The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.
Central Propaganda Department: All media must strictly control the proper guidance of contents [information] concerning the oil pipeline explosion in Qingdao’s Huangdao open economic zone. It is absolutely forbidden to dispatch reporters to the site of the incident. Corresponding reports must accord with authoritative information issued by the departments handling the accident. Internet and print media may not assemble overviews of previous serious safety accidents; may not exaggerate or speculate [on the story]; may not publish irresponsible commentaries; and may not guess at the cause and responsible [parties] [of the accident]. (November 24, 2013)
中宣部：对于青岛黄岛经济开发区输油管线爆燃事故，各媒体严格把握好有关此次事件内容的正确导向，一律不准派记者赴事故当地采访，相应报道必须根据事故有关处置部门发布的权威信息。网络和平面媒体不要集中归纳以往的重大安全事故，不渲染，不炒作，不发不负责任的评论，也不要猜测事故的原因和责任。
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.
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.
