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Internet regulator urges ethics on posting 'rumors'

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

A spokesperson for China's Internet regulator has railed against inaccurate online news stories, urging news providers and users of social media to take more responsibility for the authenticity of information they post.

"Every netizen enjoys speech freedom when publishing information and opinions online, but posting rumors that violate civil rights and harm public interests must be condemned on moral grounds and in accordance with the law," said Jiang Jun of the Cyberspace Administration on Friday.

Under Chinese law, people are criminally liable for spreading slander or material considered to be rumor online.

In response to recent inaccurate news stories, including one published on the WeChat news account of business magazine Caixin, Jiang called on news providers to follow the ethics of journalism.

"It's obvious that the negative social impact of fake reports has been worsened by news providers publishing them on their social media accounts," said Jiang.

In 2015, Chinese Internet regulators nationwide warned 820 websites and closed down nearly 5,000 for violating regulations. Endi