Henan CPC sets up ‘we-media’
Cross-platform ‘chat branch’ to help weed out falsehoods
The Communist Party of China (CPC) in the capital city of Central China’s Henan Province set up its first branch on local wemedia – a kind of participatory social media that crosses multiple social media platforms – in a move to enhance the Party’s work, regulate media platforms and help build a clean cyberspace environment.
The CPC committee representing Zhengzhou’s internet industry set up the branch on we-media on Friday, the first of its kind in Henan, local news site zynews.cn reported on Sunday.
The branch was formed by Party members from six local we-media accounts in Zhengzhou. It aims to spread positive energy and build a better bridge between the government, the Party and the people, according to the report.
“We-media has become an important battlefield for safeguarding our country’s cyberspace ideology. Some articles can receive more than 100,000 clicks that can easily guide public opinion,” Wang Sixin, a media law professor at the Beijing-based Communication University of China, told the Global Times.
China’s internet users are increasingly drawn to social media, where many opinion pieces are posted. Some authors, who have millions of followers, have become especially influential, experts said.
Wang noted that in order to attract the public’s attention, some we-media accounts fabricate stories, which can impact the public’s trust in the government and the Party, and threaten social stability.
The government has stepped up its regulation of we-media accounts in recent years and launching a Party committee is a move for self-discipline in the industry, experts said.
Sina Weibo, the Chinese Twitter-like platform, recently closed 778 accounts for publishing illegal information from January to April, Beijing Morning Post reported during the weekend.
“Anyone can have a social media account with an ID card and start to publish anything they want. The government’s efforts to clean up illegal online platforms is good and should be strengthened,” Wei Wuhui, a lecturer on the internet and new media at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told the Global Times.
However, Wang said that it is difficult to further regulate these media platforms because the government cannot jeopardize citizens’ freedom of speech. “So currently we can only guide them and punish these who violate the laws and regulations.”
In late March, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee launched lectures for 52 online Chinese representatives, including new media managers, online writers and internet celebrities, to let them spread mainstream thought and help purify the internet.