China’s Wanda sues social media users for rumours

Beijing, Sep 6 (IANS) Chinese firm Dalian Wanda on Wednesday said it has sued several social media users and bloggers for spreading "malicious rumours" about its Founder and President Wang Jianlin.

The lawsuits against the "rumour-mongers" were filed on Tuesday, the company said, Efe news reported.

Wanda added that it was considering filing a lawsuit against the US-based online Chinese publication Boxun, which it alleged was the source of rumours.

On August 28 Boxun reported on Wang's alleged problems with the authorities, saying that he had tried to send his entire family to the UK on a private plane but was stopped by the authorities.

The report, which was shared on Chinese social media, caused the shares of one of the group's subsidiaries, Wanda Hotel Development, to fall 8.7 per cent.

The Chinese real estate giant did not elaborate on how many social media accounts it had sued, but cited 10 accounts from two networks and further warned that it was gathering information about the activities of other accounts.

Wanda is also seeking compensation of $75,500 and a public apology from every account holder who spread the rumours.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)