In an official statement on December 1, social media giant Weibo released a list of words and statements that would no longer be permitted for use on the platform.
Words such as erhuo (二货, idiot), SB (a stupid ct), niangpao (娘炮, sissy), and biesan (瘪三, a broke and unemployed person), were all classified as vulgar and insulting, and will be censored on the Twitter-like platform.
Weibo’s official statement said that any usernames that contain any of the newly banned words would have one week to change their account’s name.
Any user that does not change their username is at risk of having it deleted and having their account temporarily banned from posting.
Some netizens were quick to criticize the statement, highlighting that only recently the term ‘sissy boy’ was being used by state media to describe feminine men.
Read more ‘Sissy Men’ Targeted in Pop Culture Crackdown in China
However, many Weibo users were supportive of the new policy.
User XMJ Rainbow commented on the statement, saying: “Please cut out all the insulting words you can think.”
In April 2018, Weibo gained international headlines after putting a ban on homosexual content.
The Chinese social media giant reversed the ban several days later after fiece public outcry and a sharp fall in stock prices.
Read more Weibo Reverses Brief Ban on LGBT Content
[Cover image via Flickr]
