Faster Than the Speed of Light.docVIP

Faster Than the Speed of LightBefore the release of director Jiang Wen’s new movie Gone With the Bullets in December 2014， the news that he had died blew up online.Vivid and detailed stories of his death abounded， including details of how his family found him.“I am still alive， but it would seem I died a few times this year，” Jiang said after the rumors arose.True or false？As early as September last year， the Internet was rife with rumors that Jiang was dead.“I was astonished to hear I was dead，” said Jiang. “I didn’t understand why people wanted to spread this rumor.”Jiang has not been the only victim of such rumors. In 2012， Li Yuchun， a pop singer was rumored to have died during cosmetic surgery. In 2010， it was alleged that Eric Tsang， a Hong Kong movie star， had died of a heart attack while watching the FIFA World Cup.For other celebrities， tales of divorce have cropped up seemingly out of nowhere. “We were the last to know we had already divorced，” joked Li Xiang， a hostess and President of Mango Media Group. “Our apparent separation has been rumored a number of times.”Normally， it is hard to track the origin of such rumors. “We can do nothing but get used to it，” said Li.However， dealing with false reports on other matters is not so simple.In November 2014， posts online claimed that the local government in Shangri-La， southwest China’s Yunnan Province， forcibly demolished residents’ houses and two children had been buried alive.The posts shared a picture of two dead children and the posts were forwarded and shared online. Later， the news was proved to have been fabricated， with the picture coming from an old story about an earthquake.China’s police forces have said they will trace the origins of such rumors and bring the perpetrators to justice.According to a 10-clause judicial interpretation issued by China’s top court and procuratorate on September 3， 2013， people who post slanderous comments online will face up to three years in prison if their statements