The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.

Central Propaganda Department: Regarding the incident of dead pigs floating in the Huangpu River, the media are to cover the story concisely according to authoritative information. Do not sensationalize it. There are voices online seeking to draw this incident into the issue of genetically modified food. Do not report or comment on these voices. (March 12, 2013)

中宣部：黄浦江漂浮死猪事件，各媒体根据权威信息简要报道，不要炒作，网上有声音想往转基因食品问题上引，有关声音不报不评。

Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.” 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.

Hubei Propaganda Department: Yesterday the Changjiang Times website republished a report from the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo which stated that “the 3 Fat Kims have established secret [bank] accounts in China.” Some media, such as the Masses Daily, even issued comments on this report. High-level departments are investigating this incident and are in the process of dealing with those responsible. All media, including traditional media and websites, must strictly abide by the rules for reports involving foreign affairs, as well as the warnings already issued. (March 12, 2013)

湖北省委宣传部：昨日长江商报网站转载韩国《朝鲜日报》报道，称“金3胖在中国设秘密账户”，有的媒体如大众日报还对此事发了评论，上级部门在调查此事，对相关责任人进行了处理，各媒体，包括传统媒体和网站，要严格遵守涉外报道纪律和之前已打的招呼。

Central Propaganda Department: Some media have reported that an impoverished child in Xiajiang County, Jiangxi Province was to receive 1,600 yuan in donations, but that in four years he only received 40 yuan. This is inconsistent with the facts. The media are to stop reporting on this incident. (March 12, 2013)

中宣部：有媒体报道江西峡江县一贫困儿童获捐1600元，但四年实际只收到40元，报道与事实不符，各媒体不再报道。

Central Propaganda Department: With regards to the Huangpu River dead pigs incident, the media are to cease sensationalizing the story. The Dongfang Daily and Dragon TV both played it up quite a bit. They have been seriously reprimanded. (March 13, 2013)

中宣部：上海黃浦江死豬事件，各媒體不要再炒作，東方早報和東方衛視做得較大，提出嚴肅批評。

Central Propaganda Department: Information from previous meetings was leaked. An investigation has shown that there are some media transmitting this information to editors and reporter, who then pass it on [to the public]. Some have even given information to foreign media. Once again, the media are to stress secrecy. Information from this meeting is to be supplied only to major responsible comrades, and cannot be put on the outside Internet [beyond the “Chinternet“]. (March 14, 2013)

中宣部：前段時間部份會議內容泄露，經查是有些媒體在傳達給編輯記者後，編輯記者傳了出去。有的還給外媒提供了信息。再次向各媒體強調保密，會議內容只供主要負責同志掌握，內容不能上外網。

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 on CDT Chinese 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.