Scourge of online violence must be stopped

Rumors about what caused the death of Qiao Renliang, a widely known 28-year-old singer and actor, finally died down after his company announced that he was suffering from depression, implying that that was the cause of his death. Qiao's funeral will be held soon, yet his death has taught us some lessons about online violence and the social and economic damage it can cause.

After the Tianjin blast on Aug 12, 2015, Qiao posted a message on his blog, saying no more firefighters need to rush to the site. But some people misinterpreted his message and accused him of being indifferent to the sacrifice of the brave firefighters who died trying to control the blaze.

Humiliating and threatening messages flooded his blog. The incessant volleys of insults and invectives pushed him into depression, although later he donated 1 million yuan ($149,900) to the families of the firefighters. The continuous online bullying had a grave effect on Qiao's health; it even hindered his career.