[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] "Since October 1st, there have been rumors spreading since the 28th that Tianjin City will be locked down for three days. Upon verification, this information is baseless rumor."
"There is a rumor circulating on social networking services (SNS) that a pregnant woman in Zhuhai, Guangdong, was forced to give birth on the street because she did not have a nucleic acid test certificate. After confirming with Zhuhai Integrated Hospital and the Emergency Command Center, this information is completely false. The pregnant woman suddenly felt labor pains while walking on the street, and gave birth at a nearby hospital."
China has taken strong measures against fake news and rumors spreading online. Under strengthened regulations, there have been frequent cases where those spreading false information are subjected to administrative detention.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 30th, the China Central Cyberspace Administration has established a platform to verify and refute rumors circulating online as part of a special crackdown on "internet rumors and false information" that began in August.
Until now, authorities have analyzed rumors related to health, food safety, education and employment, natural disasters, and COVID-19 circulating on major websites and platforms, verified the facts, and informed the public. Separate windows have been created on major platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, Baidu, and Tencent to allow users to check these verifications.
The number of rumors jointly reviewed and verified on these platforms has reached 80,000. Authorities explained, "The establishment of the rumor refutation platform is an important measure to prevent confusion," and added, "Netizens can also report rumors through the platform and participate in the verification process."
Sensitive rumors such as all intersections in Suining City, Sichuan Province being occupied by the military were also included in the verification. The platform dismissed this as "only the appearance of militia members and support vehicles assisting residents." In addition, various rumors such as "being arrested for not wearing a mask at home," "drinking tea can kill the COVID-19 virus," and "eating oyster sauce causes cancer" were denied with explanations of verification and refutation.
The Public Security Bureau is also taking a tough stance against rumor spreaders. Those who spread false rumors may be subjected to administrative detention. Recently, a taxi driver who spread a rumor that a volunteer from the Guiyang Autonomous Committee secretly sold donated cabbage for money was sentenced to five days of administrative detention. In Tibet, a case where a person was given only one meal of ramen after testing positive for nucleic acid and disparaged quarantine workers resulted in nine days of administrative detention and a 300 yuan fine.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
