Panic and Criticism Spread on Chinese Social Media Over Coronavirus

HONG KONG — While China’s state-run media has urged calm and praised the official response to the coronavirus outbreak, a different story is playing out across the country’s tightly controlled social media networks.

In the digital world, China’s citizens are expressing panic and frustration. They are overcoming a lack of reporting in the official media by sharing their own videos and information — sometimes inaccurately.

Some are even evading censors, who commonly stifle criticism of the government, to register complaints about how officials have handled the crisis. They have criticized officials for failing to contain the initial outbreak in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei; for limiting residents to overcrowded facilities in the region; and for not visiting the affected areas.

“Let’s not interrupt the leaders while they listen to songs and go abroad for interviews,” one commenter wrote sarcastically.

Though some barbs have slipped through, the censors are still scrubbing material critical of the government, or information deemed alarming. It has detained at least eight people for spreading what the government has called “rumors.”