China crackdown on online rumours seen as ploy to nail critics


  • World
  • Wednesday, 18 Sep 2013

A man uses his phone to visit the Sina Weibo microblogging site in Shanghai, in this file picture taken May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's crackdown on online "rumour-mongering", widely seen as a tool to halt criticism of the ruling Communist Party, has chilled political discourse, with high-profile bloggers saying they have reined in sensitive posts for fear of detention.

Lawyers and activists called the crackdown a significant, if crude, expansion of powers to police the Internet and a blow to those who rely on microblogs to disseminate information that is often not monitored as strictly as traditional media.

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