Sina Weibo – China’s Twitter equivalent – is to remove an online celebrity list following criticism by state media of celebrity culture on social media.
State-owned newspaper People’s Daily criticised platforms that make stars out of “unworthy individuals”.
It did not specify any companies but the article comes during a wider crackdown on online firms in China.
Weibo said its decision was due to what it described as “irrational support” some fans were showing for celebrities.
Earlier this week Economic Information Daily, also run by the state, hit out at games firms, saying that many teenagers had become addicted to online gaming.
Shares in Tencent and NetEast fell by more than 10%. in the wake of the criticism.
The article in the People’s Daily argued that teenagers were hugely influenced by social media and often chose the celebrities they followed based on their popularity on online platforms.
Weibo’s list ranked stars on the popularity of their social-media posts and the number of follows they received.
Other platforms that allow fans to interact with celebrities include Bilibili, Kuashou and ByteDance-owned Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
One of China’s biggest celebrities, pop star Kris Wu, was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of rape, accused of deceiving young women into having sex.
He denies all the allegations.
Source: BBC.com
