Authorities continue crackdown on rumors

Authorities will continue to take a hard line on Internet-based rumors and punish those creating fake information, a senior official said on Thursday.

Authorities have removed more than 210,000 online posts and shut down 42 websites since mid-March in their latest crackdown on online rumors, said Liu Zhengrong, a senior official with the State Internet Information Office.

Fake information or rumors spread through the Internet, especially on micro blogs, have harmed social order and residents' daily lives, he said at a news briefing in Beijing.