We-media's pursuit of profits does not mean anything goes: China Daily editorial

Police announced on Saturday that a 21-year-old flight attendant who was killed on the evening of May 5 in Zhengzhou, Henan province, was murdered by the driver of the car she had hailed using the Didi Chuxing service and the man had killed himself by jumping into a nearby river.

While most people have expressed relief that the case was solved so quickly and many have criticized the car-hailing company for its response and the loopholes in its system that enabled the tragedy, there has also been anger at the way some public social media accounts have covered the tragedy.

In one extreme example, a WeChat account with more than 10 million followers released an article using obscene and indecent words and phrases to depict the incident, which aroused widespread condemnation as it was tantamount to hurting the victim a second time after her death.

Under public pressure, the owners of the account later apologized and announced it will be closed forever.

There are unprecedented opportunities to cash in on the huge social media audience and there are those who cross the line in their sensationalism in a bid to win eyeballs.

There are more than 20 million social media public accounts in China vying for followers each day with scoops or contents with eye-catching titles, and that number is rising each day. For such accounts, more views mean not only a boost to the account’s popularity, but also its ability to generate more revenue through advertisements.

Yet during the fierce competition, some have chosen to go too far in their pursuit of profits. They fail to conceive how painful their words are not only to those they depict with such casual disregard to normal sensitivities. They have forgotten that the desire to reach a wider audience is not a license for them to say whatever they like.

In this case, it was the public anger that has forced the wrongdoers to acknowledge their mistakes and correct them promptly. But in a society ruled by law, a better way has to be explored to ensure that the new media, together with the traditional media, act responsibly.