The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently issued a notice to launch a two-month nationwide "Qinglang" special campaign targeting science popularization and health-related online rumors, with a focus on rectifying four categories of prominent problems. First, fabricating livelihood and health-related online rumors to mislead netizens. Such practices include packaging ordinary foods and health products as "miracle cures," exaggerating the side effects of drugs and food to create panic, issuing extreme assertions under the guise of "scientific rumor refutation" to mislead the public, and distorting traditional culture and spreading feudal superstition under the banner of "ancient wellness practices." Second, impersonating professional identities to spread pseudoscientific views. Such practices include posing as professionals in relevant fields or staff of legitimate institutions to conduct health science popularization in violation of regulations, creating false titles, staging scenes in professional settings to spread unfounded dietary remedies, packaging fake experts to fabricate pseudoscientific concepts and peddle inferior products, and claiming under the name of "internet celebrity masters" to cure diseases and avert disasters for illegal profit. Third, abusing artificial intelligence technology to generate health science popularization rumors. Such practices include using AI to mass-generate content to create fake hot topics and promote products, using AI face-swapping and voice-changing technology to misappropriate the images and voices of well-known experts for fake science popularization and product sales, inducing AI large models to generate and spread false scientific data to sell health products, and using AI to generate forged authoritative health information to mislead netizens. Fourth, fabricating rehabilitation cases to exaggerate efficacy and luring consumption through private-domain and other channels. Such practices include fabricating false rehabilitation cases to lure netizens into private domains for fraud, excessively hyping product ingredients and exaggerating the functions of medical devices for product sales, and deceiving elderly consumers in private-domain scenarios through various means.
