From the Censorship Vault features previously untranslated censorship instructions from the archives of the CDT series Directives from the Ministry of Truth (真理部指令).
Internet Information Office, Central Propaganda Department: Strengthen management of metropolitan media organizations, websites, and microblogs. Promptly take control of online trends in public sentiment. Promptly block and delete harmful and pernicious content. Do not provide channels for the dissemination of erroneous speech. Those in violation of regulations will be dealt with severely. (February 7, 2013)
中宣部-网信办:加强对都市类媒体和互联网站、微博客的管理,及时掌握网上舆情动态,及时封堵删除不良有害信息,不给错误言论提供传播渠道,对违反规定的要严肃处理。
These instructions, issued to the media and/or Internet companies by various central (and sometimes local) government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.