A blogger posted footage online of a chimney smoking at an enterprise in Xi'an. The video mentioned that someone at the Baiyun production base was "making clouds," and claimed this was a virus base of a certain company in the Gaoling District of Xi'an. "Making clouds, virus, base"—when such words are lined up together, the video quickly drew attention. So what is the truth? The Ministry of Public Security's Cybersecurity Bureau recently disclosed this case among typical recent online rumor cases.

　　Blogger forwarded casually without verification; police determined it to be a rumor

　　On January 29 this year, officers from the Gaoling Public Security Sub-bureau of Xi'an discovered during routine cybersecurity patrols that someone had forwarded a rumor video involving a local enterprise on a short-video platform. The basis was actually the smoke emitted by the enterprise's power generation, and it was captioned with the exaggerated text "This is the virus base in Gaoling District."

　　After receiving the report, officers from the local police station immediately summoned the man who forwarded the video, Han, to the station for investigation. According to Han's account, he saw the video posted by someone on social media and forwarded it casually without verification.

　　What exactly is the so-called "cloud making" mentioned in the video?

　　What exactly is the "cloud making" mentioned in the footage—that is, the smoke we see? While investigating the creator of the rumor video, police also went to the enterprise targeted by the rumor to verify on the ground.

　　According to the person in charge of the enterprise, this is a domestic waste incineration power generation company that processes nearly one-fifth of Xi'an's domestic waste every day, which is used for incineration power generation. The entire incineration process is monitored in real time, and the relevant data is connected to regulatory authorities at all levels in real time. The company's person in charge said the rumors involving their company have already affected their reputation and normal production and business activities.

　　After investigation, police found that the creator of the rumor video was also a local resident of Gaoling District, Xi'an. Police then summoned and investigated the creator, Gong. When asked why he filmed the rumor video, Gong's answer was baffling.

　　In accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, police imposed administrative penalties on Gong, who created the rumor video, and Han, who spread it.

　　Liang Chenxi, an officer from the Zhangbu Police Station of the Gaoling Public Security Sub-bureau of Xi'an: Some people spread rumors to attract attention without any verification. When we summoned them, we also notified the relevant environmental departments in our district to test the relevant data of the enterprise, and the results were all normal. So with a mere flick of their fingers, they wasted a huge amount of our resources and caused a waste of resources across society.

　　Unpacking the blogger's rumor-mongering playbook: arbitrary fabrication to attract attention

　　What was originally footage of smoke rising from the chimney of a waste incineration power plant was casually filmed by a blogger, who then fabricated and made up content and posted it online, turning it into a "virus base" rumor. In the investigation, reporters found that the playbook of this blogger in Shaanxi was actually very simple: Step one, the blogger first filmed a video of the chimney of a waste incineration enterprise emitting smoke, marked the eye-catching phrase "virus base" on the footage, and then used voiceover to highlight keywords such as Xi'an, cloud making, and base; step two, the overall brightness of the footage was lowered, using a dark tone to play up the so-called "virus base" claimed by the blogger.

　　In this case, the blogger ignored the facts and fabricated things arbitrarily, solely to gain traffic and attention.

　　Uncovering the truth: what other claims are rumors?

　　Besides the case just disclosed, what other claims recently have been rumors concocted by bloggers to gain traffic? Let's uncover the truth together and debunk the rumors.

　　Fabricated rumor that "an earthquake hit Heping Village in Lai'an County"!

　　On April 3 this year, a netizen surnamed Xu posted a video on a short-video platform claiming that "an earthquake hit Heping Village in Lai'an County." After verification, Xu, in order to attract attention, staged a video of a clothes rack at home shaking violently and concocted rumor information that a strong earthquake had occurred locally. The Chuzhou police in Anhui have now imposed an administrative penalty on Xu in accordance with the law.

　　All the shops under Shanghai's People's Square have closed? False claim!

　　Recently, a netizen posted that "all the shops under People's Square have closed." The poster said, "At noon on a workday, I didn't see a single person walking in the passage; walking alone felt eerie. I remember it used to be quite lively down there," and attached a photo. Shanghai's rumor-debunking platform conducted on-site visits to verify, and found that the real situation was not as the netizen claimed. Although some areas were undergoing business format adjustments, other areas were still operating normally, with considerable customer traffic.

　　"Traffic police demanded 200 yuan in cash from a driver"? Police respond

　　Recently, Dalian cyber police found during their work that a netizen surnamed Bai posted information on his personal self-media account such as "Traffic police were checking passengers in the front seat for not wearing seat belts, and an officer demanded 200 yuan in cash from a driver," causing a negative social impact. According to a Dalian police investigation, at around 9 a.m. on April 21, when Bai was driving to the Zhuanghe highway entrance, he was dissatisfied with a routine check by traffic police on duty and then posted photos of the traffic police enforcing the law online with text falsely accusing the police of demanding money. The offender Bai has now been placed under administrative detention by the public security organ in accordance with the law for publishing false information and disrupting public order.