A Chinese Government Adviser Calls for Legislation Banning Fake News

A Chinese government adviser has called for new laws against "fabricating and disseminating false information online", accusing the internet of polarizing public opinion in China. Chinese official Jia Qingguo also believes that misinformation on the internet is fueling tensions between China and foreign countries.

“For example, there are often people online who, for some purpose, package a foreigner’s vicious remarks against China as the view of everyone in that country towards China in order to incite the Chinese people’s dissatisfaction and hostility towards said country and its people,” Jia said in an interview on Saturday with online news portal The Cover, which is affiliated with the state-owned Sichuan Daily.

Fake news could harm national interests, create public confusion, and divide society, according to the former dean of Peking University's School of International Studies. He called on Beijing to employ specific measures to "severely punish" those who invent false information to "cause serious harm to society".

Jia noted that the motivations for creating and spreading fake news vary. Those using it to vent their dissatisfaction, profit from click-baiting, or engage in unfair competition, for example, use it for different reasons. As a result of their narrow nationalistic mentality, some netizens spread fake news.

Observers, however, question whether a "fake information law" would actually have any impact on China's internet, which is already heavily censored and often scrubbed of information Beijing wants to disappear.

There are also concerns that, if not implemented properly, such a law could have profound effects on both domestic and foreign journalistic activities in China, given Beijing's record of press freedom. China has, for example, called reports of abuses in Xinjiang "fake news" or "lie of the century" in the past few years.

According to critics, misinformation that supports Beijing's narrative, such as conspiracy theories against the US, reaches millions of people each day through Chinese social media. China's state media have been bombarding social media with misinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which they call "special military operations."

Jia warned that polarization would intensify in society, leading to a rise in extreme views when people could not distinguish truth from disinformation.

Jia also noted that fake information could lead to hostility towards foreigners. As tensions between Beijing and the west grow, public opinion in China has become more antagonistic towards foreign reporters. Since Beijing expelled more than 20 American journalists in 2021, foreign journalists have reported an increasingly hostile work environment.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China reported in January that Beijing was finding new ways to intimidate foreign reporters. Last month, the club expressed "dismay" over restrictions on reporting during the Beijing Winter Olympics, which it said fell short of international standards.

*This article contains information sourced from the Guardian.