(Adnkronos) – China is censoring pessimism on the web. It is forbidden to spread anxiety or foment fear. A two-month ‘offensive’ by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) aims to limit posts on social media, apps, and platforms that “excessively amplify negative feelings and pessimism.” The goal, authorities said as reported by official media, is to counter “the online promotion of violent and hostile sentiments,” but also the spread of “conspiracy theories,” and the use of debates on films, television programs, and sporting events “to organize mass denunciations.”
The Asian giant, whose surveillance and censorship system has been the subject of strong criticism for years, wants to create a “more cultured and rational environment” and reiterates its commitment to combating the spread of “false information about disasters, accidents, or other emergencies.” Among other things, contributions that claim “studying is useless” as well as “working hard” are being targeted.
In a People’s Republic where the economic slowdown and youth unemployment are concerns, young people “have serious questions about the future,” Simon Sihang Luo, a professor of Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, commented to the BBC. And, he further observed, they must face the fact that for them, conditions will “very likely be worse than those of their parents’ generation.”
