Table tennis fan arrested as Paris Olympics spark anger on social media in China

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China has had enough of Paris Olympics-related rows and has begun to crack down on what it considers a “negative culture” of defamation and slander.

Beijing authorities are lamenting a growth in online battles led by “fan leaders”, who are attacking athletes and other fans, and manipulating comment sections to spark conflict between fan groups.

In the latest controversy, a 29-year-old Chinese woman was arrested after allegedly making defamatory posts about athletes and coaches related to the women’s table tennis final on Saturday between two Chinese competitors, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha.

The most vocal supporters were rooting for Sun, whose popularity hit new heights after she won gold in mixed doubles in Paris.

But she ended up losing the final, an outcome that didn’t sit well with Sun’s fans, who flooded social media with hostile comments to Chen.

Weibo, the main social media platform in China, said that the day after the match, more than 12,000 posts and comments ended up being removed, while more than 300 accounts were suspended.

Two short-video platforms — including Douyin, which operates TikTok overseas — later said they had removed thousands of videos and comments and suspended or banned hundreds of users since the Games started.

Police didn’t say what the arrested woman had posted but accused her of “maliciously fabricating information and blatantly slandered others, causing a negative social impact.”

China’s internet regulator has cracked down previously on similar “fan culture” built around entertainment stars.

The phenomenon spread to athletes in China following the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to the state-owned Global Times newspaper.