Clear Waters in Pujiang | How Was the Rumor “Shanghai Borrows 10 Billion from Temples Due to Financial Strain” Fabricated?

“Screenshot Forgery” and “Misattribution” Becoming Low-Cost, Highly Damaging Means of Creating and Spreading Rumors, Warranting High Vigilance. As the internet and real life become highly integrated, netizens are unable to distinguish the authenticity of information from non-authoritative sources, and its layered dissemination further fuels the fire. Thus, fabricated information, “packaged” by perpetrators and disguised as “hot news,” spreads and has a detrimental social impact.

In recent years, Shanghai public security agencies and the Municipal Party Committee’s Internet Information Office have collaborated and implemented comprehensive measures, forming a closed loop of “discovery – verification – rumor refutation and crackdown” for internet rumor governance. They have cumulatively interviewed nearly 100 operators of “We-Media” accounts, publicly exposed and warned them, creating a deterrent effect.

2024 is designated as the year for special actions against internet rumors, with the Ministry of Public Security deploying a one-year nationwide operation. By November 26, Shanghai public security agencies had investigated 1,464 cases of internet rumors, dismantled 47 “internet water army” gangs, cleared over 570,000 pieces of rumor information, shut down over 55,000 illegal accounts, and imposed administrative penalties on 63 related entities.

During the special action period, Shanghai’s cybersecurity department took proactive measures and solved multiple “internet rumor-mongering” cases, which were selected as excellent innovative cases for “Clear and Bright Pujiang · 2024” internet ecology governance.

Rumor Created for Bragging: “Borrowing from Temples”
On July 2, 2024, a text image, supposedly from “NetEase News,” claiming “Shanghai Faces Financial Strain, Borrows 10 Billion from Temples,” spread rapidly across various online platforms, attracting widespread attention and trending on hot searches.

Shanghai police immediately verified the information, confirmed it as a rumor, and worked with local public security agencies to punish the publisher. They also coordinated with local media and influential local online influencers to release the truth, quickly and accurately debunking the rumor and restoring the facts.

The investigation revealed that the suspect, Sun, often boasted about having access to “insider information” to project an image of being “well-informed” and “well-connected.” To enhance his credibility, he used image editing software to combine his speculative information with the masthead of a well-known platform and sent it to others, trying to prove the reliability of his sources.

Unlike previous “internet water army” criminal gangs, the perpetrator behind the “borrowing from temples” rumor was an individual, and there was no mention of illegal profit in the report. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s Cybersecurity Corps told reporters that, unlike “internet water armies” motivated by profit, “individuals who create rumors typically do so for bragging rights, often by releasing unverified ‘insider information’ to showcase their ‘connections.'”

“From a law enforcement perspective, rumors that capitalize on social hot topics, have a certain ‘background,’ and include detailed descriptions are more likely to attract social attention. Take the ‘borrowing from temples’ case as an example. It used the highly topical angle of ‘government borrowing from temples,’ coupled with anonymous sources from the ‘Finance Bureau’ and the ‘NetEase’ backdrop to emphasize ‘authenticity,’ and listed borrowing details to further enhance the rumor’s ‘credibility,'” said the Cybersecurity Corps.

Characteristics of AI-Generated Fake News
Apart from individual rumor-mongers, “internet water armies” who write and publish false posts for profit are also persistent, with their “services” becoming increasingly diversified and refined.

Recently, Shanghai police, after meticulous investigation, destroyed an “internet water army” criminal gang across the entire chain, arresting 11 suspects involved in a case worth over 2 million yuan.

Reporters from The Paper learned from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau that the gang claimed to offer corporate brand image optimization but actually provided services for disposing of false posts (some generated by AI). According to client requests, they wrote false articles and outsourced their publication on various internet platforms to dilute negative public opinion, suppress negative posts, and falsely increase the influence, exposure, and positive reviews of specific products, disrupting the normal market order.

Reporters noted that, compared to traditional “internet water armies,” this gang used AI to generate articles. How to identify AI-generated fake news and what characteristics do they exhibit?

The Cybersecurity Corps told reporters that the main features of current AI-generated fake news are eye-catching headlines and posts structured in a “syllogism” format. “To attract clicks, ‘internet water armies’ often use clickbait or shocking headlines with exaggerated adjectives like ‘appalling’ or ‘shameful.’ In terms of format, they tend to follow a ‘three-part’ structure, often resulting in articles with mismatched titles and content or inappropriate wording.”

Shanghai Police Initiate “Anti-Rumor Alliance”

The internet is one of the important ways for the public to obtain information, and the authenticity and credibility of online information are the foundation for building a clear and bright cyberspace. Faced with complex online information, how can audiences improve their ability to discern truth from falsehood?

The Cybersecurity Corps explained that for hot events, perpetrators often add details and distort facts in public events that people are concerned about. “Therefore, even information with pictures and videos should not be easily believed. We hope netizens will remain rational, understand the situation through official information, and distinguish truth from falsehood.”

For “internet water armies” engaged in rumor dissemination, malicious commenting, vote manipulation, and paid post deletion, Shanghai police have launched a clustered campaign to fully suppress their criminal activities.

Meanwhile, Shanghai police urge and guide various internet platforms to strictly fulfill their responsibilities as the main body of information security management, improve the whole-process work norms for rumor discovery, refutation, and handling, immediately address identified internet rumors to prevent their repeated dissemination, and actively verify widely spread information without authoritative sources to nip new rumors in the bud. At the same time, they will improve the real-name system for online platforms, standardize content release review standards and processes, resolutely rectify malicious staged photos and rumor fabrication, and other illegal activities, and reduce the risk of internet rumor dissemination from the source.

Since 2024, Shanghai police have established cybersecurity police stations in large internet enterprises to help them improve their ability to detect abnormal issues, resolve and address various risks and hidden dangers in advance, and create a legal business environment for the city’s internet enterprises. They also guide the Municipal Information Network Security Management Association to lead the establishment of an “Anti-Rumor Alliance” covering 14 well-known enterprises in the city, and issue an initiative themed “Reject Internet Rumors, Clear the Online Environment,” effectively forming a synergistic governance force and stimulating the initiative of internet enterprises to participate in online governance.

Faced with a myriad of online information, we may not be able to discern its authenticity, but at least we can avoid fueling the fire and “let the bullets fly for a while.”