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WeChat, China's popular mobile messaging application offered by the Chinese Internet heavyweight Tencent, receives 30,000 reports of rumors from its vast number of users on a daily basis, according to a research.
Conducted by the Center for Internet and State Governance Research at Sun Yat-Sen University, the study found the app also blocks a further 2.1 million rumors a day.
Data collected from November 2014 to February 2015 shows that rumors most often focus on food safety, personal safety and diseases, usually with exaggerated figures and sensational pictures, according to Zhang Zhi'an, president of the university's School of Communication and Design.
The research also found that the most common days for spreading rumors are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, reaching peaks of 125, 128, 120 and 112 rumors respectively.
It also shows that 83 percent of rumors are spread by men, while only 17 percent are spread by women. However, the latter are more willing.
"Though it's very hard, we will fight rumors to the end", said Yang Guang, security director of WeChat.
WeChat has also expanded its methods of cracking down on rumors, including the website weixin110.qq.com.
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