Xiang Nanfu, journalist for Boxun website in the US, detained
Xiang Nanfu is accused of selling fabricated information to website, but some observers fear it is part of a wider crackdown on dissent
Police in Beijing have detained a man for allegedly selling and posting "fabricated information" to an overseas news website.
Analysts said the detention of Xiang Nanfu was part of attempts by the authorities to stifle dissent ahead of the 25th anniversary of the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Xiang, 62, who lives in Beijing, posted untrue stories on the US-based Chinese-language news website Boxun since 2009 that had "seriously harmed the image of the state", a statement on the Beijing police website said.
He was being held under criminal detention. State television's news channel and its main evening bulletin reported Xiang had confessed. Footage was shown of him in a green prison vest apologising for his actions.
Provoking trouble is a charge used to detain anyone they don't like
Boxun, which often reports political rumours alongside its own articles, issued a statement describing Xiang as one of its journalists.
His detention comes after veteran journalist Gao Yu and other prominent civil rights activists were held by police in recent weeks. Gao was accused of leaking state secrets by giving documents to a foreign website. She was also shown on television making a confession.