The police in?Central China's Hubei province recently cracked down on a gang that profited by deleting negative information about officials online. Over 2,000 people nationwide were involved, and some of them made 100,000 yuan ($16,100) a month. A majority of their customers were officials or entrepreneurs. Comments:

When ordinary people find evidence that officials are corrupt but the authorities refuse to act, they have no other choice but to post the information they have online to attract attention. But the officials are willing to pay to get the information deleted, which has created huge market demand and bred an interest chain. In order to put a stop to this, the central leadership needs to strengthen the anti-graft campaign so that the demand withers.

Southern Metropolis Daily, May 21

The gang that deleted negative information did great social harm. Many corrupt officials are investigated only after evidence of their corruption is widely spread online. If this information is deleted, it will be a heavy blow to justice and give corrupt officials the confidence that they are secure. The action against deleting negative information must be strengthened.

Beijing News, May 21

The fact that so many people are busy deleting negative information online shows how influential online information is; sometimes rumors become so influential that corrupt officials hurry to delete them. The ultimate cause lies in the lack of public trust in the mainstream media. What is needed is the rule of law in the media industry, so that online forums no longer become platforms for reporting corruption.

Zhang Wei, a researcher at Chahar Institute, May 21