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PRC creates online propaganda units
China hires 'cyber-agents' to control public opinion on the Internet
BEIJING (AFP) - The Chinese government has started using "cyber-agents" to spread positive political messages on the Internet and better control public opinion, state media reported.
Several cities have set up special "online propaganda troops" who pose as ordinary Internet users in chatrooms and other cyber-forums as they spread favorable spin for the government, the Southern Weekend newspaper said.
One example is Suqian city in eastern Jiangsu province, which set up its own 26-member propaganda force late last month, recruiting mainly among officials with previous experience in public relations, according to the paper.
"Chatrooms are centers for public sentiment," said Lu Ruchao, a member of the newly established force. "It's very worthwhile for opinion workers to pay attention to these places."
The paper cited an example of how the force works in practice, saying it might react to, say, online criticism of the police force by posting positive views on the law enforcers.
"The police is working under the threat of knives and guns, so how can people criticize them," said Lu. "Of course we should step in and turn around public opinion on this issue."
Suqian is by no means the only place where such online propaganda warriors have been put to work.
The paper said that in Jiangsu province alone, the cities of Nanjing and Wuxi had set up similar groups already last year.
And by the end of 2004, a total of 127 officials from all parts of China had received special training in Beijing on how to form and steer public opinion on the Internet, according to the paper.
The report may indicate a new chapter has opened in the Chinese government's protracted struggle to come to terms with the Internet.
The country is estimated to have a total of about 100 million Internet users, meaning an unprecedented number now has access to a relatively free and unrestricted exchange of news and opinions.
Although the government has closed down thousands of cyber-cafes, it has realized that choking the Internet is not the answer, since access to online content also has huge advantages in terms of giving people technical skills.
Instead officials are resorting to ever more sophisticated methods of controlling the Internet in subtle but powerful ways, as the establishment of the online propaganda teams suggests.
Goddamn it....
then again, makes you wonder how come noone else has employed these methods previously... or maybe they have?
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