A court in Shanghai sentenced a citizen journalist to four years in prison Monday after finding her guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" by reporting on China's early coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, per rights groups.

Why it matters: Zhang Zhan's conviction marks the first known sentence of someone "who chronicled authorities' early struggle to manage the outbreak," Bloomberg notes.

Citizen journalist and former lawyer #ZhangZhan, who went to #Wuhan to cover the #coronavirus pandemic, has been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for “picking quarrels”. She had staged a hunger strike in the detention center for several months in protest. https://t.co/FPiJYlqEsz

— CHRD人权捍卫者 (@CHRDnet) December 28, 2020

• Zhang is among several independent reporters "detained or disappeared" in a crackdown by Chinese authorities keen to portray the government's pandemic response as "effective and timely," per CNN.
• There's no free press in China.

Driving the news: The 37-year-old former lawyer came to the attention of authorities in February, after her reports were widely shared on social media, documenting how officials "didn't give people enough information" and "violated human rights," SBS reports.

• Zhang has been detained since last May, AFP notes.

Of note: Her sentencing comes as a World Health Organization-led international mission prepares to visit China next month to investigate COVID-19's origins.

Go deeper: The early days of China's coronavirus outbreak and cover-up

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details on Zhang's arrest and further context.