How did Twitter rumors arise?

According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) published the 28th China Internet Development Statistics Report, as at the end of June 2011, the number of China's microblogging users in an astonishing 208.9% increase, has been from the end of 2010 63.11 million explosion to 195 million.

Large user groups are inevitably mixed, massive information has always been true and false, micro-bo, rumors and rumors of the "attack and defense war" almost every day.

5 Methods of micro-blogging disinformation

The cause of Weibo rumors is not mysterious, but the interests and psychological appeal. The point of interest is that some eye-catching gossip can easily spread the accompanying business information. The psychological appeal point is that people can use internet rumors to vent social grievances.

Based on these demands, rumors in the network communication platform has long been, but Weibo "readily forward" mode, so that rumors spread into the unprecedented fast lane. The typical case is the 2010 Jin Yong "died" incident, from the micro-blog released to the rumor only took 2 hours. If it is a daily news, the time to clarify is at least 1 days, and in the network, this is a long time, minutes, seconds for the unit calculation.

There are several kinds of methods of micro-blogging disinformation.

One is a figment of the shadows. such as microblogging once circulated "Monk with LV bag" photos, in fact, is a mage in Nanjing railway station to help lay eyes on the package.

The second is to invent. If you drink bottled water in the car can cause breast cancer, when the withdrawal is in case of hijacking can be inverted password alarm, need to rely on scientific knowledge or experience to falsify.

Three is taken out of context. such as the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau in June, and Beijing CDC for the outbreak of hemorrhagic E. coli in foreign countries issued a warning to the public, but was interpreted as "hemorrhagic E. coli invasion of Beijing."

Four is stealthily. The main performance of the text is inconsistent. such as Wenzhou motor vehicle accident, a search and rescue team appeared in the compartment of the photos were passed as evidence of survivors, another photo is a demolition in Wuhan, a woman was pinched neck scene, the woman was passed to the Ministry of Railways under the control of the families of the victims.

Five is the concept of a substitution. such as the May online spread of "Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction per capita investment 8 million" rumors, the actual Wenchuan earthquake is the entire reconstruction investment into Wenchuan only a county investment.

These rumours have been clarified, but that does not mean they will disappear forever. It is difficult to eliminate the old tunes, which is an important feature of the microblog rumors. In addition, the truth lag leads to rumors of fission, the Navy's push brings undercurrent, these characteristics also make rumors like "virus" stubborn.

The function and limitation of the rumor organization

Sina Weibo users in the surge period, in order to ensure the healthy development of Weibo, Sina Weibo set up a "micro-blog rumor" Official account, the false information to correct.

According to "Micro Bo rumor" Working group leader Tan Xu said, the platform mainly relies on the staff to identify and select information, and then edit through the check information source, contact the parties, inquiries and other ways to falsify. If you find false information, delete it immediately. If it has caused a greater impact, but also through the "micro-Bo Rumor" account issued by the rumor message to clarify. For the subjective malicious release of false news, Sina Microwave will temporarily close its release, attention and other functions, the most serious possible revocation of its account.

But Shenyang believes that this is far from enough, more people with different professional ability, hold different views of the crowd composed of more diverse folk "rumor alliance" is the battle rumors "magic weapon."

This May, dozens of scholars, lawyers, media, based on the Sina Weibo "rumor Alliance," the self-regulatory organization was established, the current number of fans over 50,000, the release of more than 170 microblogging, most of the tweets and comments are more than 1000 times.

However, because of the "rumor-union" of the Rumor Act has "selectivity", it also encountered many questions. Shenyang believes that, fundamentally, the "selective denial of the rumor" stems from the nature of the ability, position and values of the members of the Organization, that is to say, they refute rumours that they think "necessary" and "capable" of clarifying. The question of "selective rumor" shows that there is a possibility of the future differentiation of the rumor organization, which is the prospect that Shenyang wants to see.

"In the Internet world, there is no absolute right to speak, anyone has the power to refute the rumor, the diversification of the rumor organization can make up for a single organization ' selective denial ' of the disadvantages." Shenyang said, similar science squirrel will, shell nets such a popular science, neutrality of the rumor organization commendable, but should be encouraged.

What should the government think of opinion leaders

Among all the rumours, the "opinion leader" of the halo-head is certainly a matter of particular concern. Shenyang divides them into both short and stable types.

Short-term opinion leaders are often associated with specific topics, such as the person who has experienced the event, the eyewitness or the investigator with first-hand information, whose influence is generally limited to a specific event and exhibits a decentralized and temporary character. For example, "Guo Meimei incident" in the newspaper Kang Pengyong.

The stable opinion leader has the strong judgment and the analysis ability, has the certain social prestige, can put forward the splendid conclusion to the different domain reality question, receives the Netizen's long-term respect and the following. Its representative, such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Institute of Rural Development Yu, "Free lunch" initiator Deng, as well as the undisputed "Weibo queen" Chen Yao and so on.

The combination of the two groups of opinion leaders has greatly influenced the public opinion direction. For a stable opinion leader, the government should establish a stable and long-term relationship with the real problems they reflect.

However, it is necessary to emphasize that it is not the best policy for the government to conduct public relations or control over opinion leaders. The influence of a stable opinion leader largely derives from its independence, and as soon as it becomes the "mouthpiece" of the Government or interest group, the leader's qualifications are lost.

However, the drawback is that "opinion leaders" also have a time of uncertainty. August 6, Chen Yao through micro-blog on misinformation, "Guangzhou laid-off workers made a special contribution to the Hong Kong office" apology. In this regard, Shenyang believes that the response to the leaders of the unintentional loss of tolerance: "Even the most authoritative media will be wrong, not to mention as the ' media ' microblogging opinion leader?"

Finally, the largest base in Weibo is not a rumor-mongering or a common Internet user, they are onlookers, but also the most likely to become rumors of the "setter", "netizens must be aware of the spread of irrational public opinion will not only cause harm to the parties, but also to keep themselves away from the truth." ”