Military authorities have confirmed that a woman whose "verified" Tencent Weibo account claimed she is a senior commanding officer of People's Liberation Army is a fraud, reported the People's Daily Online Tuesday.
The report said the military, in cooperation with the police, is investigating the woman, named Ren Jie, who could face charges for impersonating a military officer.
The case also calls into question the veracity of the verification process at Tencent Weibo. Users who have had their identities verified appear online with a "V" beside their name.
Ren apparently used her real name but faked just about all other details on her verified account.
Weibo users became curious about Ren after finding that her personal information stated she was born in 1985 and joined the army when she was just 3 years old. She claimed that she studied at the PLA's National Defense University in 2006.
It is not known if she was ever a member of the army.
In a photo posted on Weibo, which was deleted, Ren was seen in a PLA uniform with shoulder epaulets indicating the rank of colonel, which usually takes someone with a doctorate eight years to achieve.
A staffer at Tencent, who requested anonymity, said the Weibo platform normally undertakes a four-step process to verify an account, which includes examining the background information.
Lu Jiehua, a sociology professor with Peking University, told the Global Times that Ren's case is serious, and harms both the military and the verification process. "If netizens believe it, the credibility of the military will be marred."
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