KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Fourteen members of the Chinese Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) have pledged to tackle irrational posts online and issues of tainted entertainers.
The 14, including Sina Weibo, Tencent Video, QQ music, Douyin and Toutiao, are major internet platforms in China.
Global Times reported that most of the platforms have launched measures to clean up unhealthy content such as baseless gossip about celebrities and irrational fundraising to support idols.
This is the first time all the platforms have united to ‘deal’ with the problems in a coordinated manner.
According to the new CAPA code of conduct, the platforms will strengthen the management of entertainment-related accounts, comments and interactive posts.
Improper content will be deleted and accounts suspended if they spread baseless rumours and gossip, or if they stir up conflicts between fan groups.
The platforms also promised not to work with scandal-hit entertainers — such as Zheng Shuang who has been fined for tax evasion, and pop star Kris Wu who was arrested for rape — and will instead focus on artists with good morals.
The new code of conduct also aims to remove works of tainted artistes whose albums and singles can still be downloaded on some music platforms although their names cannot be searched on the platforms.
The latest move by the platforms comes as China continues to rein in what it calls “chaotic fan culture” and celebrity excess, after a spate of scandals that have taken down China’s biggest entertainers.
Actress Vicki Zhao, 45, had her name removed from video streaming sites as Beijing stepped up its campaign against celebrity culture.
Zhao also had her name removed from the credits of major TV series, and a forum dedicated to the actress on social media platform Weibo was also shut down.
No official reason was given.
There is also an unverified list purportedly by China’s National Radio and Television Administration claiming new restrictions on celebrities who hold foreign citizenship.
Besides martial arts star Jet Li, who holds Singaporean citizenship, other names included in the list are actress Liu Yifei (American), actors Nicholas Tse (Canadian), Zhang Tielin (British) and Mark Chao (Canadian), and singers Will Pan (US) and Wang Leehom (US).
China also announced the banning of reality talent programmes and ordered broadcasters to promote more masculine representations of men, in a wide-ranging crackdown on “immoral” pop culture Beijing believes is leading young people astray.
