China's top internet regulator has launched a month-long special campaign aimed at fostering a "festive, harmonious and positive" online environment ahead of the 2026 Spring Festival, with a particular focus on harmful and misleading content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), according to an official notice issued on Thursday.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced that its "Qinglang" operation will focus on the upcoming Spring Festival and run for one month starting immediately. The campaign seeks to address prominent online ecosystem problems that have drawn strong public concern during the holiday season, especially on platforms and services frequently used by netizens.

The authority said the campaign will target four major categories of online misconduct, with special attention to the misuse of AI technologies, including the mass production of low-quality content that is logically incoherent, devoid of substance, or highly repetitive.

The campaign will also curb the abuse of AI technologies to insert vulgar or violent elements into classic animations, films and television productions for parody or sensationalist effect.

Authorities will also target the bulk generation of so-called "motivational web essays," "dominant CEO fantasy dramas," and "expert popular science" content in text, image and short-video formats that may mislead netizens' understanding and judgment.

The campaign will also address online "fan circle" conflicts related to Spring Festival galas, holiday film releases and major sporting events, where organized online attacks and rivalry-driven harassment are common.

"In the digital age, content production is extremely convenient and dissemination is highly efficient, which has led to an explosion of information. The introduction of AI has further increased production efficiency and speed while significantly lowering dissemination costs," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, a telecom industry association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The sheer volume of such content may negatively affect social values and moral standards. In response to this issue, regulators have introduced targeted requirements governing the use of AI. This approach largely relies on government oversight to ensure the quality of information disseminated online, Xiang said.

According to the notice, regulators will also crack down on content that promotes "anti-marriage" or "anti-childbirth" narratives, fuels gender antagonism, or exaggerates so-called "marriage phobia" and "fertility anxiety" during the campaign.

Online displays of wealth under the guise of "New Year shopping" or "Spring Festival customs competitions" that promote unhealthy comparison and social division will also face scrutiny.

Recently, some online accounts have been posting AI-generated content without proper AI labeling, using false or misleading information to deceive the public. This behavior has disrupted the online ecosystem and caused serious negative effects. In response, cyberspace authorities have urged websites and platforms to conduct thorough inspections and remediation, China Central Television reported.

So far, 13,421 accounts have been dealt with in accordance with the law and platform rules, and more than 543,000 pieces of illegal or non-compliant content have been removed, the media report said.