China’s internet censors crack down on news portal over US election coverage
Sources say website iFeng angered Beijing’s cyber guardians with its live coverage from a reporter in Washington
China’s internet censors have penalised a leading news portal for its “unauthorised” news reporting, which sources said was linked to its live coverage of last month’s US presidential election.
The Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said on its Wechat public account that it had “summoned” the editor-in-chief of iFeng.com, owned by Phoenix TV in Hong Kong, over the website’s “serious violations of laws and regulations”.
The portal’s alleged offences include “gathering news information and editing news headlines”, using journalists before they had been officially accredited by the authorities, and providing an online news service without a proper licence from China’s media watchdog.
While the administration did not list specific offences, sources close to the matter told the South China Morning Post that iFeng.com was censured because it provided live coverage of the US presidential election, during which Beijing imposed strict censorship.
While most Chinese websites complied with the restrictions, iFeng.com provided live coverage from its journalist in Washington.