China Shuts 1 Lakh Fake News Social Media Accounts, Ramps Up Content Cleanup

China has intensified efforts to clean up the internet from false news and rumours, closing more than 100,000 online accounts over the past month that misrepresented news anchors and media agencies, its cyberspace regulator said.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate ”fake news” and impersonate state-controlled media.

The regulator said it had wiped 107,000 accounts of counterfeit news units and news anchors and 835,000 pieces of fake news information since April 6.

The cleanup comes as China and countries across the globe grapple with an onslaught of fake news coverage online, with many implementing laws to punish culprits.

News dissemination on Chinese social media, however, is already heavily controlled, with platforms like the Twitter-like Weibo favouring topic hashtags produced by state media, while censoring hashtags on issues or incidents considered sensitive by Beijing, even if they go viral.