6 November 2024

China takes down fake news about its military, closes social media accounts

Phoebe Zhang

Chinese internet regulators are removing social media accounts that use fake information to hype the country’s military strength, including false reports of “cyberwarfare” in the South China Sea.
A sample post from June on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, read: “Breaking news: China and the US engaged in 12 hours of cyber warfare, causing Luzon Island in the Philippines to lose all GPS, communication and phone signals!”

Another invented post in July featured a video delivering an in-depth explanation of how China had won in its rivalry with the United States, thanks to a technology breakthrough by telecoms giant Huawei which had upgraded China’s radars.

In its latest report released on Monday, the Cyberspace Administration of China said the posts were promptly identified as rumours and removed. The accounts responsible invented “military fantasy stories” to give themselves a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, it said.

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