China’s ‘social media queen’ Mimeng closes WeChat account with 13 million followers after outrage over fake story

China’s “social media queen” Mimeng closed her widely read WeChat public account on Thursday after a fake story about a young cancer victim went viral, sparking widespread outrage amid the country’s ongoing crackdown on online content.

Mimeng, who ran one of China’s most popular social media publishing platforms, or self-media accounts, amassed a fan base of 13 million WeChat followers and 2.6 million Weibo followers by writing sensational stories on topics of love, relationships, marriage and money – all with clickbait headlines. Advertisers reportedly paid 750,000 yuan (US$112,000) for ads on the site.

At the start of the month Mimeng, whose real name is Ma Ling, announced the suspension of the WeChat public account and permanent closure of her Weibo account, while apologising for publishing a fake story about a young man born to a poor family, who graduated from one of China’s best universities and refused to accept illegal income while unemployed, but ultimately failed to succeed and died of cancer at 24.

The shutting of the accounts comes amid a renewed Chinese government push to remove what it considers inappropriate content from the internet, including rumours, pornography and vulgarity.

Earlier this month, China state-run media People’s Daily criticised Mimeng’s stories for manipulating public opinion, saying her original apology failed to address the main issue, and warning that self-media accounts cannot become spiritual pyramid schemes.