• Tencent is one the media companies in China to come under fire recently from government watchdogs.

Tencent is one the media companies in China to come under fire recently from government watchdogs. (Photo : Getty Images)

The online news department of Chinese Internet titan Tencent has undergone disciplinary measures over an error in a headline referring to President Xi Jinping, three sources told the South China Morning Post on Thursday.

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The headline, which was for a report on the 95th anniversary celebration of the Communist Party of China on July 1, was meant to say "Xi Jinping delivers an important speech."

However, the wrong character in the word "deliver" was used, changing the word's meaning to "furious" or "have an angry outburst". Both characters have a similar spelling in Chinese but had a different appearance and tone.

Sources said because of the error, oversight of Tencent's news department was transferred from the Cyberspace Administration of China's branch in Shenzhen to its office in Beijing, which monitors most of mainland China's national news websites.

The error has also prompted China's Central Publicity Department to launch an investigation into the matter, including conducting a series of emergency meetings with officials at the tech firm.

The fate of Tencent's news department's chief editor, Wang Yongzhi, remains unclear.

Wang, a veteran journalist with extensive resume including a stint at the state-owned Xinhua News Agency, told reporters on Wednesday that Tencent's operations were running as usual.

"Everything is normal here. [The department] is working in accordance with the nation's laws," Wang said, declining requests for additional comment on the incident.

Tencent declined requests for comment.

Investigators also instructed Tencent to delete articles containing "inappropriate descriptions" of former state leaders in a section dedicated to the history of the Communist Party of China on the company's mobile news app platforms.

The authorities could issue a ban on the app if the necessary changes were not made, according to a source, who refused to be identified.

Chinese media is heavily regulated by the government, with mentions of senior government officials closely scrutinized.

Another major Chinese news portal, Ifeng.com, was also recently under fire for publishing "inaccurate reports and misleading news headlines", according to a report by The Beijing News.

The report said officials in Beijing had imposed administrative punishment on the site but did not disclose details about the penalties.

In December, four journalists were issued suspensions after the state-owned China News Service reported President Xi's "resignation" (ci zhi), instead of "speech" (zhi ci) during his tour of Africa.

An editor of the liberal Southern Metropolis News was also fired in March after its front page featured a picture of a sea burial of a prominent reformer and a headline of Mr Xi’s call for loyalty from state media, in what reports said was “veiled criticism” of Beijing.