In some rural areas, unapproved and exaggerated medical advertisements, such as "cancer patients regain their lives", "a hundred herbs can cure a thousand diseases", and "one day effective without recurrence", are printed in the style of newspapers and disguised as formal reports and distributed for free in rural areas, misleading audiences and disrupting medical order. How were these 'newspapers' generated? How to spread it? How to rectify? Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters conducted an investigation into this matter. Medical advertisements transformed into "newspapers" targeting rural areas. Journalists interviewed several villages in a western province, and occasionally saw "newspapers" called "New Rural Information Daily" and "China Sunshine City Daily" scattered on village roads or in some villagers' homes. Opening these publications, headlines such as "Cancer Patients Reborn", "A Hundred Herbs Can Treat a Thousand Diseases", "Same Day Effect, Never Recurring", and so on are eye-catching. After careful reading, I found that the content of the "newspapers and magazines" is all about promoting cases of treating various difficult and complicated diseases. In addition, these "newspapers and magazines" do not indicate official publication numbers. At the home of He Yong, a poverty-stricken household, the reporter saw graphic and textual publications containing advertisements for "divine doctors" and "divine medicines" placed in the bedroom. Some publications were used as window sunshades or pasted on walls. Upon closer inspection, this type of publication contains exaggerated terms such as "miracle drugs" and "miraculous effects," and even includes some vulgar content. When asked if such advertising publications are trustworthy, He Yong said, "I have limited literacy, and looking at these pictures is quite genuine. If needed, I would consider giving them a try." When the reporter dialed the phone number on the "New Rural Information Daily," a man who claimed to be Director Chen said that the newspaper was actually an advertisement for his own Chinese Medicine Hall, which is usually distributed for free in places with high foot traffic such as local markets and stations. When asked by reporters if all the diseases listed in newspapers and magazines could be treated, the other party said that they could all be treated. If patients do not have time to seek medical treatment on-site, they can also remotely inquire and prescribe traditional Chinese medicine to help mail. Director Chen also revealed that his store's advertising publications usually cooperate with local printing shops or customize them on online platforms, with the style of newspapers and magazines, and the entire page is the promotional information of his own Chinese medicine hall. "Printing the promotional advertisements into newspapers and distributing them, compared with ordinary advertisements, people will definitely be able to take a few more glances, and more people will come to my place." The reporter's investigation found that many online and offline printing shops have undertaken the printing and even design business of such advertising publications, and the price for printing 1000 copies is between 500 and 1000 yuan. The operator of an online printing shop said that they can help customers design newspaper styles by providing advertising content. In addition, they also provide newspaper naming services, and printing these "newspapers" does not require any qualifications, "just like printing small advertisements, you can print as you want." Many regions have launched special campaigns to crack down on "miracle doctors" and "miracle drugs" advertising. Journalists have investigated and found that illegal newspapers and magazines have been severely investigated and cracked down on in many parts of the country, cutting off their production, sales, and dissemination channels, achieving good results. But in recent years, some advertisements have once again donned the "coat" of newspapers and magazines, targeting audiences with weak legal awareness, lower education levels, and older age groups in rural areas for dissemination. Yao Hua, director of the Institute of Sociology at Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the information dissemination channels in rural grassroots areas are limited, but there is a strong demand for information, which makes it easy for illegal publications to mix in and become popular. "Bad advertising publications may not only promote false medical information, but also involve false social news, pornography and other content." Gan Chunmei, who lives alone in a township in western China, is over eighty years old, and reading newspapers and magazines is an indispensable part of her life. In recent years, she has often encountered advertisements disguised as newspapers and magazines. "After reading newspapers for a long time, I can distinguish which ones are fake, and sometimes I pick them up and use them as firewood to burn. The content on them is inevitable, and some information is indeed very misleading." At the grassroots level, there are not many elderly people like Gan Chunmei who have certain knowledge and often read regular newspapers and magazines. Many elderly people stay at home, lack independent judgment ability, and are easily deceived, which creates a breeding ground for illegal publications. Qiu Zhenqiang, the head of the Advertising Department of the Nanning Market Supervision Bureau, introduced that the bureau has formulated the "Implementation Plan for the Special Action of Advertising Supervision in the Livelihood Field" to vigorously investigate and punish advertisements of "miracle doctors" and "miracle drugs". Taking advantage of the large flow of people in rural areas, the market supervision department has invited the Nanning Food and Drug Safety Management Service Association, medical institutions in the jurisdiction, drug control offices, and drug trading enterprises to go deep into some towns and streets to popularize drug safety knowledge and common sense of real and fake drug identification to the public, and to safeguard the safety of drug use for the people. The forms of illegal publication advertising are becoming increasingly diverse and can be disseminated through various channels, including the internet, social media, offline promotion, etc., which has increased the difficulty of regulation Qiu Zhenqiang said that the virtual, covert, and cross regional characteristics of online sales of certain products pose great difficulties for regulation. To eradicate illegal advertising, it is necessary to strengthen supervision and crackdown. In the face of constantly changing forms of illegal pharmaceutical advertising, regulatory departments in many parts of the country are constantly increasing their efforts to crack down on and investigate. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation investigated and dealt with a total of 47600 cases of false and illegal advertising. In recent years, the market regulatory authorities in Guangxi have carried out multiple special campaigns to crack down on advertisements of "miracle doctors" and "miracle drugs". Since 2024, the entire Guangxi region has investigated and dealt with 74 related cases. Since 2024, the market supervision department of Jiangsu Province has launched a special action to regulate advertisements in the field of people's livelihood, severely cracking down on false and illegal advertising in medical, pharmaceutical, medical equipment, health food and other fields. The market supervision department of Anhui Province is closely monitoring the chaos of "miracle doctors and medicines" advertisements, continuously strengthening the investigation and management of pharmaceutical advertisements, and incorporating "miracle doctors and medicines" advertisements into the "iron fist" action for investigating and handling cases in the field of people's livelihood, focusing on regulating the order of the pharmaceutical advertising market. The interviewees believe that the content promoted in illegal publications not only threatens the physical and mental health of the elderly and disrupts medical order, but also weakens the credibility of the media. Multiple suggestions have been made to establish a long-term and effective crackdown mechanism, jointly purify the medical market, ensure the medical health and safety of grassroots people, and provide reliable channels for obtaining information. Grassroots interviewees suggested that we should thoroughly investigate the advertising operators behind the "miracle doctors" and "miracle drugs", impose certain punishments on illegal and criminal personnel, cut off the illegal advertising business chain, and actively carry out special rectification work on advertising supervision in the field of people's livelihood. Yao Hua and others suggest that in response to the information needs of rural readers, it is necessary to open up channels for newspapers, magazines, and other health reading materials to enter rural and remote areas, continuously improve the information literacy and health awareness of rural residents, and enable more elderly people to obtain correct information. At the same time, relevant departments and grassroots units should increase their efforts to crack down on illegal advertising, and through publicity, help elderly people at the grassroots level understand how to distinguish the authenticity of information. (New Society)