Last week, one of my Chinese classmates was explaining the extent to which the Chinese government regularly censors online content. He was also telling me about “Weibo”, a microblogging site similar to Twitter and Facebook. So when I spotted an article about Weibo on Slate.com, I decided to read on.
The article deals with the apparent downfall of the once invincible site, which at one point boasted 500 million users. It appears that the number of posts has dropped by about 70% due to a campaign by the Communist party to intimidate influential users. Though it was strongly censored by the government, the Chinese found ingenious ways to comment on Weibo. They miswrote words or used euphemisms. Unfortunately, it seems that in this case, the censors won out in the end, dealing a harsh blow to the site.
The author argues that in spite of this drastic decline in Weibo users, the Internet will continue to be a powerful tool for Chinese citizens who want to make their voices heard. She believes it will always be a cat and mouse game between the users and the censors, one where the pervasive desire for free speech will trump government censorship. To sum up her view: the dissidence will continue, whether it’s on one forum or another.
I am very interested in articles like these because I find it fascinating the extent to which technology has enabled political activism. You know social media is powerful when repressive governments works so hard to censor it. An awesome instance of the positive power of technology.
Link to the Slate article: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/02/12/weibo_decline_what_it_really_means_for_the_future_of_china_s_internet.html
The article deals with the apparent downfall of the once invincible site, which at one point boasted 500 million users. It appears that the number of posts has dropped by about 70% due to a campaign by the Communist party to intimidate influential users. Though it was strongly censored by the government, the Chinese found ingenious ways to comment on Weibo. They miswrote words or used euphemisms. Unfortunately, it seems that in this case, the censors won out in the end, dealing a harsh blow to the site.
The author argues that in spite of this drastic decline in Weibo users, the Internet will continue to be a powerful tool for Chinese citizens who want to make their voices heard. She believes it will always be a cat and mouse game between the users and the censors, one where the pervasive desire for free speech will trump government censorship. To sum up her view: the dissidence will continue, whether it’s on one forum or another.
I am very interested in articles like these because I find it fascinating the extent to which technology has enabled political activism. You know social media is powerful when repressive governments works so hard to censor it. An awesome instance of the positive power of technology.
Link to the Slate article: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/02/12/weibo_decline_what_it_really_means_for_the_future_of_china_s_internet.html