The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Friday that it had closed 67,000 social media accounts and deleted millions of posts between March 10 and May 22 as part of a broad “rectification” campaign.
Chinese regulators have targeted tens of thousands of “self-promoting” accounts on social media in the country. Photo: Reuters
Since 2021, China has targeted billions of social media accounts in an effort to “clean up” its cyberspace. The latest operations in the campaign have targeted accounts on popular Chinese social media platforms including WeChat, Douyin, and Weibo that fall under the category of “self-media,” a term that refers to accounts that publish news and information without authorization.
Of the 67,000 accounts that were permanently closed, nearly 8,000 were taken down for “spreading fake news, rumors, and harmful information,” according to the CAC. About 930,000 other accounts received lighter penalties, ranging from removing all followers to suspending or canceling for-profit services.
In another campaign, Chinese regulators recently shut down more than 100,000 accounts accused of disinformation about news organizations and media outlets that are fighting online fake news powered by AI technology.
In addition, the CAC said on Friday that its latest campaign had also targeted nearly 13,000 fake military accounts, with names such as "Chinese Red Army Command," "Chinese Counter-Terrorism Force" and "Strategic Rocket Force."
About 25,000 other accounts were targeted as they impersonated public organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several state research institutes.
Nearly 187,000 people were punished for impersonating press and media organisations, while more than 430,000 were accused of providing professional consultancy oreducation services without the relevant professional qualifications.
About 45,000 accounts were closed for “hyping up hot issues, pursuing power and making illegal money”. The Chinese regulator said it had “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 on the majority of netizens to actively participate in monitoring and reporting illegal 'self-media', providing clues... and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace," the statement stressed.
Bui Huy (according to Reuters, Bangkok Post)
Source
![[Infographic] In 2025, 47 products will achieve national OCOP](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/16/5d672398b0744db3ab920e05db8e5b7d)
Comment (0)