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China bans video spoofs amid sweeping crackdown on content that 'violates socialist core values'

13:15, Saturday, 24 March, 2018
China bans video spoofs amid sweeping crackdown on content that 'violates socialist core values'

China's media regulator is cracking down on video spoofs, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The authority is apparently carrying out an intensified crackdown on any content that is deemed to be in violation of socialist core values under President Xi Jinping.

The decision comes after Xi cemented his power at a recent meeting of parliament by having presidential term limits scrapped.

At the same time, the ruling Communist Party has been tightening its grip on the media by handing control over film, news and publishing to its powerful publicity department.

Xinhua said video sites must ban videos that 'distort, mock or defame classical literary and art works', citing a directive from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television on Thursday.

Reuters separately reviewed a copy of the directive, which was unusually labelled 'extra urgent'.

Industry insiders say the sweeping crackdown on media content, which has been gaining force since last year, is having a chilling effect on content makers and distributors.

'It means a lot of content makers will have to transition and make their content more serious. For 'extra urgent' notice like this, you have to act immediately,' said Wu Jian, a Beijing-based analyst.

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