China: Man accused of starting 'two-wife policy' online hoax detained

A man in China who allegedly spread a hoax about the country adopting two-wife policy has been detained. The man reportedly altered an image of a newspaper front page and added a headline declaring the official adoption of the "two-wife" policy.

The hoax apparently set social media abuzz with jokes on China's recent declaration of a 'two-child' policy. The original headline of the newspaper from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong was about the opening of a city meeting, the Yangjiang Daily reported, according to the Associated Press.

The state-run newspaper said that the man, identified as "Lin", was detained on the charge of fabricating a rumour. The altered image, which Lin created as a joke to share with his colleagues, was shared online on social media which caused an "ill impact", the newspaper report said.

The report did not mention about charges filed against Lin. It added that to Chinese authorities have been cracking down on hoaxes circulating on the internet.