Media Corruption in China: The Case of Financial Blogger Kou
Kou, a financial blogger, was sentenced to over 10 years for news extortion in China. This case sheds light on the pervasive corruption in the media, as Kou exploited false news stories and threatened reputational damage to extract over 700,000 yuan. His channels were implicated in state warnings, emphasizing the need for reforms in the media landscape.
A significant case of media corruption in China has emerged, involving a financial blogger known as Kou (寇某). On March 12, he was sentenced to over ten years in prison for “news extortion” (新闻敲诈). This incident, which transpired from 2022 to 2023, underscores persistent issues in China’s regulated media. Kou reportedly fabricated false news about companies, using the threat of reputational damage to extort more than 700,000 yuan, as detailed in a report by the Xinmin Evening News (新民晚报), a publication affiliated with Shanghai’s state-run SMG.
The case reflects the completion of Kou’s legal proceedings and supports official efforts to purify the online information landscape, thereby serving as a caution to potential wrongdoers. Kou’s channels, “Consumer Financial Channel” (消费金融频道) and “Payment Encyclopedia” (支付百科), were previously mentioned in a 2023 cautionary list by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which accused them of misusing “public opinion supervision” (輿論監督) to financially exploit businesses.
Kou’s channel was also highlighted in a feature by The Paper (澎湃), which reported a separate incident from 2019 involving a couple in Shanghai. They established 41 fake news websites that published over 100,000 negative articles targeting various companies across 20 provinces. By charging businesses 500 yuan for each negative article, they profited over 1 million yuan in under a year through their online extortion activities.
One of the significant vulnerabilities in China’s information system relates to the state’s control over the press, which has fostered an environment conducive to rent-seeking among state media journalists. Such journalists can threaten to expose alleged misconduct, demanding “hush money” (封口費) in return for silence. Numerous instances of news extortion over the past twenty years have involved powerful state-run media entities as well as fraudulent individuals. A notorious case is the 2002 “Gold Nugget Case,” where eleven journalists, including four from Xinhua News Agency, accepted cash and gold to conceal a mining explosion that led to the deaths of 37 workers, revealing the systemic corruption within the Chinese media sphere.
In summary, the sentencing of Kou illustrates severe issues of corruption within China’s media landscape, highlighting the problem of news extortion through fabricated narratives. The actions of Kou and the reported incidents reveal broader vulnerabilities in the information ecosystem, driven by state control and unethical practices by media professionals. Ultimately, this case serves as a critical reminder of the need for greater integrity within the media sector.
Original Source: chinamediaproject.org
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