The scene of the trial of the case. Courtesy of Hangzhou Internet Court
Chinanews.com, Hangzhou, December 12 (Guo Qiyu) On December 21, the Hangzhou Internet Court held a public hearing on the civil public interest litigation case of Guo Moumou, He Moumou, and Fu Moumou for the protection of martyrs, and ordered the three defendants to publicly apologize in the national media, and compensate a total of 12,21 yuan for public welfare damages, which will be used for social welfare matters such as the commemoration, remembrance, promotion and protection of revolutionary heroes such as He Kexi.
He Kexi joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1929 and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955. In August 2023, Comrade He Kexi's family found that some short video self-media used Comrade He Kexi's photo in the video and maliciously misinterpreted his image, and the relevant videos were forwarded in large numbers. Subsequently, He Kexi's family reported the above situation to the People's Procuratorate of Xihu District, Hangzhou.
After investigation, the public interest litigation plaintiff found that between October 2022 and July 10, Guo Moumou (account followers of 2023,7), He Moumou (account followers of 2.8 million), and Fu Moumou (account followers of about 356,0) produced and published short videos involved in the case through their respective self-media accounts. The short video involved in the case used a photo of Comrade He Kexi as the avatar of a negative historical figure, and the video was widely reposted on the Internet after it was released.
The public interest litigation plaintiff argued that the three defendants, as online self-media bloggers, should ensure the objectivity and truthfulness of the information they publish, and must not publish false online information that infringes on the lawful rights and interests of others. The three defendants failed to fulfill their obligation to release and verify information, and used the portrait of Comrade He Kexi to refer to the heads of historical figures with negative images. As a revolutionary pioneer, Comrade He Kexi made important contributions to the struggle for national independence and the people's liberation, and belonged to the category of heroes stipulated by law. The actions of the three defendants not only hurt the feelings of the relatives of the revolutionary heroes, but also undermined the social atmosphere and public morality of respecting the heroes, which is not conducive to the continuous inheritance of the common interests of the nation and harms the public interest, and they should bear civil tort liability in accordance with the law.
During the trial on the same day, the three defendants made it clear that they had realized their mistakes, apologized to the public, and voluntarily assumed the responsibility for public interest damages.
"The acts involved in the case infringed on the three personality interests of the revolutionary hero's portrait, reputation, and honor, and also harmed the public interest." Chen Zengbao, the presiding judge of the case and president of the Hangzhou Internet Court, said that the three defendants, as self-media bloggers with a large number of fans and a certain degree of social influence, should strictly check the authenticity and objectivity of the video content, and the video content involved in the case involves "traitors", and once the information is wrong, it is very easy to cause damage to the personality rights and interests of others. However, the three defendants were subjectively at fault for failing to prudently verify the content of the video in order to earn network traffic. The Court accordingly rendered the above judgment. (ENDS)