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The announcement came hours after the
state-owned People's Daily published an editorial criticising
platforms that prioritize traffic and create celebrities out of
"unworthy" individuals, who can draw attention and money from
fans.
It did not name any companies.
Weibo said its decision to take down the "star power list",
which ranked celebrities based on the popularity of their social
posts and number of followers, was partly due to the "irrational
support" some fans were showing for celebrities.
"The list cannot comprehensively and objectively reflect the
social influence of stars" and discourages healthy interaction
between stars and fans, the company said in the statement.
The list was no longer visible on line on Friday.
The People's Daily opinion piece is one of several editorials
published this week calling for crackdowns on industries such as
gaming and alcohol https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-regulation-companies-idUSKBN2F61BJ,
which have prompted investors to dump stocks in targeted
sectors.
The article argued that teenagers' cultural experience,
self-awareness and consumption habits were all influenced by new
media and technology, while the type of celebrities they
followed and admired were closely related to online platforms.
The editorial comes after Chinese-Canadian pop singer Kris Wu
was detained by police https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/police-china-detain-canadian-pop-star-kris-wu-over-rape-allegation-2021-08-01
amid allegations of seducing underage women. Wu has denied the
accusations.
Wu's case has been widely followed in China and seen as a sign
of excesses in China's entertainment industry and timely in the
wake of the global #MeToo movement.
Online platforms should "strictly control idol development
programmes and strengthen management of talent show programmes"
by controlling reviews, voting mechanisms and comments, the
article said.
Popular platforms in China on which fans interact with
celebrities, besides Weibo, include Bilibili Inc, Kuaishou
Technology, and ByteDance-backed Douyin.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz and Sophie Yu; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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