Chinese Table Tennis Enthusiast’s Arrest at Paris Olympics Ignites Social Media Fury
China Takes Action Against Negative Online Culture Amid Paris OlympicsAmidst ongoing controversies related to the Paris Olympics, China has decided to take a strong stance against what it perceives as a growing ‘negative culture’ of defamation and slander. Beijing authorities are particularly concerned about the rise of online skirmishes led by so-called ‘fan leaders,’ who have been attacking athletes and other fans, manipulating comment sections, and inciting conflicts between different fan groups.
The latest incident involves a 29-year-old Chinese woman who was arrested for allegedly making defamatory posts about athletes and coaches connected to the women’s table tennis final held on Saturday between two Chinese competitors, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha. The most fervent supporters were cheering for Sun, whose popularity surged after her gold medal win in mixed doubles at the Paris Games. Gold medalist China’s Chen Meng, center, silver medalist China’s Sun Yingsha, left, and bronze medalist Japan’s Hina Hayata pose after the women’s singles table tennis final.
However, Sun’s loss in the final triggered a wave of hostile comments directed at Chen from Sun’s fans on social media. Weibo, China’s primary social media platform, reported that over 12,000 posts and comments were removed the day after the match, and more than 300 accounts were suspended. Additionally, two short-video platforms, including Douyin (the Chinese counterpart of TikTok), announced they had removed thousands of videos and comments while suspending or banning hundreds of users since the start of the Games.
Police did not specify the content of the arrested woman’s posts but accused her of ‘maliciously fabricating information and blatantly slandering others, causing a negative social impact.’
China’s internet regulator has previously cracked down on similar ‘fan culture’ phenomena surrounding entertainment stars. According to the state-owned Global Times newspaper, this trend extended to athletes in China following the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Sigorta Haber)