumors travel especially fast in times of natural disasters and other mass incidents.
For example， soon after downpours hit Beijing on July 21， 2012， Internet users began sharing photos of severe flooding that had been taken years earlier.
“Such false rumors have an extremely harmful influence，” Wu said， adding that the government’s slow pace in releasing information has allowed Internet users to spread their rumors more easily.
Peking University’s Cheng agreed. She said that official delays in releasing information on issues people find important is one of the main reasons why false rumors spread on the Internet so successfully.
“Nowadays， most government departments prefer to debunk fake news after it’s been circulating than to disclose the truth upfront，” Cheng said， warning that such delays weaken the authority of official information and provide an opportunity for people with bad intentions to spread rumors， especially online.
On May 3， a woman fell off from the seventh floor of a shopping mall in Beijing and was confirmed dead by the police.
After that， a micro-blogger wrote seven shopping mall security guards raped the woman before she was thrown off the building， and that the police refused to investigate. Hundreds of people crowded outside the mall on May 8， calling on the police to investigate the case.
On May 9， Beijing police confirmed that the woman’s death was a suicide and said that no evidence was found to indicate she was raped or poisoned.
“In this case， the police failed to prevent false rumors from the beginning and someone exploited that in order to set off public speculation，” Cheng said. “The false rumor was further damage to the deceased and her family， as well as disturbing public order.”
If police authorities published more information about the case soon after they came to the conclusion， maybe similar rumors would be reduced and even prevented， she added.
“Each government department should constantly disclose truthful information in situations that the public may be doubtful or be confused about， instead of ignoring the public’s questions and concealing vital details，” Cheng said. “The more detailed information authorities disclose， the fewer misunderstandings and rumors there will be.”