Chinese reporter drinks river water to prove it's clean, stunt criticised

Zhujiang's mouth is located at the most industrialized and polluted Pearl River Delta

During a live-streamed video of a swimming event in the Zhujiang, known in English as the Pearl River, a reporter from the Southern Metropolis Daily drank a few mouthfuls of river water to prove that it was clean.

The screen capture of the livecast has gone viral on social media. In a number of media workers’ WeChat groups, journalists have called it an unprofessional and propaganda that has shamed the whole news media industry.

The swim was held on July 25 near Sun Yatsen University Pier in China's Guangzhou city at the lower course of Zhujiang. The annual event was under the