Chinese people are being threatened with seven years in prison if they dare to share news about the killer epidemic unfolding around them on social media.

The draconian punishment has been introduced as information and images have been leaking out that lay bare the extent of the coronavirus crisis — and the desperate attempts to bring it under control.

For while the ruling Chinese Communist Party is battling coronavirus, it also wants to control what people know about.

The country’s state-controlled People Daily newspaper ran an article warning people against spreading “rumours” on social media.

RELATED: Follow updates on the coronavirus outbreak

It declared those who “disrupt social order” by posting information that doesn’t come from official sources on social media risked up to seven years behind bars.

China’s huge online censorship system, which is known as the Great Firewall, is used to block any information the government deems to be “rumour” — or not a government source.

But footage showing how the government is dealing with the coronavirus crisis has been leaking out.

Some hospital workers have posted traumatic clips exposing how they are struggling to cope.

Other footage filmed by citizens and posted online has shown people being violently forced to wear masks as well as being barricaded in their own homes in a bid to stop the spread of the bug.

But the authorities are cracking down on what has been appearing on social media.

It emerged that eight medics raised the alarm on the coronavirus in December on a medical school’s alumni group on WeChat, a popular social network in China.

The whistleblowers from Wuhan have since been detained.

Earlier this week, a man called Fang Bin was tracked down and arrested after filming a covert video showing the true scale of the coronavirus as body bags pile up inside a Wuhan hospital.

The images from inside a medical facility in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the deadly viral outbreak, shows covered bodies lining corridors as staffers and patients walk the halls with masks on.

Human Rights Watch said police across China have detained dozens of people for their online posts related to the virus in recent weeks.

“Authorities should recognise that censorship only fuels public distrust, and instead encourage civil society engagement and media reporting on this public health crisis,” Human Rights Watch China researcher Yaqiu Wang said.

“The coronavirus outbreak requires a swift and comprehensive response that respects human rights.”

To fight negative commentary being spread by social media, the government-owned media has stepped up its propaganda, showing just how well it has been responding.

This has included numerous videos of the new 1000-bed hospital, which has now been completed in Wuhan.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission