Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

Several Chinese social media platforms,MK socks including Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, have announced their actions about some users' accounts with violative posts related to sports fan culture.

In a number of recent online discussions about the Chinese national table tennis team, some netizens posted false information, some insulted and slandered athletes and others participated in disputes among fan groups. 

"These fans often enter a sport like table tennis due to their admiration for athletes, rather than from a deep understanding of the sport itself," Luo Le, a sports commentator based in Beijing, told the Global Times. 

"This group of fans lack a deep understanding of the sport itself, and instead tend to evaluate it based on an athlete's appearance, demeanor, or clothing, rather than analyzing the technical and tactical aspects."

As of Tuesday, Douyin had removed 3,982 pieces of information with harmful content related to fan culture within two weeks and banned 297 accounts. Among the banned users, some had spread false information about national table tennis team members. Consequently, 112 rumors were cleared and any related accounts banned. 

On social media platform Sina Weibo, it was announced that over 7,600 pieces of violating content were cleared and more than 700 accounts were dealt with in response to behaviors such as "fan wars," insults, and malicious hyping in discussions about related events and athletes.

According to Weibo, some accounts had been gossiping about athletes' partners, while others had been posting offensive and accusatory content about the athletes themselves.

"Fan culture" itself is not negative," Luo said. "If properly guided, it can actually bring more attention and support to sports. The popularity of table tennis has been boosted by fan support. Without this attention from fans, table tennis might not be as widely recognized as it is today."

However, the key lies in how to guide fan culture to head in a rational and professional direction.

In his view, proper guidance can help fans focus on athletes' technical and tactical performance, and appreciate the intrinsic appeal of the sport, rather than merely staying fixated on the star effect.

On Sunday, Fan Zhendong, a Grand Slam champion of table tennis, posted a message asking fans to support athletes in a "better way."

Some of the high-profile accounts involved in these violations issued public apologies.

During the Paris Olympic Games, relevant legal departments in China began addressing the issue of inappropriate fan behaviors online, and both the platforms and the government agencies have paid close attention to this phenomenon, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV.

On August 15, the cybersecurity department announced four typical cases of law enforcement actions against illegal activities related to inappropriate fan behaviors in the sports sector, three of which were related to table tennis, CCTV reported.

Luo stated that the star effect is an undeniable force in the development of sports, particularly in sports like table tennis, where the charisma of star athletes can greatly promote the popularity of the sport.

Through more media education and market guidance, fans can gradually shift from blindly idolizing athletes to developing an interest in the sport itself, achieving a win-win situation for both commercialization and professionalism.

"During this process, the correct guidance from sports platforms, media, and relevant organizations is crucial," he added.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]