The removal of content from the Internet, the silencing of victims and the veto of journalists and researchers from accessing the places hit by the avalanche in Tibet are the main censorship mechanisms of the Chinese Government to control the information that circulates about the tragedy, according to a recent complaint by Human Rights Watch. The human rights organization points out these techniques as a repetitive pattern in the Asian giant. However, Beijing defends itself and ensures that the information is published "in an open, transparent and timely manner."

First modification: 09/02/2026 - 17:53

The Chinese government "has resorted to censorship and control" while the population of Tibet and Nepal recovers from the deadly avalanche of August 26, Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced in a statement on September 1.

"The voices of the victims themselves are practically absent," the entity condemned before detailing that the most disseminated content on Chinese networks focuses on official reports, rescue operations and the response of the authorities, while the testimonies of those affected and their families are barely documented.

HRW maintains that this way of proceeding is a pattern rather than an anomaly. "As in previous disasters, the choreography is familiar: restrict information, control the narrative and praise the determination and rescue efforts of the authorities," he noted.

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However, China defends itself by highlighting that, since the beginning of the emergency, Chinese social networks have spread numerous official videos, reconstructions of the disaster and images of rescue operations.

"Information from China is published in an open, transparent and timely manner," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun on Monday, calling out critics of the government for "maliciously slandering and speculating."

The spokesperson thus answered a question about the possible removal of videos of the disaster and about accusations, attributed to Tibetan groups abroad, that the authorities would be underestimating the numbers of dead and missing.

Federico Borello, deputy executive director and program director of HRW, explained to France 24 that similar allegations were made after the 2025 earthquake. "As long as there is total control of information and as long as Chinese or international journalists and researchers are not allowed access to the region, it will be very difficult to know exactly the numbers of deaths and the situation in the region," he noted.

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The deadly avalanche occurred last Wednesday after a glacial collapse that unleashed a mass of ice, rocks and mud that reached Gyirong, destroying the border crossing with Nepal.

The catastrophe has left at least 1,127 dead and more than 4,800 missing, according to the latest separate reports from both countries. Updates on the situation are published mainly with information coming from the Nepalese side, given the secrecy of the Chinese Government.

Read alsoCatastrophe in Nepal: more than 1,200 confirmed deaths; They organize symbolic funerals for thousands of missing people

Handcuffed press?

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported researchers and journalists who the Chinese government has denied access to the area affected by the flood or interviewing relatives of the victims. The organization's program director, Federico Borello, explained that this veto is imposed more severely in Tibet on researchers specialized in human rights.

Tibet, under Chinese control since the 1950s, is one of the regions in China with the greatest restrictions on news coverage, and foreign media trips to the area require prior authorization.

"Censorship and self-censorship are widespread throughout China, especially in Tibetan areas," where, according to HRW, "people can be imprisoned for threatening national security simply by sharing information abroad," even with their own family members.

Borello also speaks of a "transnational repression" against government critics who remain outside the country, a situation that "also intimidates researchers, even if they are doing their work remotely."

Chinese authorities have sanctioned at least ten people for spreading rumors related to the flood, according to HRW, which warns that information controls "can make it difficult for families to locate their loved ones and hamper understanding of the disaster and any future response."

After the flood, Beijing temporarily suspended the issuance of permits for the border areas of Shigatse Municipality, including Gyirong, which are subject to special control.

The Executive asked those who already had valid permits to avoid traveling to the area, citing risks for the population, rescue operations and the possibility of new secondary disasters.

Read also "Today is the last day": the search for hundreds of missing people in Nepal enters a critical phase

Content removal

The complaints of censorship were supported by Human Rights Watch due to the discovery of a video that, despite having gone viral worldwide on social networks, cannot be located from within the Asian giant.

The images correspond to a security camera at the Gyirong border crossing, which shows the moment when the flood devastates the complex.

The recording has circulated widely on the web, but does not appear in searches on Douyin (Chinese equivalent of TikTok), Xiaohongshu (similar to Instagram) and WeChat (an application similar to WhatsApp).

Although fragments, animated reconstructions and images after the devastation can be found, HRW deputy executive director Federico Borello points out that these excerpts are only "those that fit the official government narrative."

"There is no transparency about these decisions to remove these publications [from the web]," denounced Borello.

The absence of the complete recording does not allow us to determine if it was removed by the platforms or if the moderation and recommendation systems make it difficult to locate it.

However, images of the destruction in Nepalese territory do circulate on these platforms, where homes and inhabited areas devastated by the flood can be seen.

Read also “We cannot believe that everything has disappeared”: Nepal searches for hundreds of people after gigantic avalanche

With EFE

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