China moves to keep toxic fan culture off social media for National Games
After athletes including Fan Zhendong and Chen Yuxi fell victim, ‘Clean and Bright’ campaign targets issues such as bullying and doxxing
China’s top internet regulator has launched a sweeping campaign to clean up social media for the National Games.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Tuesday announced its “Clean and Bright: Online Environment Rectification” campaign, targeting issues such as doxxing – the leaking of personal information of athletes, coaches and referees.
It is also aimed at fan-led smear campaigns and conflicts that the CAC said could “disrupt preparations or disrupt the smooth operation of the events”.
Officials have been battling obsessive fan culture – in which fans mob and harass athletes – for years. But there has been a noticeable further spike in incidents since the 2024 Paris Olympics, with government agency the General Administration of Sport of China calling in August last year for a boycott of sports fan excesses.
Following Beijing’s instruction last year, several leading athletes, including Olympic table tennis champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, as well as swimming star Pan Zhanle, disbanded their official fan groups, while some fandom communities on Weibo were closed down by the social platform.