Social media have become part of people's lives. All kinds
of social media are used
as platforms to interact with friends, get information and so on. In China,
there are 69.4 million internet users and 42.3% of their time is spent on
social networking (35th China Internet Development Statistics Report, 2015 ).
However, information on social media platforms is not properly vetted and such
potential false information can cause serious problems due to its fast
spreading speed. There is a huge amount of information on social media and
it is very difficult for ordinary people to determine the credibility. The wide
spread of false information could lead to serious consequences. Relevant
authorities like the cyberpolice and China Internet Network Information
Centre(CNNIC) should make laws to stop false information from spreading, and the
education sectors, especially for primary and secondary schools, should train
students with better digital literacy.
On personal level , false information could damage
people's reputation. A deliberate or unintentional rumor could lead to a human
flesh search, which might expose all personal details of the targeted person.
His reputation could be damaged and personal life could be disturbed. For
example, the Chinese anti-corruption campaign uses social media as a platform
to expose corrupted officials. However, some netizens use it as a chance to
discredit political opponents by posting false information online. The targeted
person could end up in internal investigation, which could be considered as a
stain on his profile. On a much larger scale, a false rumor about a
disease outbreak or a crime could cause mass panic and result in social
disorder. For instance, a rumor about a beast named Sibuxiang penetrating the
city of Taiyuan City, China in 1994 made the whole city panic and people
barricaded themselves inside their houses.
One approach to reduce false information spreading on
social media platforms could be legislation. China passed a law last year
regarding punishment of intentional rumor spreaders. According to this law, if
a post contains false information and it is re-posted over 500 times or gets
over 5000 comments, the poster will be sentenced for up to two years in jail
(China Supreme Court Explanation, Sep 09 2013).
For example, Qin Huohuo, a rumormonger, was sentenced two years on a
defamation charge and another year for affray in 2014. Such laws have shown
positive effects in stopping rumors spreading and easing severe consequences. Since
China prosecuted two people who spread rumors intentionally, there has been less
disguised fake information online now (Hu, Less online false information
spreading, Dec 07 2013). However, there are still many problems with
such a method. For instance, it is difficult to differentiate whether or not the
person is spreading false information intentionally. He may happen to believe
the information that he spreads. Also, implementing such laws means that
the government has to monitor the online voice everyday and block some voices.
On one hand, people may fear that the government uses such laws as excuses to
silence political opponents. On the other hand, China has been accused of having
a lack of speech freedom. Implementing such laws could worsen its international
reputation on human rights. In the end, no matter how strong the punishment is
or how strict the laws are needed, the source or benefit of spreading rumors is
still there. Such a method could only ease the consequences but never stop the
spreading as long as the benefit is still there.
Schools can help to reduce false
information problem. Schools should equip students with better critical
thinking skills, which might enable them to recognize rumors and false
information and then choose not to spread them. The primary reason that false
information could have such a huge influence is due to fast spreading, which is
done by ordinary people who could be easily deceived. So, this problem would
only stop when most people can recognize the problem by themselves. Schools
should add critical thinking skills to school syllabus and start relevant
lessons in primary and secondary schools. Such critical thinking skills, which
include how to identify the credibility of the poster, how to check evidence
provided by the author and so on, are relevant to digital literacy. Teenagers
who are aged between 10 and 19 make up to 26% of Chinese netizens. Hence equipping them with better critical
thinking skills is the most effective way of solving problem. The reason to
target teenagers is not only because of their large proportion but also because
their behavior will determine the future internet environment. Also, their
presence in schools make the cost much lower than educating adult who are out
in society. One more point to add is that, in this information explosion world,
having good critical thinking skills is not only useful in stopping false
information, but also helpful for students in their future life.
In conclusion, education could stop false information
from spreading from the source but its time frame is too long. It may take
years or even decades to see its effect. So I suggest to use both of the above
methods. In the short run, the Chinese government can keep current laws to
punish intentional rumor spreaders and prevent severe consequences. In the long
run, people would be taught to judge the credibility of sources by themselves
through education. Once the education method starts to show its effect, Beijing
can abandon the first one as people would be ready.
References:
第三十五次中国互联网发展状况统计报告，35th China
Internet Development Statistics Report (2015), Cyberspace Administration of
China. Retrieved from:
http://www.cac.gov.cn/2015-02/03/c_1114222357.htm
Jeffrey Parker, "New liquor ad featuring 'beast' ignites
panic in Chinese town," Des Moines Register, Dec. 20, 1994. Retrieved
from:
http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_sibuxiang_beast
最高人民法院解释关于打击网络谣言，Chinese Supreme Court Explanation of Stopping Online Rumors(2013, Sep 09), Xinhua News Agency, Retrieved from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2013-09/09/c_117293022.htm
Rumormonger Qinhuohuo given 3 years by Beijing court(2014, April) Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved from:
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140417000114&cid=1103
Hu, XY.(2013, Dec 07), 网络谣言传播热度下降， Less False
Information Spreading Online, Changjiang News, Retrieved from:
http://hb.ifeng.com/news/focus/detail_2013_12/07/1559504_0.shtml?_from_ralated
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