China's Internet Hunters Battle Morality One Mob At A Time
from the she's-a-witch-she's-a-witch dept
The internet is many things; one it does really well is be an angry mob. Fuelled by a high degree of anonymity and a general lack of accountability, people have no trouble piling on those who offend the general consensus, dare question certain online personalities or commit other transgressions. Apparently this sort of mob justice is hugely popular in China, where people engage in "Internet hunting" to dole out lessons in morality and even mete out punishments. For instance, one man, known as "Freezing Blade" thought his wife ("Quiet Moon") was having an affair with a student ("Bronze Mustache"). He posted a letter online denouncing the student, which led to tens of thousands of people hunting down his real name and address, with some even harrassing him at his parents' house and the university he attended before dropping out in the face of the attacks. Internet hunters also helped expose a Chinese researcher who faked his work, and while they were "right" in that case, the rise of this online vigilantism that carries over into the real world is a little worrisome. People often do things online they'd never contemplate doing in real life, but the safety of the mob is emboldening people to let their aggressive behavior cross over into the physical world. But what happens when they get their facts wrong, as appears to have happened in the case of Bronze Mustache. It's easy to get the mob fired up and going, but it's much harder to stop it.
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One thing it does not do,
(one it does really well is be an agry mob)
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Re: One thing it does not do,
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Great Article minus spellcheck
-Cßau
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Re: Great Article minus spellcheck
Also, while we're at it, it's "Techdirt", but that's just splitting hairs :)
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I know where you live spelling Nazi
Seriously, it's all fun and games until someone forgets that the internet is culturally and psychologically enabling because relative anonymity allows a degree of ribbing and expression that is bounded. Everything you read on the net, especially the mainstream news outlets, should be taken with a very large dollop of salt.
Those that take it into the real world are playing with fire. That guy you assume is some 7 stone dweeb might turn out to be the ex special forces undercover cop of your nightmares when you turn up at his door.
There are probably three legitimate exceptions. One is where you genuinely have reason to believe a crime has, or is about to be comitted, in which case you should make it known to the relevant authority. Another is where you are engaged in a real life business relationship with an online entity which goes bad, in which case you need real names and addresses to serve court orders. The last is to organise legitimate peaceful protest. It's ironic though that the same "emboldened" people who will take up pitch forks to harass an individual who's merely accused of some social misdemeanour turn into lethargic cowards in a state of absolute denial when faced with hard evidence of their govenments betrayal. With regards to quality of sources, the internet is no more reliable, and no less a conduit for hearsay, gossip and rumour than any other medium before it or yet to come.
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Give it a rest
Keep up the good work or get a life.
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An actual comment...not just spell checking.
I definitely do not condone the behavior in the post/article, but people just need to take the things they do online more seriously these days and protect themselves a bit more.
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Spammers vigilante justice?
Internet vigilante stories remind me of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 and the Cry Wolf fable. 1 person distributes false information (as a joke) and it causes widespread panic. How often will people believe that there is a wolf before they realize they're being manipulated.
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Vigilantes On-line
Ooops! Now I hope I'M not gonna get hunted dow... ARRrrrgh!!!!
Seriously, I was wondering about it given some of the things I see posted, photo'd and etc.
Remember our English Prof's and ethics instructors saying something about 'publish or say nothing that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the Washington Post (or local newspaper?!).
Still a good rule of thumb but, then again, there's also the saying that 'we're only as sick as our secrets.'
Here's to your health! :-) Diver D.
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