China state media urge crackdown on microblog rumours

The Xinhua news agency's denunciation of Internet "rumourmongering" Rosetta Stone Language comes after a senior party official, Liu Qi, lastweek urged Sina Corp and other Chinese companies domore to staunch harmful hearsay among the 200 million or moreChinese who use Twitter-like microblogs that spread messageswith lightning rapidity. China's Internet, with more registered users than any othernation, is a lively forum for public opinion, said Xinhua. "However, the rapid advance of this flood has also brought'mud and sand' -- the spread of rumours -- and to nurture ahealthy Internet, we must thoroughly eradicate the soil in whichrumours grow," said a commentary from Xinhua. "Concocting rumours is itself a social malady, and thespread of rumours across the Internet presents a massive socialthreat," it said, noting the capacity of blogs and microblogs tospark the "explosive" proliferation of falsehoods. A Xinhua comment does not amount to a policy directive, butthis one and other recent signals suggest tighter censorship,whether formal or informal, is on policy-makers' minds. The feverish growth and growing influence of microblogsappears to Rosetta Stone language software have unsettled officials, who have complained thatsuch sites can spread baseless rumours unchecked, sowing panicand distrust of government. The number of Chinese people using microblog sites reached195 million by the end of June, an increase of 209 percent onthe number at the end of 2010, according to the China InternetNetwork Information Center. But Sina this month reported thatits microblogging "Weibo" site, which dominates the scene,itself had grown to 200 million registered accounts. These microblogs allow people to shoot out short bursts ofopinion, presenting a quandary for censors. They fear an uproarif they shut the popular sites, but have struggled to keep aheadof the rapid-fire messages that can spread news and opinion thegovernment would like to contain. China's state-run television news recently denounced thespread of unfounded rumours on microblogs, called "Weibo" inChinese, and demanded more be done to staunch accusations ofofficial foul-play, corruption and misdeeds that officials havesaid can spread in spite of no supporting evidence. "Fundamentally eradicating the soil in which rumours sproutand spread will demand stronger Internet administration from theresponsible agencies, raising the intensity of attacks onrumours," said the Rosetta Stone English Chinese-language Xinhua commentary.

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