China is arresting people for coronavirus fake news

More than 250 people have been punished in China for spreading rumors related to the novel coronavirus, and its undermining trust in official sources

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Posting rumors on WeChat and Weibo has turned out to be a ticket to detention for some. (Picture: EPA-EFE)

Published: 8:00am, 3 Feb 2020Updated: 6:19pm, 14 Feb 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

While trawling through WeChat looking for ways to protect myself against the deadly new coronavirus plaguing China, I received a piece of advice: Drink vinegar. And that’s not all. It seems the social network is full of ways to stay protected, like remaining positive (“think of three things you are grateful for”) and avoiding caffeine (“coffee is pure acid”).

With the death toll of the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan climbing past 200 and infection rates surpassing those during the Sars epidemic, rumors have rapidly spread across social media: An alleged airport shutdown, disinfectants sprayed from airplanes, sick people running away from hospitals, even wild claims of bioweapons.

And the more rumors spread in China, the more people are arrested.

More than 250 people in China have been punished by authorities for spreading online rumors about the coronavirus, according to a tally by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) based on media reports. As the health crisis unfurled, the Chinese government became more heavy-handed in controlling information about the disease, including attempts to quash rumors and misinformation.

By the end of January, the novel coronavirus had already killed more than 200 people. (Picture: Getty Images)

This was made painfully obvious this week when China’s Supreme Court published a letter online saying that the Wuhan authorities should not have punished a group of people sharing information about the illness in a WeChat group even if it was inaccurate. One of them was a doctor claiming the disease he was treating was Sars. But this was in early January when the disease was still not well known, and Sars is another type of coronavirus. Work on stopping the spread of the new coronavirus didn’t start in earnest until January 20.