China hits out at keyboard warriors, closes accounts to rectify chaos of ‘smearing’ firms

China would not tolerate online “smearing” of businesses, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece said in a column, after the internet watchdog shut down a number of social media accounts over dissemination of false and misleading information concerning companies and entrepreneurs.

The online attacks on companies, many of which are privately owned, would eventually endanger employment and people’s livelihood, the People’s Daily said on Sunday, in reference to a crackdown on social media accounts by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

“China’s market is huge and can accommodate hundreds of millions of domestic and foreign business entities to compete fairly, but it cannot tolerate keyboard warriors who harm any company through distortion of facts and smearing,” the state-owned newspaper said in the column.

“The operation [by the CAC] focused on rectifying the chaos of the spread of misinformation involving enterprises to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and entrepreneurs on the internet, further boosting corporate confidence, stabilising market expectations, and safeguarding high-quality economic development.”