Six people have been detained by police in Dongguan, Guangdong province, for spreading a rumor that terrorists had carried out an attack in one of the city’s commercial districts.

A man surnamed Xian, who is a real estate agent, posted a story on March 5 on Baidu Tieba, a popular online forum, claiming that terrorists from Xinjiang had killed members of the public at Diwang Plaza.

The hoax quickly spread around the Internet, with photos of a smashed restaurant at the plaza causing some panic.

Police later discovered that the photos were actually taken by onlookers during a dispute at a local restaurant.

The authorities have punished the offenders – with several ordered to pay fines and the others detained for a short period of time.