On August 10, 2014, China’s official news agency Xinhua published an article entitled “85 People Investigated for Fabricating Rumors Online, Suspected of Spreading Rumors Such as ‘Unexplained Gunshots Heard Again Inside Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road” (85人网上编谣传谣被查处 涉"北京西四环又现不明枪声"等谣言). According to the article four people were detained on criminal charges, and 81 were detained, warned, or otherwise sanctioned under public security provisions.
This screenshot was taken on August 15, and shows that Sina Weibo was censoring search results for “Fourth Ring Gun Sounds” (四环 枪声).
That report followed another report by Xinhua entitled “Public Security Agencies Investigate 39 People for Fabricating and Spreading Rumors” (公安机关依法查处39名网上造谣者传谣者) on July 20 in which it reported:
This screenshot was taken on August 15, and shows that Sina Weibo was censoring search results for “Fourth Ring Gun Sounds” (四环 枪声).
On July 15 of this year, Beijing Internet user Mr. Ma and Hainan Internet user Mr. Pei fabricated and posted rumors on Sina Weibo such as “Will XXX be detained tomorrow morning? I just saw information that military restrictions have already been placed on flights between Beijing and Shanghai”; “There are significant delays at immigration points in Shanghai because they are detaining someone, and in order to prevent someone from getting away or resisting, they’ve shut down the airports in the name of military exercises.” These rumors were transmitted over the Internet, and caused a fair number of Internet users to pay attention and feel unsafe, and created a malicious influence. Public security agencies quickly launched an investigation, and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, took Mr. Ma and Mr. Pei into criminal custody.See also: Baidu Begins Censoring "Guo Boxiong"
今年７月１５日，北京网民马某、海南网民裴某先后在新浪微博编造发布所谓“明天上午对ＸＸＸ实施抓捕？刚看到消息北京到上海上空已经军事管制”；“上海进出港航班全面延误，是因为在抓某人，为了防止某人跑掉或者顽抗，就以军事演习为名，把机场给封锁了”。该谣言信息在网上传播，引起不少网民关注和不安，造成恶劣影响。公安机关迅速开展调查，依据有关法律法规，对马某、裴某予以刑事拘留。
