Baidu has blocked commercial firms on its medical-related fora. (Photo : Reuters)
Online community Baidu Tieba has ended its commercial relationship in its medical sector as it received complaints over fake advertising, Shanghai Daily reported on Wednesday.
Baidu allows users and netizens to create a tieba or forum for a wide-ranging number of topics. Currently, the site is composed of 19 million sub-fora.
A user under the name Mayicai said on Jan. 9 that his role as the administrator of the site's hemophilia forum has been replaced by Liu Shanxi, a so-called expert but has been exposed as a quack doctor earlier in 2014.
Moreover, another post revealed that around 40 percent of the 3,259 fora about diseases were sold to quack doctors, drugs manufacturers and unlicensed hospitals. These "clients" were also said to be using the site to promote their products, the report added.
Meanwhile, Gemei TCM, a Guangzhou-based bio-technology company and health supplements seller, was caught through screenshots telling patients that its products are effective and that they do not need to see doctors anymore.
The firm administers Baidu's forum on high blood pressure, which has over 50,000 followers and participants.
The administration rights of a disease-related forum are being sold for at least 200,000 yuan annually, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
"Many patients gather at disease-titled forums to discuss their disease and share information. And thus such forums greatly concern users' health," Baidu said in an official statement on Tuesday.
However, the website remarked that "some administrators violate rules and take advantage of their posts to publicize commercial information and seek personal interests."
The statement further clarified that disease-related fora should only be partnered with reputable non-profit and professional organizations.
Baidu also noted that its hemophilia forum is now being administered by the non-profit group, Hemophilia Home of China.
Despite the Internet giant's statement, some netizens are still outraged by the issue, saying that the firm lacked social responsibility.
Previously, the company has also received ire from the online community for its bidding system for keyword advertisements.
