How WeChat censored even neutral messages about Covid-19 in China

Hundreds of keyword combinations blocked on the social media app, Canada-based researchers find. Blacklisted terms change over time and include uncontroversial references to Chinese leaders. — SCMP

China’s most popular messaging app censored a range of neutral chat group references to the coronavirus epidemic, potentially threatening public access to essential health and safety information, according to a digital media research group.

As well as politically sensitive terms, the researchers found that WeChat censored keyword combinations ranging from discussions of Chinese leaders’ responses to the outbreak, neutral references to government policies on handling the epidemic, responses to the outbreak in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, and references to Li Wenliang, a doctor who died after raising concerns about the outbreak.