Fake news is now a problem in almost every country. But when it’s combined with an oppressive state known for its heavy-handed censorship and its antipathy toward LGBTQ+ rights, it can be dangerous.
Two Chinese men who allegedly produced and shared an AI-manipulated photo of two pandas from the panda capital of Chengdu displaying homosexual behavior have been detained, in what officials call a crackdown on attempts to “maliciously associate” gayness with certain Chinese cities.
The southwestern city of Chengdu, in addition to being known for its panda base, has one of the most vibrant and permissive cultures in China.
The suspects, a 29-year-old from the northeastern rust-belt province of Liaoning and a 33-year-old from the eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, are accused of posting on social media an allegedly AI-modified photo purporting to be of a news report showing one male panda mounting another in a captive environment. The caption reads: “Chengdu: Two male Sichuan giant pandas successfully mate for the first time without [human] intervention.”
The two have been detained and their social media accounts suspended, local police said in a statement, which went on to accuse the suspects of “spreading … fake news” that “triggered a flood of misinterpretations, disrupted the order of cyberspace, and caused adverse social impact.”
It did not specify the length of their detention.
The detentions come on the heels of two other recent incidents in which people were detained for content deemed to be promoting gay behavior.
In one case, a 25-year-old man from Sichuan was detained last week for posting videos that allegedly “insinuated” men in Chengdu lack masculinity and “stigmatized the male population in Chengdu,” according to a Jan. 17 statement from the Chengdu Public Security Bureau’s Wuhou branch.
A 23-year-old man from Shandong, known on social media for street interviews where he tries to chat up and flirt with male pedestrians and subway passengers, was also apprehended, according to state media reports.
Police say he is a straight man queerbaiting to attract more traffic. Gay-themed videos have a niche following among women and younger viewers on Chinese social media sites.
Together, the detentions are clear signs that government authorities are trying to curb online content and discussions about LGBTQ+ identities, not even sparing satire and parodies as social conservatism gains momentum, analysts say.
Wang Xuetang, a lawyer with J. Tongue Law Office in Shenzhen, says the suspects in the “gay pandas” case were penalized not for rumormongering, but for the AI-modified news photo they produced. The headline quoted verbatim from state outlet reports in 2020, sounding like two male pandas had mated instead of what had actually occurred — they procreated separately with the same female — and the government-distributed photos featured pandas in neighboring Shaanxi province, not Chengdu as the manipulated image claimed.
The real danger, however, is in the police drawing conclusions from online reactions — not strictly from the content of the posts — as evidence for offenses, Wang said.
“This case has been described as a stigmatization of Chengdu, because many netizens joked that homosexuality is so widespread in the city that even pandas there turned gay. Can you really read that in the manipulated image? I didn’t,” Wang said.
Officials appear to be trying to erase Chengdu’s unofficial queer capital status, he said.
Wang noted that most of the Chengdu cases were defined as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vaguely-defined criminal offense that has often been used to control speech and deter dissent.
“Homosexuality is not universally accepted in China, but we cannot say being gay or claiming to be gay is wrong,” he said, adding that a milder measure, such as negotiating content removal or administering a symbolic fine, would be more appropriate than detention or other criminal penalties.
Chinese authorities have cracked down on gay rights in recent years, shutting down popular gay dating apps and forcing LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to close their doors. Even in Chengdu — which was known for its relative tolerance of LGBTQ+ groups — gay bars, cafes and teahouses are closing down and gatherings are going underground.
Some lawyers and activists have spoken out against the “overkill,” arguing that using criminal charges to punish online provocateurs won’t necessarily help boost a city’s “masculinity,” but will instead tarnish its reputation of supporting diversity.
“There used to be a vibrant gay scene in Chengdu, and LGBTQ people there were highly visible and welcomed,” said Kenneth Cheung, a Hong Kong-based activist who founded the LGBTQ+ rights group Rainbow China. “Now, that culture increasingly faces challenges,” especially following the recent detentions, he said.
Cheung, a Hong Kong citizen, has been barred from entering the Chinese mainland indefinitely, and Rainbow China has been banned from organizing in China.
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