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Chinese Bloggers Stage Hoax

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the riling-up-the-world dept.

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "It seemed like the latest instance of a recurring story: Two Chinese blogs had shut down, apparently the victim of government censorship. 'Within hours, English-language bloggers and Western news media spread the word that the Chinese government had closed the sites,' the Wall Street Journal reports. The BBC spread the word, and its report was picked up by the French free-press group Reporters Without Borders. 'But in this case, it appears the Chinese government wasn't involved, the WSJ reports. 'By Thursday, a day after the shut-downs, the blogs were back up and running. In an interview, Beijing-based journalist Wang Xiaofeng of Massage Milk says he shut his blog down to make a point about freedom of speech -- just one directed at the West instead of at Beijing. He calls the Western press "irresponsible" and says that the hoax was designed "to give foreign media a lesson that Chinese affairs are not always the way you think." ' The BBC later corrected its story."

5 of 437 comments (clear)

  1. That would never happen here because... by Martin+Blank · · Score: 4, Funny

    This post has been removed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Revelation of its original contents is a violation of DHS regulations. Violators will be fined, imprisoned, or both.

    --
    You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
  2. Re:Boys who cried wolf by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
    > And on the other-hand, how do we know the Chinese government didn't force them to say that?!?!
    > *adjusts tinfoil hat*

    And on the third hand, how do we know they weren't working for the Chinese government all along, as part of a psyops plan to discredit Chinese bloggers who oppose the government?

    *adjusts tinfoil hat with fourth hand and requests immediate beamout; the humans are onto me for some reason!*

  3. Simple revenge motive by Weaselmancer · · Score: 4, Funny

    They're just ticked off because The Onion keeps fooling them.

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    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  4. Re:Boys who cried wolf by bombadier_beetle · · Score: 5, Funny

    But when the US government does something, almost nobody says a word.

    You must be new here.

    --

    If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
  5. Re:Boys who cried wolf by Wescotte · · Score: 5, Funny

    My dad - yes yes he does NOT live in China - has an even stronger opinion than I have. He firmly believes that people are getting paid by the US government to bash the Chinese government. When the Chinese government does something, everybody yells 'OMG those communist bastards are 3v1l!!!'. But when the US government does something, almost nobody says a word.

    If he ever finds the agency paying these people to bash China (or any country) tell him to let me know.. Not that I have anything against China I just could use the money.

    Thanks
    Eric