More than 1,600 online accounts shut down for fabrication, stirring up trouble

A total of 1,660 online accounts that either fabricated public policies or hyped up issues to disturb social order have been shut down, China's top internet regulator said on Wednesday.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, which announced the closure of the accounts in a statement posted on its website, presented eight typical cases as examples.

In one recent case, some users of the Sina Weibo microblogging platform and Kuaishou, a popular short-video sharing platform, were found to have posted information claiming students from a school in Lanzhou, Gansu province, had gone missing and been injured.

Police determined the information was based on unfounded rumors, and those who posted it have been placed under administrative detention.

In another case, a video showing an explosion at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Southwest University in Chongqing was also proved to be fabricated, and accounts that posted and forwarded the content have been shut down.

The administration said it will maintain strong oversight of online platforms, with harsh punishment of rumormongers and those hyping up social incidents.

While welcoming public supervision and reports about untrue posts, the administration also urged netizens to enhance their ability to spot and prevent the spread of fake information to purify the online environment.