The woman rumored that the professor of the Academy of Fine Arts was criminally detained: nothing happened and went straight to the "three inches below the navel", which may cause panic

On August 7, the Beijing Xicheng Public Security Bureau reported that Ge Moufei had been arrested on suspicion of fabricating false information. Image source: "Safe Beijing Xicheng" Weibo

The so-called rumor that "a university professor and his wife and girlfriend went to Sanya to confirm the new crown pneumonia" has been refuted by the parties: Professor Ma went to Hainan with another male professor to investigate.

At present, the Beijing police have arrested Ge Moufei (female, 39 years old) suspected of fabricating false information. After investigation, Ge Moufei pieced together a number of irrelevant contents and fabricated false information that "it is said that the teacher of the Academy of Fine Arts and his wife and girlfriend went to Sanya, and now the wife and girlfriend are also isolated", and spread it through WeChat groups, seriously disrupting social order. At present, Ge Moufei has been taken compulsory measures.

Recently, the epidemic has broken out in many places, and the circulation report released by the disease control department has become a "material" for a person who has nothing to do, fabricates rumors, and snoops on privacy, and without exception goes straight to the "three inches below the navel". Not only was Professor Ma shot and was rumored to be derailed, but a young man in Wuhan was also brain-medicated by netizens because he had contacted two women in the circulation report, and was tragically attacked by internet violence.

It should be noted that unlike the previous rumors that exaggerated the number of infected people and "locked down" a certain place, this wave of epidemic-related rumors has become a defamation against the target of infection and close contacts. For example, Professor Ma in the incident is a well-known figure in a specific field, and the rumors have formed an irreversible damage to his reputation, and even caused him to suffer a "social death".

The more serious social harm of this malicious slander lies in the impact on the overall situation of the fight against the epidemic. Because this not only indirectly weakens the credibility of the circulation report, treats the serious anti-epidemic measures as a carnival of voyeurism, but is more likely to cause panic and everyone is in danger, and the parties do not dare or are unwilling to express their true travel trajectory to the disease control department.

In the traditional legal concept, for the defamation of individual citizens, the individual should file a civil lawsuit or file a criminal private prosecution for the crime of defamation. However, in the face of the instant spread and decentralization of rumors in the Internet age, traditional judicial remedies have been exhausted. On the one hand, the energy and financial resources of the defamed person are limited, and it is impossible to use criminal investigation means to find out the source of the rumor, let alone sue and prosecute; on the other hand, the traditional judicial remedy procedure is lengthy, and "the water cannot quench the thirst of the near future" in the near future.

Previously, the Hangzhou girl's courier was secretly photographed, and the public security directly filed a criminal case, and the procuratorate prosecuted, which became a benchmark case of anti-rumor: the network defamation that seriously infringed on the personality rights of citizens may have to go through the public prosecution procedure, and in this way declare the red line to the detractor.

This time, the Beijing police took active action, used thunderous means to find out the rumor-mongers in a timely manner, and adopted compulsory measures, which not only effectively safeguarded the personal reputation of the victim, Professor Ma, but also set up a judicial high-pressure line in the field of public opinion: the rumors of "eating melons" involved in the epidemic have seriously disrupted social order, and the law must be managed by the police.

At present, netizens should no longer treat the circulation report with the mentality of "eating melon", malicious "brain supplementation" and adding oil and vinegar not only hurt the relevant parties, but also undermine the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control, and will inevitably be severely punished by the law.

Special commentator | Shen Bin (Media Person)

Edit | Li Xiaoxiao

Proofreading | Liu Jun