Several universities published announcements recently denying they had issued rules about students' confessing their love on campus on November 11, Singles' Day in China, thepaper.cn reported.
Northwest University of Politics and Law in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, said on Wednesday that a rumor about 10 rules regarding confessing love on campus which were published in the name of the university has had a negative effect on the university and its students.
They stressed that the university never issued such a notice. Xidian University, another college in Xi'an, also issued a similar announcement.
Such lists of rules published in the name of different universities and by different social media accounts were widely circulated online. The rules included not using fireworks, ensuring the confession ended before midnight and not taking extreme actions if the feeling is not mutual.
Gao Xuefei, a lawyer in Shanghai, said that the involved universities could press charges against those accounts that spread the rumors.
According to an amendment to the Criminal Law that will be implemented from November 1, individuals spreading false information online and causing serious consequences face up to seven years in prison.