Chinese police announced administrative sanctions against eight netizens for posts related to the floods that hit Nepal and the Tibetan county of Gyirong in August. The punished posts included messages about the causes of the floods and criticism of rescue operations.
Chinese authorities applied these sanctions as part of their online information control policy, which aims to combat what the regime classifies as "rumors" and disinformation. Tibet is a region where information control is particularly tight.
The August floods severely affected the Nepal region and Gyirong county in Tibet, causing displacements and casualties. The authorities' response to criticism on social media occurs in a broader context of repression of freedom of expression in China.
