Sina Weibo Photo:IC

China's Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo has suspended 1,389 users from making comments for provoking trouble and breaking the cyberspace rules as they were found to manipulate behaviors of followers maliciously by mobilizing them to make posts in favor of their interests under comment sections.

The move has been regarded as part of a response to Chinese cyberspace authorities' rectification campaign of fan circle chaos in order to ward off irrational idol worshipping.

Sina said more than 159,000 users who were engaged in publishing swarm-posts so as to generate public opinion in favor of someone or something in the comment sections of central media institutes were banned from posting for one week or one month. 

A total of 1,398 users were banned from posting for one to three months for organizing and manipulating others to swarm comment sections of media accounts.

"Public space should not be a social field that amplifies contradictions," said Sina Weibo in a notice on Monday. The average monthly active users of Sina Weibo reached 566 million as of June this year.

Sina Weibo said it had dismantled groups which advocate followers that swarm comment sections of others and help idols rank higher on lists or attack other stars. The crackdown on such groups will continue. 

The platform firmly objects and will impose harsh penalties to trouble-provoking users who organize their fans to attack or report others, especially those who maliciously influence or mobilize users to comment under political or media accounts.

The Cyberspace Administration of China published a notice on Friday on its website asking provincial offices to heighten the efforts to rectify the fan circle chaos and make entertainment-related platforms perform their duties to ward off irrational idol worshipping.

The administration specified 10 measures, urging enhanced sense of urgency to improve the fan circle culture to safeguard online political and ideological security, and supervise the platforms to implement the measures.

Global Times