According to the bureau, on the evening of April 24, an offender surnamed Peng, seeking to drive online traffic and attract more followers, conspired with accomplices surnamed Guo, Li and Liu to fabricate a fake kidnapping storyline, according to a post on the bureau’s official WeChat account. 
 
They staged a fake police emergency during the livestream and egged on viewers to report the alleged incident to authorities. Large numbers of unwitting netizens took the fake scenario at face value and called the police out of goodwill. 
 
Their acts deliberately disrupted public order and the normal operations of public security organs, resulting in a significant waste of police resources, the post said. 
 
The local public security bureau has since imposed administrative detention penalties on the four individuals in accordance with the law, and their relevant accounts have also been banned.
 
Another case unfolded in Kaizhou district, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, where suspects staged fake footage claiming that a man in Kaizhou tricked a female livestreamer into going abroad to commit fraud, sparking public concern, according to the post. 
 
To make the rumors more convincing, Liu even traveled to another city to go live remotely, creating the illusion that he was overseas. Liu and five other accomplices have been penalized with six days of administrative detention.
 
Some individuals even fabricated stories involving underage pregnancy to chase online clout. Cybersecurity police in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, recently uncovered a case in which a netizen surnamed Xue invented false claims that during a physical examination at a school in Rui’an, five female students were found pregnant, and the school principal was summoned for questioning. 
 
Xue posted the unsubstantiated stories on short-video platforms and social media, which quickly went viral and triggered extensive online debate. Xue has since been placed under administrative detention, according to the bureau. 
 
In addition, some offenders have used AI tools to fabricate rumors for traffic. 
 
For example, a man surnamed Ma used AI to create fake content claiming that the glass bridge at the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in Central China's Hunan Province had collapsed. He produced doctored clips showing the bridge cracking and crowds fleeing in panic, and paired the visuals with sensational headlines, causing public alarm. Ma has now been placed under criminal compulsory measures.
 
In another related case, a person surnamed Zhao generated fake text and videos using AI tools to spread rumors about a factory workshop explosion. Public security authorities in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province, have issued an administrative warning to Zhao in accordance with the law.
 
The Cybersecurity Bureau has called on the public to refuse to act as mouthpieces for rumors, urging people to view online information rationally, reject blind following and refrain from fabricating rumors.
 
Legal experts also warned that under the Criminal Law and the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, anyone who deliberately spreads rumors to disrupt public order will be held legally accountable, according to the post on Tuesday. 
 
Global Times