Chinese internet censors target collective activities more than sensitive subjects, says Harvard report

Chinese censors are more worried about online discussion of protests and other "collective action events" than posts on senior leaders, government policies and other sensitive issues, research by Harvard University shows.

The findings contradict the widespread belief that internet censorship is designed to target sensitive words, including the names of state leaders.

Even posts praising the central government could be censored if they talk about such events, the researchers found.

"Collective actions", as defined in the survey, are events that organise crowds and relate to individuals who have initiated protests and relate to nationalist sentiments used to encourage people to take to the street.

Posts that mention an ongoing collective action event are 20 to 40 per cent more likely to be censored than those involving non-collective action events, such as a discussion of President Xi Jinping, corrupt officials, government policies and issues such as Tibet and Xinjiang . The findings of the study, by Professor Gary King of Harvard's government department and two postgraduate students, are published in the latest edition of Science magazine.

Mara Hvistendahl, a contributing editor of Science who is based in Shanghai, said: "It makes sense because collective action events are more threatening to both local and central government. One of the biggest fears about social networks in China and other countries is that it could be used to mobilise people."