China’s Twitter-like Weibo bans more than 1,000 accounts over Covid policy criticism

Temporary or permanent bans in place for 1,120 users over ‘personal attacks’ against health experts and ‘inciting conflict’, microblogging site says

Move comes days after Communist Party security bosses warn against using the pandemic to ‘disrupt social order’

Reading Time:3 minutes

A medical worker helps a patient with an intravenous drip at a community healthcare centre in Shanghai as Covid-19 rips through China. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Published: 9:00pm, 6 Jan 2023

Chinese social media platform Weibo has banned more than 1,000 accounts – some with millions of followers – as punishment for online “personal attacks” against Chinese health experts and “inciting conflict” over Beijing’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Penalties announced for 1,120 users by the Twitter-like microblogging website ranged from temporary account suspensions to permanent bans.

01:43

Shanghai hospitals overwhelmed as Covid cases spike

Weibo said it took punitive action after reviewing nearly 13,000 posts featuring criticisms against “experts and academics”.

“Many experts, academics and internet users have been actively using their professional knowledge and gathering authoritative sources to help with combating the pandemic,” a statement from Weibo said on Thursday.

“It is not acceptable to hurl insults at people who hold a different point of view, or publish personal attacks and views that incite conflicts. Any kind of move that is destructive to the [Weibo] community would be handled in a serious manner,” the notice said.

The move came days after Beijing’s security chiefs warned of zero tolerance against activities that “use the pandemic … to disrupt social order”.

China’s Twitter-like Weibo bans more than 1,000 accounts over Covid policy criticism

Temporary or permanent bans in place for 1,120 users over ‘personal attacks’ against health experts and ‘inciting conflict’, microblogging site says Move comes days after Communist Party security bosses warn against using the pandemic to ‘disrupt social order’

Temporary or permanent bans in place for 1,120 users over ‘personal attacks’ against health experts and ‘inciting conflict’, microblogging site says

Move comes days after Communist Party security bosses warn against using the pandemic to ‘disrupt social order’