Article 246 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (2020) specifies the penalties for those who publicly insult others, or defame others by fabricating information. In the model cases against cyberviolence and crimes released by the Supreme People’s Court on September 25, 2023, Article 246 was used as the basis for two model cases involving defamation of character and revenge porn. In Wu’s online defamation case, the victim posted a note titled “My Daily Life with My Grandfather” on the social media platform Xiaohongshu. The defendant, Wu, altered a series of notes and fabricated content. The defendant posted altered content that a “73-year-old entrepreneur from Dongguan, Qingxi, marries a 29-year-old beauty from Guangxi, offering cash gifts, an apartment, and a luxury car,” on the social media platform Jinritoutiao. This fabricated content was shared widely, leading to several insulting comments. Wu was prosecuted for defamation and eventually sentenced to one year in prison. In the other case of Wang v. Li, Wang who initiated the case under private prosecution, had been in a relationship with the defendant, Li, during which time Li took nude photos of Wang. After they broke up, Li posted Wang’s nude photos and texts such as “paid dates” and “bed photos” in a WeChat fan group for Wang with over 400 members. The content then spread and led to ridicule and attacks on Wang. The Nanshan District People’s Court of Guangdong Province ruled that Li’s actions constituted humiliation under Article 246, sentencing him to one year in prison.
《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百四十六条明确了对以暴力或者其他方法公然侮辱他人或者捏造事实诽谤他人的处罚。在最高法2023年9月25日发布的依法惩治网络暴力违法犯罪典型案例中，刑法本条为以下两个性名誉诽谤和报复性色情侮辱案例的法条依据。在吴某某诽谤案中，受害人沈某某曾在社交平台小红书发布笔记“我与外公的日常”。被告吴某某篡改了这一系列笔记，编造内容如“73岁东莞清溪企业家豪娶29岁广西大美女，赠送礼金，公寓，豪车”并将篡改后的内容发布到了社交平台今日头条上。吴某某编造的内容在网络上被大量转载，引发了许多侮辱性的评论。吴某某被以诽谤罪公诉，最终被判处有期徒刑一年。在另一个案件，王某某诉李某某中，自诉人王某某曾与被告人李某某交往，其间李某某拍摄了王某某裸照。两人分手后，被告人李某某在自诉人微信粉丝群（成员400余人）内发布自诉人裸照、“有偿约炮”“床照”等文字。相关内容被大量转发传播，引发对王某某的嘲讽攻击。广东省深圳市南山区人民法院判决李某某行为构成侮辱罪，判处有期徒刑一年。