Fifteen media outlets and 17 journalists were punished for publishing fake news, the Chinese media watchdog said on Monday.
The media outlets and journalists "severely" disturbed standards and damaged media credibility, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) stated on Monday.
They have ignored journalism ethics and only published "sensational" stories without verifying the information, SAPPRFT added.
Wang Xing, former reporter of the Guangzhou-based Nandu Daily, was among the journalists punished. Wang was persuaded to resign from the newspaper and was banned by SAPPRFT from doing reporting and editing work for five years.
Wang wrote a story about a female official in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, who died by suicide in December 2014. The article claimed that the officials' death may have been linked to corruption allegations.
SAPPRFT said on Monday that Wang's story is incorrect, and failed to cite the inaccurate information beforehand.
However, Wang denied on Monday afternoon via his Sina Weibo account the punishment and that his story was fabricated.
SAPPRFT ordered all its branches to improve media supervision and crack down on fake news. Any journalist who fabricates news and causes "serious" consequences will have their journalist cards withdrawn and be banned from reporting and editing work within five years.
All provincial-level regions must set up a "journalistic ethics committee" to catch journalists' misbehavior, such as reporting unverified information and blackmail, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
