ONLINE media news reports based on content made on social media must verify information before publication, China’s Internet regulator said Sunday.

    News websites must accredit these sources, and they are banned from fabricating stories or distorting facts, according to a notice issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

    The office said in a circular that all news websites must ensure the reports they publish are “true, comprehensive, objective and impartial.” It forbids running news that sacrifices truthfulness for the purpose of being first, or directly quoting content on social networking platforms as news.

    The circular has demanded that websites give credit to the original news source and bans publishing hearsay as news or distorting facts.

    The CAC has punished some major websites which have fabricated stories this year, including sina.com, ifeng.com, 163.com and the site run by one of the country’s biggest Internet companies, Tencent.

    In one notorious case, a journalist from the respected Caijing magazine wrote a story in February based on fabricated online content describing a village in Northeast China where villagers do not respect the elderly and women are promiscuous. The story went viral.

    The office was established in 2011 to direct, coordinate and supervise online content management and handle administrative approval of businesses related to online news reporting.

    An official said the office will maintain strict control over fake news and information, and further improve legislation to regulate the spread of news online.

    (SD-Xinhua)