A real ‘Twitter’ gulag — China shuts down popular WeChat accounts
Dozens of Popular WeChat Accounts Deleted Amidst Crackdown: Shanghaiist
WeChat is a growing social media app in China, and abroad. Within China’s borders, it’s giving Sina Weibo — a homebrewed version of Twitter — a run for its money. And like Weibo, WeChat has attracted the attention of China’s Internet censors.
Dozens of popular WeChat accounts, some with hundreds upon thousands of followers, were shut down or suspended yesterday, most likely in part of the government’s sweeping crackdown on online content.
Many of the accounts were operated by online news outlets like NetEase or popular columnists such as Xu Danei, whose account had an estimated 200,000 subscribers. South China Morning Post cited industry insiders who said the suspension order was handed down yesterday afternoon with no given reason, and that most of the shuttered accounts were known for posting commentaries on articles covering current affairs.
“No reason was given,” the insider said. “Some of the accounts were shut permanently.”
More: Dozens of Popular WeChat Accounts Deleted Amidst Crackdown: Shanghaiist
Some of America’s right wing Twitterati were complaining about a “gulag” of banned accounts last year — a gulag that exists mostly in their own heads. Here’s what a real “Twitter gulag” looks like, and what real (not imagined) government censorship looks like.
Take that, Dr. Ben Carson.