China demands diploma from influencers and expands fight against disinformation

In countries that have turned freedom of expression into dogma, misinformation has learned to disguise itself as opinion. It is under this argument — the right to “say what you want” — that unprepared influencers spread false recipes, discredit vaccines and give their opinions on sensitive subjects that require technical training.

The result is an avalanche of noise disguised as a public debate: each post becomes medical advice, each video promises a miracle, each live broadcast teaches economics without calculation. China decided to act differently. Instead of treating misinformation as an inevitable price of freedom, the country has chosen to address it as a social health problem.

Since October, new rules require digital influencers to prove professional training or licensing before speaking about sensitive topics — including health, medicine, law, finance and education.

The measure, announced by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), reinforces a set of guidelines that have already existed since 2022, but which now have direct application and stricter supervision.

The regulation transforms into a concrete requirement the Standards of Behavior for Online Broadcast Presenters, published in 2022 by the National Radio and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The text determined that anyone dealing with technical matters must demonstrate adequate credentials.

Three years later, the rule is on paper and takes shape. Platforms such as Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok), Weibo and Bilibili are now required to verify diplomas, licenses and professional registrations of those who produce content in these areas.

CAC states that the initiative “was created to protect people from harmful advice available on the internet” — a way to contain the proliferation of fake experts who monetize videos with promises of cures, miracle diets or unbacked investments.

The most recent update also incorporates specific standards for the medical sector, published in August. Called the Guidelines for Regulating the Behavior of Autonomous Medical Dissemination Media, they were jointly developed by four bodies: the CAC, the National Health Commission (NHC), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM).

Combating misinformation in healthcare

The initial focus is on the health field — one of the most vulnerable to global misinformation. According to official data, more than 92% of the 1.07 billion Chinese short video users consume health content on social media.

This means that every day, hundreds of millions of people receive advice from influencers posing as doctors, nutritionists or therapists.

The new rules draw a clear line between public information and disguised advertising. Content creators must present professional proof and declare whether the material was produced using artificial intelligence.

Platforms will be responsible for verifying the authenticity of accounts and removing content that promotes products or services under the guise of “health education”.

“A clear line has been drawn between true public health education and disguised commercial advertising,” Gu Baozhong, an inspector with the State Administration of Market Regulation, told Xinhua news agency.

The regulation is accompanied by a second document, the Guidelines for Identification of Medical Advertisements, published in August, which standardizes the supervision of digital advertising and reinforces the fight against fraud and quackery.

A global problem

The debate is not exclusive to China. In the West, the lack of regulation has transformed the digital space into fertile ground for disinformation. A study by the University of São Paulo (USP) identified that only 2.7% of posts about health on Instagram mention scientific references.

Another survey by Unesp points out that anti-vaccine groups in Brazil reproduce narratives that question the effectiveness of immunizations and spread rumors about non-existent risks.

The situation repeats itself in other countries. In Australia, influencer Taylor Winterstein gained notoriety for promoting conspiracy theories against vaccines under the “natural well-being” discourse.

In the United States, algorithms on platforms like TikTok and YouTube continue to boost anti-vaccine videos, even after declared moderation policies.

The “freedom of expression” argument has been used to shield such influencers from any liability — even when their content causes collective harm.

The Chinese experience proposes a counterpoint: demanding technical qualifications is not censorship, but defending the right to true and responsible information.

Digital responsibility as public policy

Chinese policy is based on a simple principle: whoever speaks in the name of science must prove that they know it. The State assumes the role of mediator between freedom of creation and the duty of responsibility, imposing the same demands on platforms and creators that any society imposes on doctors, lawyers or journalists.

For the Chinese government, the spread of disinformation is a social risk comparable to epidemics and financial crises. Network regulation, therefore, is not an attack on individual freedom, but an act of collective protection.

While Western countries still debate the limits between opinion and lies, China is advancing a strategy that seeks to professionalize the digital environment and ensure that knowledge has real support.

At a time when truth has become a product and ignorance has become a currency of engagement, the requirement for a diploma for influencers is less a censorship and more an antidote.