Rumor mongering ought to be more harshly punished

TWO WOMEN posted a short video they made at home last week, which showed them supposedly spinning cotton into dried meat floss and alleging that the video was shot in a pastry shop in their neighborhood in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The local police detained the two women for five days, on the charge of fabricating facts and disturbing the public order. However, the incident should not be simply regarded as a case of disturbing the peace in the local neighborhood, as the video had a negative impact nationwide.

The video quickly went viral on social media. Many costumers gathered in front of the shop and quarreled with the shop assistants. Worse, the video sparked wide concern nationwide about the edibility of dried meat floss cakes, with many suggesting the food safety authorities were guilty of dereliction of duty.