The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) published a notice on June 13 and made it public on June 18, announcing the launch of a three-month special campaign called „Qinglang·Rectifying Chaos in Account Name Information“, effective immediately. The campaign targets four major issues: first, name impersonation, including accounts that fake identities of Party and government organs, news media, or well-known figures; second, identity disguise, such as using unverified professional titles like „renowned economist“ or „senior legal advisor“, displaying military, police, or medical professional images, and creating „shadow accounts“ that copy videos of patients to solicit donations; third, embedding prohibited information, such as inserting illegal external links in avatars or bios, or implying gambling, superstition, or pornography; fourth, the black market for account name information, including purchasing fake followers, selling verified status (e.g., the blue checkmark), and repurposing „zombie“ accounts with altered names for traffic redirection. The campaign requires platforms to improve professional qualification verification processes, establish dynamic review mechanisms, and take measures such as ordering corrections, muting, limiting traffic, or shutting down accounts that impersonate Party and government organs or disguise professionals. Platforms with serious issues will be punished according to law.
This special campaign is part of the CAC’s 2026 „Qinglang“ series of campaigns. In recent years, complaints have frequently arisen about issues on short-video and livestreaming platforms, such as accounts impersonating experts to recommend stocks, „shadow accounts“ soliciting donations through fraud, and fake identities. Compared with previous efforts, this campaign provides more detailed targets, explicitly including specific expressions like „using administrative district names at or above the county level“ and „using media-related terms such as ‘news’ or ‘report’“ as key areas for investigation. It also requires platforms to guide users to proactively undergo professional qualification certification. The campaign will conclude after three months, during which local cyberspace authorities must regularly report their progress.