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China Allows Most Online Criticism But Cracks Down On Mobilization and Gossip
hackingbear writes "Harvard sociologist Gary King has just completed two studies that peer into the Chinese censorship machine — including a field experiment within China that was conducted with extraordinary secrecy. Together, the studies refute popular intuitions about what Chinese censors are after. He found that the censors actually permit 'vitriolic criticism' of China's leaders and governmental policies but the censors crack down heavily on any move to get people physically mobilized to act on such criticism. In a related development, China's top court issued a ruling on Monday to threaten a 3-year sentence for people posting online rumors viewed by 5,000 internet users or reposted more than 500 times. Though, in the same ruling, the court also clarified that a person reposting false rumor should not be punished if he or she does not clearly know the information is false, even if real harm is done. "
"...any request for me to physically move."
In other news, fat lazy welfare parasites are exploding across China.....
...censors actually permit 'vitriolic criticism' of China's leaders and governmental policies but the censors crack down heavily on any move to get people physically mobilized to act on such criticism.
So. Am I to conclude from this observation that China has enacted the same essential policy as the United States of America?
The "Big Brother" societies have discovered that a "Free Press" can be managed to function as bread and circuses once did. This is the dictum: "You are free to say whatever you like, provided that you act withing the proscribed boundary."
Now is the time to sing "Barret Brown's Body".
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
In Soviet Russia the government controls the media. In Capitalist America the companies that control the media have their interests aligned with those of other companies and together they control the government and public opinion. No In Soviet Russia joke, sorry.
The second system is superior since in the first the manipulation is obvious, in the latter people can pretend it isn't.
The big difference here is, these three hypothetical people will not be facing a three-year sentence.
You may equate an FBI investigation with actual imprisonment all you want, but in practice there is some difference.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.