China’s crackdown on online rumor-mongers and fraud has snared a fresh target: a 17-year-old junior high school dropout who pretended to be a billionaire, gave himself fake titles and posted Photoshopped pictures of himself with world leaders.
Police in northern China’s Shandong province said they were investigating the suspect, identified by the surname Shi and one of the characters in his first name, who called himself the “Sh Runlong Jocker” on social media and claimed to be a Chinese New Zealander from Hong Kong.
Shi made false claims about his identity, including that he was a board member of the Japanese Red Cross Society and a director at a fictional Shandong Internet Economic Research Center. He also circulated fake images of himself with US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Shi is also accused of being responsible for a fake state media article: the official Xinhua news agency said it had discovered a fake article claiming to be from Xinhua that portrayed Shi as a poverty alleviation hero.
“Shi had paid people to write the fake articles and Photoshop fake pictures and posted online…We will punish those who…
