Photo: Screenshot from the WeChat account of the Cyberspace Administration of China

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently instructed online platforms to strictly address issues such as selling counterfeit and substandard goods in the name of veterans, engaging in vulgar performances, exploiting military sentiment, and damaging the image of veterans, under a “special campaign to rectify improper online behavior and harmful content involving veterans,” the CAC said in a post on Wednesday.  

In the post on its official WeChat account, the CAC said that a number of accounts that violated laws and regulations have been dealt with, and revealed some typical cases.

Accounts such as “Squad Leader Yan (female veteran),” “Little Squad Leader Yan (female veteran)” and “Mo Jiu” claimed to be veterans but posted vulgar, suggestive and sexually provocative content featuring revealing clothing. Another account, “Wang Xingqi,” wore current or former standard uniforms of China’s armed forces or their replicas and performed vulgar dances during livestreams to attract viewer tips, according to the CAC post.

Accounts such as “Squad Leader Song (positive energy)” and “Ruizhi Rensheng” claimed to share military experiences or provide information about the armed forces, but instead posted misleading remarks such as “harms of serving in certain regions” and “contracting various diseases in the army,” creating negative narratives online. 

Accounts including “Guarding the Fiery Summer” and “Chinese Dream#” used AI and deep synthesis technologies to fabricate stories, for example, “Standing guard at the border for 20 years, now walking the streets with a sick child” – along with fake images and videos of veterans, misleading the public, according to the CAC post.

Online accounts such as “A-logistics Warehouse Genuine Coordination,” “Micaicang (Camouflage Warehouse),” and “Fanmai Renjian Kuaile (Selling Joys of Life)” posed as veterans to illegally sell military uniforms and replicas, or to post marketing information offering various custom services. Online accounts such as "Red Flag White Dove" use the gimmick of providing "demobilization and resettlement consultation" to distort and misinterpret military-related policies and illegally provide paid consultation services.

Global Times