Notice on Launching a Special Campaign of "Cleaning Up the Internet: Rectifying the Dissemination of False Information by 'Self-media'"

Party Committee Cyberspace Affairs Offices of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Party Committee Cyberspace Affairs Office of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

In order to continuously and thoroughly rectify the chaos of "self-media" publishing false information and further standardize the information publishing behavior of "self-media", in accordance with the overall arrangement of the "Clear and Bright" series of special actions in 2025, the Cyberspace Administration of China has decided to launch a two - month special action nationwide starting from July 24, namely the "Clear and Bright · Rectify the False Information Published by 'Self - media'".

I. Work Objectives

Implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on building a cyber - power, and thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee. Through the special action, comprehensively rectify the chaos of "self - media" publishing false information, severely crack down on prominent problems such as maliciously riding on hot topics to mislead the public, distorting facts by various means, presenting false information as true without proper labeling, and spreading false information in professional fields. Supervise websites and platforms to establish and improve functional mechanisms such as technical identification and discovery, information source labeling, and professional qualification certification, further standardize the operation behavior of "self - media", and continuously create a clean and healthy online environment.

II. Key Areas of Rectification

The special action focuses on rectifying four types of prominent problems:

1. The problem of maliciously riding on hot topics to mislead the public. When it comes to hot - topic public opinions or public figures, impersonate the parties involved, their close relatives, etc., fabricate identities through account names, introductions, etc., ride on hot topics, and confuse the public. In the case of major public opinions or emergencies, impersonate insiders, fabricate the cause, progress, casualty figures, etc., creating something out of nothing and interfering with public opinion. When publishing information in important fields such as finance, military, and diplomacy, fabricate so - called "authoritative reports", "first - hand data", "in - depth revelations", etc., and mislead people's understanding.

2. The problem of distorting facts by various means. Use artificial intelligence generation and synthesis technology to impersonate others or fabricate false information in fields such as social and people's livelihood to deceive the public. Through staged shooting, piecing together and editing, fabricate events, fictionalize or exaggerate plots to attract attention. Distort and misinterpret policies, regulations, and documents related to public interests, and spread false information such as "about to be cancelled" and "major changes" to create a stir. Take old social news, policy announcements, etc. out of context, cover up key elements such as time, place, and results, and maliciously hype them. Through channels such as online black - gray industries, use methods such as brushing, voting, and buying rankings to present false information on the hot - search list and manipulate the list.

3. The problem of presenting false information as true without proper labeling. For information related to domestic and international current affairs, public policies, social events, etc., do not label or accurately label the information source. Publish information in ways such as "it is rumored", "netizens say", "from the Internet", vaguely label the information source, and publish content without actual basis. Label the wrong information source, or have matrix accounts quote and label each other, making it impossible for the public to trace the real source. Label in ways such as using too small font sizes, hidden positions, or being blocked by progress bars, deliberately weakening the labeling mark.

4. The problem of false information in professional fields. Do not conduct professional qualification certification, or use false or expired certifications to impersonate the identities of financial experts, doctors, lawyers, etc. Distort and misinterpret professional content, such as fabricating or tampering with details of real cases, publishing information that has not been scientifically verified or clearly violates scientific common sense, and misattributing historical figures and events. Under the guise of sharing professional knowledge, fabricate homogeneous copywriting or false stories to attract traffic and promote products. Publish tutorials on creating the persona of "Internet celebrity experts" through false staged shooting and riding on hot topics to disrupt the communication order.

III. Work Requirements

1. Strengthen organizational guidance. Cyberspace affairs departments at all localities should improve their political standing, adhere to problem - orientation, and supervise websites and platforms to focus on typical problems and various hidden and mutated problems of "self - media" publishing false information. Draw inferences from one instance, improve content review and account management mechanisms, strengthen the education and guidance of "self - media", and continuously discover and handle illegal content.

2. Improve the labeling mechanism. Effectively optimize the function settings of information source labeling and identification of content generated and synthesized by artificial intelligence. Provide labeling options at prominent positions in the information publishing process to facilitate users to carry out corresponding labeling and identification. Information that should be labeled but is not labeled shall not enter the algorithm - recommended content pool.

3. Perfect the qualification certification system. In accordance with the work requirements, refine and optimize the professional qualification certification process, guide "self - media" to carry out professional qualification certification as required, and display information such as the field of qualification certification and identity to the public on the premise of protecting personal information. Improve the dynamic verification mechanism to ensure that the account name information, subject qualification of "self - media" match the displayed information and actual business operations.

4. Strengthen the handling of violations. Strictly standardize the information publishing process of "self - media" and smooth the channels for user complaints and reports. Prompt and guide accounts that fail to conduct qualification certification as required for the first time or fail to label the information source. Take measures such as in - site message warnings and short - term bans on accounts that re - publish false information without verification. For accounts that seriously violate regulations, such as impersonating the parties involved in hot - topic events and maliciously fabricating false information in key fields such as finance and medical care, take strict measures such as long - term bans and account closure.

Cyberspace affairs departments at all localities should implement the main responsibilities of websites and platforms, and supervise them to strengthen system construction. Prevent the spread of false information by improving the negative information list, managing profit - making permissions, and setting rumor - refuting labels. For websites and platforms with prominent problems, cyberspace affairs departments at all localities should take disposal and punishment measures in accordance with laws and regulations, and urge the platforms to conduct investigations and rectifications.

Secretariat of the Cyberspace Administration of China

July 24, 2025

This article is from the WeChat official account "Cyberspace China"

Reviewed by: Chen Wuyang

Edited by: Wang Yutong

Proofread by: Zhao Juan