Editor : Lin Yan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/01/05/a103024803.html / Direct translation
When SARS-CoV-2 (CCP virus) spreads globally, the epidemic in China does not seem to be serious. However, this may not be the case. Thousands of leaked documents show that the CCP has spared no expense in using its cyber forces to control public opinion on the pandemic on Internet, demanding to downplay the crisis and suppress those who spread the truth about the epidemic.
The New York Times and ProPublica recently published a long report that the leaked documents show that the CCP’s paid cyber army has received unified management and training, and according to the document instructions issued by the National Internet Office (CNC), the Internet is continuously censored and controlled. , To cover up the truth of the epidemic, to use social stability as an excuse to brag about the CCP’s ability to control the epidemic.
A hacker organization named CCP Unmasked shared with the New York Times and ProPublica more than 3,200 instructions and 1,800 memos and other documents from the Office of Cyberspace Affairs. It also includes information from Urun Big Data Services (Urun Big Data Services). ) Internal files and computer code, and the software produced by the company is used by the local government of the Chinese Communist Party to monitor Internet discussions and manage online cyber forces.
The New York Times and ProPublica articles believe that these documents outline in great detail the system that helped the Chinese Communist Party authorities control online public opinion during the epidemic.
Redoubled suppression of social media, epidemic news is contained
On February 7, 2020, Dr. Li Wenliang, who had issued a new virus warning and was threatened by the police, died of covid. As soon as the news broke, grief and anger quickly spread on Chinese social media. But people's voices were quickly suppressed, and the news about Dr. Li Wenliang quickly faded.
A confidential document transmitted to local news websites and social media platforms showed that Dr. Li’s death constituted an “unprecedented challenge” and may trigger a “butterfly effect”. The officials of the Cyberspace Administration of China must work hard to stop “inappropriate” news, and withdraw the report guide.
The confidential document ordered news sites to "not comment or hype," not mention the news of Dr. Li's death, and ordered social platforms to gradually remove his name from the hot topics page. Officials also activated many fake online commentator accounts, filled social networking sites with distracting information, and even deployed security forces to silence unauthorized speech.
The article pointed out that although the CCP makes no secret of its belief in strict Internet control, the leaked documents show the CCP’s behind-the-scenes efforts to maintain tight control. Such efforts require a huge bureaucracy, military, and specialized private contractors. Technology, continuous monitoring of digital news media and social media platforms, is expensive.
The document also shows that CCP officials are trying to guide public opinion not only to prevent domestic panic and to expose “destructive lies”, they also want to make the epidemic appear not serious, and attribute this to the CCP’s effective control.
The picture shows the Chinese who disclosed the truth about the Wuhan epidemic: Li Wenliang (top left), Zhang Zhan (top right), Li Zehua (bottom left), Fang Bin (middle), Chen Qiushi (bottom right). (Epoch Times Synthesis)
Control the narrative details down to the headline font thickness
According to documents, the State Cyberspace Administration of China’s public opinion control over the CCP virus epidemic began in early January 2020. A directive requires news websites to use only government-released materials and not to be compared with the SARS epidemic.
In early February, a high-level meeting of the Chinese Communist Party called for strengthening the management of digital media, and local cyberspace affairs offices began to take action. An instruction from the Office of the Cyberspace Administration of China stated that the agency should not only control information within China, but also seek to "positively influence international public opinion."
Agency staff began to obtain links to relevant articles that needed to be promoted, and pointed out which articles should appear on the homepage of the news site, how many hours should be kept, and even which headline should be displayed in bold.
There are also directives that online reports should fully highlight the "heroic behavior" of medical personnel dispatched to Wuhan and the "important contributions" of Communist Party members.
There is also a directive that the title should avoid using words such as "incurable" and "fatal" to "prevent social panic." When reporting on movement and travel restrictions, the vocabulary used with "closure" is not used. Multiple directives emphasize that "negative" news about the virus must not be promoted.
The directive calls for a downplay of the crisis and severe suppression
The Office of Cyberspace Affairs also controls reports on overseas donations and purchases. There is an instruction to avoid giving people the wrong impression that China’s fight against the epidemic depends on foreign donations.
In addition, the Cyberspace Administration of China also requested that some live videos be deleted, including some corpses that appeared to be exposed in public places; scenes of people shouting angrily in the hospital; videos of workers carrying corpses from the apartment, a child who was quarantined, and a video of a crying mother.
The death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang made people very angry. An instruction from the Cyberspace Administration of China stated that the Cyberspace Administration of China will "strictly" handle the accounts of those who publish sensational stories.
Another instruction read, "Pay special attention to pictures with candles, people wearing masks, all-black pictures, or other posts that advertise the matter."
A large number of online memorials began to disappear, and reports written by publicity staff in Hangzhou showed that the virus has been strictly controlled.
A local official reported that the people they hired posted more than 40,000 online comments, "effectively eliminating panic among urban residents."
People in another county boasted that they "severely cracked down on" the rumored message: the police investigated 16 people, warned 14 people, and detained 2 people.
Another area said that they have more than 1,500 “net soldiers” monitoring semi-closed chat groups on WeChat.
Researchers estimate that there are thousands of people in China working part-time, publishing, commenting, and sharing content that strengthens national ideology. Many of them are low-level employees of government departments and party organizations. Universities also recruited students and teachers for this purpose, and the local government organized training courses for them.
Use technology companies to program cyber military
In addition to the system controlled by the Cyberspace Administration of China to perform public opinion control, the New York Times and ProPublica articles also pointed out that the CCP also uses special software to shape what the public can see online.
According to the article’s analysis of computer codes and documents from Yunrun, the company’s products can track online trends, coordinate review activities, and manage fake social media accounts to post comments.
A software system of Yunrun provides government workers with a smart and easy-to-use interface that can quickly add favorite content to posts. Administrators can use the system to assign specific tasks to reviewers and track the reviewers' completion of the tasks to determine the reviewers' remuneration.
A document shows that commentators in Guangzhou can earn $25 for publishing an original post of more than 400 words; deleting negative comments can earn 40 cents; and each repost can earn one cent.
Yunrun has also produced a smart phone application to simplify this task. Commentators can receive tasks in the app, post relevant comments from their personal social media accounts, and then upload screenshots to prove task completion.
To help train commentators, the company also produces software similar to video games, allowing two groups of commentators to compete with each other to see which group can generate more popular posts.
In addition, the Hangzhou Cyberspace Administration began to use a "quarterly score card" while reviewing the network. According to articles in The New York Times and ProPublica, each outlet has 100 points at the beginning of the quarter. Points will be deducted if there are not enough posts or comments to monitor. Excellent performance can add points.
According to a report, in the first quarter of 2020, two local websites lost 10 points each for "publishing illegal information related to epidemics", and a government portal received two additional points for "actively participating in public opinion guidance". Minute.
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