China Is Said to Censor Local Media Coverage of Alibaba Probe
- Beijing has previously controlled coverage of sensitive topics
- Alibaba has been targeted in China’s antitrust campaign
China has ordered its domestic media to restrict their reporting on an antitrust probe into Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as speculation over the future of one of the country’s largest corporations intensified, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
A directive issued by the government’s propaganda arm toward the end of last year ordered news outlets to strictly echo the official line on the investigation into the tech giant and prohibited them from engaging in original reporting and extended analysis or drawing their own conclusions without authorization, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the order hasn’t been made public. The restrictions also apply to Jack Ma, the company’s co-founder, the people said.