Social Media Users Punished As China Tightens Censorship of Coronavirus Outbreak

Medical workers in protective suits attend to patients at the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital to receive patients with mild symptoms caused by the novel coronavirus, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on Feb. 5, 2020. China Daily via Reuters

China’s International Center of Cyber Law publicized on its website a list of social media users who were punished between Jan. 22 and Feb. 6 for “spreading rumors” on the Internet about the outbreak of novel coronavirus, now named COVID-19.

The table listed 167 cases with dates, details of the “rumor,” and punishment for each case. Some cases involved more than one social media user.