China’s People’s Daily newspaper called for an end to public speculation over the death of teenager Hu Xinyu as the country’s internet regulator clamped down on online rumors. Hu’s body was found hanging from a tree earlier this week close to his boarding school after going missing for more than three months. Police on Thursday said an investigation had ruled out homicide in his death and that an analysis of a digital voice recorder found with the body had yielded recordings made by Hu contemplating whether or not to jump from the fifth floor of his dormitory. But the findings sparked widespread public skepticism, with social media brimming with armchair theories and speculation about how Hu died. In response to the uproar, the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper said in an editorial on Thursday that “the relevant departments gave candid explanations and responded to public concerns” about the slow police response to Hu’s disappearance, and called for the investigation to proceed “along professional and legal lines.”
Public speculation over Hu’s death has sparked a broader crackdown on social media commenting on the case. Administrators for the social media platform Sina Weibo said they are already in the process of identifying “illegal content” relating to the case, and “resolutely dealing with violations like rumor-mongering and fake news
