Fake information

Patients lie on beds in the emergency department of a hospital, amid the Covid-19 outbreak in Shanghai, China, 4 January 2023. (Reuters)

Are the Chinese facing a crisis of confidence in the government?

As the Chinese authorities ease Covid-19 controls and infections increase, hearsays about symptoms, treatments and folk remedies are widespread. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at why people fall for these baseless rumours and remain wary of the government’s responses.