Chinese Weibo bans over 1,000 accounts over coronavirus policy criticism

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) – China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo has banned more than 1,000 accounts of users on the grounds that they "incite conflict" over Beijing’s coronavirus policy.

A total of 1,120 Weibo account holders were subjected to either temporary or permanent bans from the platform over "personal attacks" against the country’s health experts and inciting conflict, the daily South China Morning Post reported.

The report also quoted Weibo’s Thursday announcement that says: “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 decision came after Weibo reviewed nearly 13,000 posts containing criticisms against health experts, it said.

China faced an explosive spike in infections after dumping its strict "zero-COVID" policy last month, following unrest and unprecedented protests in parts of the country.

Several countries, including the US, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Morocco, Qatar, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan, announced requiring negative COVID-19 tests for travelers coming from China.