Rumours are currently circulating on Twitter that Xi Jinping, the leader of China, has been placed under house arrest and there is currently a coup underway by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). It is my assessment that these rumours are not based in fact. Below I will debunk some of the claims being made.
Mass Flight Cancellation
Many people are pointing out the lack of flights over China using websites like FlightRadar24. This same website allows users to change the time to look at historical flights. If you turn back the time to one week ago, you will see that flights remain relatively the same. Some flights have been cancelled but this is due to a major storm approaching from the southeast over the Philippines. The image below shows the approaching storm.
Mass Troops Movements
No credible sources of troop movement have been seen online. Images and videos circulating all appear to be years old. Troop movements on their own also aren’t of much concern as every major military move its forces around for a multitude of reasons.
Rumour Origin
The rumours seem to have begun from a Tweet sent by an Indian news outlet that didn’t include sources of rumours. Some people have suggested it began with an insurrectionist group that operates in the Tibet region of China and was then picked up by Indian news outlets.
Conclusion
At this time, the rumours of a coup in China are most likely just that and have no basis in reality. Posts on Weibo don’t seem to indicate anything particularly different happening in the nation at the moment.
Layman's Terms 