The word "rumor" has taken on a different meaning in China since the death of Li Wenliang, the doctor who was punished for trying to warn others about the spread of coronavirus.
Instead of doubtful hearsay, the word has come to connote the inconvenient truths that authorities are trying to hide -- just like Li's attempt to expose a dangerous outbreak that has to date claimed more than 2,900 lives, including his own.
"Rumor is just a prophecy far ahead of our times," says a quote widely shared online in China in recent weeks.
