China tells Alibaba to divest media assets to curb influence – report

Beijing fears ecommerce giant has too much sway over public opinion through stakes in platforms such as Twitter-like Weibo, Wall Street Journal says

Beijing has reportedly told the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba to divest its assets in the media sector out of concern over the company's growing public influence.

Its founder, Jack Ma, the ebullient and unconventional billionaire who officially retired from Alibaba in 2019 but remains a large shareholder, has been in authorities' crosshairs in recent months.