A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.
At one point, the story had been forwarded more than thirty thousand times and attracted more than six thousand comments.
In the summer, Mr. Hotton forwarded more e-mails reporting the sudden death of his major investor, a wealthy South African named Paul Abrams.
Yang was among the first victims of a new "judicial interpretation", announced this month, which endorses jail sentences of up to three years for users who write "defamatory" posts that are forwarded more than 500 times.
The rules gave some protection to citizens who accuse officials of corruption, but they also said a slanderous message forwarded more than 500 times or read more than 5,000 times could earn convicted offenders up to three years in prison.
But authorities have signalled they are increasing controls and targeting popular users by issuing a judicial decision that internet users could face three years in jail if they share rumours that are viewed more than 5,000 times or forwarded more than 500 times.
