Users agree the Internet is a pipeline for deceit
Source: Xinhua |
September 9, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE majority of participants in an online survey conducted by the China Youth Daily newspaper believe the Internet is China's most significant source of baseless rumors.
Nearly 86 percent of the 1,714 people polled regard the Internet as the most common channel through which unchecked rumors are spread, followed by word of mouth and mobile phone text messages, the newspaper said yesterday.
According to Hu Yong, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, the popularity of microblogs and other online communication media has resulted in a proliferation of falsehoods.
He blames the ability to speak anonymously on the Internet, which makes it difficult to trace the sources of rumors and verify their authenticity.
Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblogging service, last month asked its millions of users to help stop the spread of unchecked rumors. The company warned that microbloggers will have their accounts suspended for a month if they are found to be posting messages containing false information.
Government officials have also weighed in. Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, has encouraged Internet companies to stop the spread of "false and harmful information" and to "ensure the authenticity of information and create a healthy online media atmosphere," according to the Beijing Daily.
Nearly 86 percent of the 1,714 people polled regard the Internet as the most common channel through which unchecked rumors are spread, followed by word of mouth and mobile phone text messages, the newspaper said yesterday.
According to Hu Yong, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, the popularity of microblogs and other online communication media has resulted in a proliferation of falsehoods.
He blames the ability to speak anonymously on the Internet, which makes it difficult to trace the sources of rumors and verify their authenticity.
Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblogging service, last month asked its millions of users to help stop the spread of unchecked rumors. The company warned that microbloggers will have their accounts suspended for a month if they are found to be posting messages containing false information.
Government officials have also weighed in. Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, has encouraged Internet companies to stop the spread of "false and harmful information" and to "ensure the authenticity of information and create a healthy online media atmosphere," according to the Beijing Daily.
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