Beijing is more likely to censor online comments that spur social movements than those that criticise the government, states a Harvard University study released this week.
The results of the study suggest that Beijing's most important objective is maintaining social stability.
'Contrary to previous understandings, posts with negative, even vitriolic, criticism of the state, its leaders and its policies are not more likely to be censored,' it said. 'Instead, we show the censorship programme is aimed at curtailing collective action by silencing comments that represent, reinforce, or spur social mobilisation, regardless of content.'
For example, a post on the Sina Weibo microblog that criticised government officials for having mistresses, being shameless, immoral and greedy, was not removed, nor were thousands like it.
Such posts are neither exceptions nor unusual, the researchers say, and that indicates that Beijing has no intention of stopping them. However, posts about a rumour that iodised salt would protect people from radiation exposure after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan were heavily censored, the study said.
The study claims to offer the first large-scale, multiple-source analysis of the outcome of Beijing's extensive censorship of social media.