Beware of rumor online

不要让微博成为“谣言传播器”

Until last month, the 21-year-old had believed that he was part of a broader movment, one of enlightenment and open criticism. Recently, however, Wang’s micro blog is silent.
直到上个月，21岁的他还相信自己是这项广泛的微博运动的参与者，以为自己是一个思想开明且可以公开发起声讨的一份子。然而最近他的微博却沉默了。

The reason? It’s because of a woman known as “Zhao Meimei”. Earlier this month, Wang joined many other users to criticize the US-based student for her wealthy overseas life, because they thought her money came from corruption since her mother was a local official.
究竟是什么原因呢？全是因为一位被人们称为“赵美美”的女士。本月月初，王刚辉同其他网友一起声讨这位留美学生在国外的奢华生活，因为他们认为她的钱都来自于贪污腐败，只因她的妈妈是一名地方官员。

But later Wang found out that the woman student was actually being supported by her father, a hard-working businessman.
但后来王刚辉发现，事实上那名女学生是由她的父亲、一位刻苦工作的商人供读的。

“I felt guilty… Someone hid part of the truth to make a conflict. The worst thing is – I did not even have a chance to apologize to her,” he says.
“我有一种负罪感……有人掩盖了部分事实，目的是为了制造事端。最糟糕的是，我甚至连向她道歉的机会都没有，”他说。

Wang is not the only young Internet user to be confounded by an online world made up entirely of fragmented information.
同很多年轻网友一样，王刚辉被全由支离破碎的信息组成的网络世界给弄糊涂了。

This year saw a phenomenal boom in micro-blogging in both private and public life.
今年，无论是在私人还是公众生活中，人们都清楚看到了微博的繁荣壮大。

According to statistics from the International Communication Office of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee last month, the number of micro bloggers in China now exceed 300 million.
根据中央外宣办上个月公布的数据显示，现在中国的微博用户超过3亿人。

For private users, a micro blog can provide real-time updates from anyone a user chooses to “follow”. These can range from family members to celebrities. Information can instantly be spread through “re-tweeting”.
对于私人用户来说，微博可以提供来自于你所关注的任何人实时更新的消息，包括家庭成员和明星。这些信息可以通过被转发而迅速传播开来。

In the public sphere however, a micro blog can also become a link between users and the authorities.
而在公众领域里，微博可以成为连接用户同政府部门的纽带。

According to an annual government affairs report on micro blogs, over 20,000 governmental agencies in China launched official accounts this year, increasing 200 percent from last year.
据微博上的一份政府年度工作报告显示，今年中国有超过2万个政府机构开通了自己的官方微博，比去年增长了两倍。

However, with the increasing popularity of micro blogs comes a number of problems.
然而，伴随着微博的人气与日俱增，一系列问题也随之而来。

Chen Changfeng, deputy director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University, highlighted two major types of misbehavior that can occur on micro blogs and upset young users.
清华大学新闻与传播学院的副院长陈昌凤强调了微博上的两类主要不良品行，它们可能会扰乱年轻用户。

“Some marketers engage in sensational promotion in an effort to generate hype for some person or product; others use the free channel to manufacture and spread fake news and rumors like a virus,” Chen says.
“一些从事鼓吹式宣传的营销人员会极力地为一些人或产品进行大肆宣传；另一些人则会利用这个免费的渠道来捏造虚假新闻以及谣言，并使得它们像病毒一样传播开来。”陈昌凤副院长表示。

He says that an average micro blogger receives and transmits info, but when faced with such a vast amount of information, lacks the ability to discern the difference between the real and the fake stories.
他表示，普通微博用户往往会接收并传播信息，但当面对如此大量的信息时，它们却缺乏辨别真假消息的能力。

As a result, rumors on micro blogs are rampant, such as the salt crisis and the alleged death of novelist Jin Yong.
结果，微博上谣言猖獗，例如“盐慌”和所谓的金庸死讯。

Having realized this, Internet users have come together to combat micro blog misconduct by forming voluntary groups such as the Rumor Clarification Association.
网友们已经意识到这一点，并联合起来成立了包括“辟谣联盟”在内的一些志愿者团体，来打击微博上的不当行为，。

Zhu Xun, 27 is an editor of the Squirrel Club, an organization that appeals to common sense in its attempts to discredit online rumors.
27岁的朱迅（音译）是“科学松鼠会”的一名编辑，该组织依据致力于借助常识粉碎网络谣言。

“If you give a careful second thought, you’ll discover that many micro blog rumors just lack grounds,” says Zhu.
“如果你仔细想想，就会发现很多微博上的谣传是毫无依据的。”朱迅说。

He recalled a recent micro blog rumor which claimed that two students at the Wuhan Textile University had been murdered and their kidneys removed.
他回想起近期的一条微博谣言，该微博称称武汉纺织大学的两名学生被谋杀且肾脏被摘走。

“But a kidney for a transplant should be taken when the donor is alive, and even then, the chance of a match is only 0.001 percent,” he explained.
“但是用于器官移植的肾脏应该在捐献者活着的时候被取下，但即便那样，配型成功的几率也只有0.001%，”他解释道。

Such groups form only one part of a broader framework of cyber-supervision. The government and individual operators of micro-blogging sites have also stepped in to monitor posted content.
此类的团体只是较庞大的网络监督构架中的一部分。政府和微博网站的运营者也已参与到内容监管中。

Last week, the State Internet Information Office revealed that 206 micro blog accounts had been shut down for dispersing pornographic information.
上周，国家互联网信息办公室称，206个微博账户由于涉嫌散播淫秽内容，已被关闭。

Deputy Director, Qian Xiaoqian, said: “The government has to verify the facts and present the real story to lessen irrational fear, and penalize those who break relevant laws.”
国家互联网信息办公室副主任钱小芊说：“政府必须核查实情和摆出真相，以此来减少无端恐惧，同时要惩罚那些违反相关法规的人。”

The Sina Weibo micro-blogging site has created a separate account to refute rumors. According to Chen Jinguo, a Sina senior PR manager, they’ve both filtered the illegal content and employed a team to check published posts for inaccuracies.
新浪网高级公关经理陈金国（音译）称，新浪微博已开设独立账号来粉碎谣言。他们已经过滤违法内容，并有一支团队专门检查已发布帖子寻找不实信息。

“But it’s still the prime duty for every user to be aware of thinking and deciding whether to publish or re-tweet any info on their micro blog,” said Zhu.
“但对于每个微博用户而言，留心思考并决定是否发布或转载任何信息仍是首要责任。”朱迅说。