Earlier this week, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released the 2013 Annual Report on the Development of New Media.

 

　　As one of China's most popular social media platforms, the findings on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, has aroused the most discussion.

 

　　A) About Weibo Users:

 

　　The report concludes that Weibo users have 3 "lows" - low age, low level of education and low income.

 

　　Details:

 

　　90 million of Weibo's users are in their 20s, accounting for 29 percent of total, making it the largest age group. 26 percent of users are in their teens while 25 percent are in their 30s. This means that 80 percent of all Weibo users are under the age of 40.

 

　　CASS also found that 75 percent of Weibo users have only reached the highest education level of high school study, or even lower.

 

　　The report also points out that the Weibo users aren't making much money. 92 percent of them earn less than 5000 Yuan a month, and the majority of them are not making any money. This is not surprising, since 94 million of the Weibo users are students.

 

　　Before any analysis is given to the actual meaning behind the figures in the report, there's already some criticism, mostly from Weibo users themselves, about the accuracy of the report.

 

　　Bloggers:

 

　　"Weibo has just become popular in China for a few years, so of course the majority of the users are students or graduates. The data can't prove anything."

 

　　"Even if 92 percent of users earn less than 5000 Yuan, it doesn't mean they have a low income. According to the National Statistic Bureau, in 2012, the average monthly income for urban residents was around 2200 Yuan. In some cities, 5000 Yuan means white-collar work."

 

　　B) About rumors

 

　　Details:

 

　　More than a third of online rumors are spread on Weibo, with those spread on Sina Weibo possessing a far wider reach than those on other Weibo platforms.

 

　　Entertainment rumors accounted for the highest percentage (17 percent) of total Internet rumors, followed by rumors about public security (16 percent) and people's livelihoods (11 percent).

 

　　On average 1.8 rumors are reported by the media daily.

 

　　Of the 100 hot issues on Weibo, one-third had been targeted by rumormongers. Last March, the onslaught of rumors about the Bo Xilai case meant that Sina and Tencent had to shut down the Weibo comment function for 3 days.

 

　　Although Sina Weibo has set up a channel to refute false rumors, only 32 rumors were refuted in 2012.

 

　　C) About anti-corruption

 

　　Details:

 

　　According to the report, the contribution of China's new media in revealing corruption has far exceeded that of traditional newspapers and television, practically doubling it.

 

　　In 2011, 50 incidences of corruption were exposed on Weibo first. In last November and December, 8 officials were investigated in relation to these cases.

 

　　Most of the cases concerned officials, regarding abuses of power, violations on regulations and protocol, infidelity and other ethical issues.