China’s Weibo suffers sharp contraction as 28m users depart
China’s answer to Twitter, Weibo, has suffered a surprise fall in user numbers according to a government report indicating that 28m users have left.
The decline coincides with a crackdown on so-called ‘rumour mongers’ by the Chinese state, with many top micro bloggers, such as Charles Xu, either arrested or jailed - forcing many to jump ship to mobile messaging platforms which offer greater privacy.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center Weibo traffic dropped 9 per cent in 2013 – whilst mobile messaging platforms such as WeChat skyrocketed to more than 78.6m registered users.
One Weibo user, awxiang, lamented: "It just isn't the same anymore, so I'm not surprised," awxiang. "It is not safe anymore, so it is time for everyone to move say goodbye to Weibo."