China: think positive, or else

The admin wants to tackle “excessive negativity”

China’s Cyberspace Administration has taken a new approach to online dissent, now targeting not only sensitive political speech but also “excessive negativity.” In a climate of economic slowdown and widespread youth disillusionment, authorities have launched a sweeping digital purge.

Accounts that promote lifestyles without marriage or children, reduced work, or even those pointing out differences with Western living standards are being swiftly suspended. High-profile influencers have already faced bans, while platforms like Weibo have shuttered thousands of accounts for “defeatist” messages such as “hard work is useless.”

Official broadcasters justify the move as protecting the digital space from emotional “contagion,” echoing Western rhetoric about online toxicity but with an unmistakable authoritarian edge.

Deep political anxiety

Behind this campaign lies deep political anxiety. Youth unemployment is soaring in China as the economy falters. The Party fears that mass disengagement could spark open criticism. Local authorities have prosecuted users for spreading a “negative image” of their cities, and even discussions linking individual tragedies to broader issues are now classed as “malicious interpretation.”

Bloggers that highlight the darker sides of China’s model face deletion and accusations of “venerating the West.” While propaganda denounces “emotional predators,” critics argue that the regime’s enforced optimism cannot mask the country’s growing malaise—a struggle echoed in other societies grappling with their own digital-age anxieties.

(Michael Leahy. Source: New York Times/Wrap Up. Photo: Unsplash)