Popular Chinese news app Jinri Toutiao offers rewards to stories that quash rumours

Jinri Toutiao, meaning 'today

Jinri Toutiao, the popular Chinese news aggregator, is offering cash rewards of up to 3,000 yuan (RM1,809) for articles that refute rumours.

Dubbed “100”, the project will reward 100 best articles that debunk rumours, Toutiao said. The app is operated by Beijing-based Bytedance, one of the most highly valued start-ups in the world.

“We would like to invite the whole society and users of the platform to be supervisors and together participate in the governance of online platforms!” Toutiao said in the official anti-rumour account on its site. The news aggregator’s new initiative came amid Beijing’s broad “clean-up” campaign to tighten control over online content.