China’s powerful internet censors have long been known for erasing political dissent, vitriol against the Communist Party leadership, and mention of sensitive historical events. Now, they’re being unleashed on a new scourge – negativity.
The country’s internet regulator on Monday unveiled a two-month nationwide campaign aimed at curbing pessimism trending on social media, live-streaming and short-video platforms.
Some content being targeted “maliciously misinterprets social phenomena, selectively exaggerates negative cases, and uses them as an opportunity to promote nihilistic or otherwise negative worldviews,” the statement from the Cyberspace Administration of China said.
Others “excessively self-deprecate or amplify feelings of despair and negativity, prompting others to follow suit,” it added.
Years of economic downturn triggered by a property crisis have crushed consumer confidence, dampened consumption and increased unemployment, particularly among young people in China – dimming their prospects and outlook on life. Such sentiment has given rise to the young generation’s embrace of lifestyles like “lying flat,” a term describing the pursuit of a simple, stress-free life that gained prominence on the Chinese internet in 2021.
The crackdown announced this week came after multiple bloggers known for documenting their “lying flat” lifestyle reported that their videos had been deleted and their social media accounts banned.
The internet regulator has also recently penalized internet platforms for failing to moderate content posted on their sites. Popular social media platform Weibo, the TikTok-like Kuaishou, and the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, Red, or Xiaohongshu, were all disciplined this month for allowing “harmful” information like “hyping around celebrities’ personal updates and trivial matters” to appear in trending topics.
In the Monday statement, the internet regulator said the crackdown also covers content “inciting extreme confrontation between groups,” “spreading fear and anxiety,” and “fueling online violence and hostility.”
Online posts, comments and trending topics about economic rumours, doxxing techniques, and “defeatist narratives like ‘effort is useless’” all fall under the purview of this campaign. It also targets content “selling anxiety” by exploiting concerns around employment, dating, and education to promote sales of classes or related products.
The regulator urged the public to “actively report such cases” to “resist the malicious incitement of negative sentiment.”
