Ai Weiwei gave a 50 Cent Party troll an iPad to agree to be interviewed
Image credit: China Digital Times.
Dissident artist par excellence, Ai Weiwei, recently sat down with one of these experts at "steer[ing] discussion away from anti-party content" (read: trolling). The interview was granted on the condition that the troll's anonymity was preserved, and that he be given an iPad.
When and from where will you receive directives for work?Almost every morning at 9am I receive an email from my superiors - the internet publicity office of the local government - telling me about the news we’re to comment on for the day. Sometimes it specifies the website to comment on, but most of the time it’s not limited to certain websites: you just find relevant news and comment on it.
Can you describe your work in detail?In a forum, there are three roles for you to play: the leader, the follower, the onlooker or unsuspecting member of the public. The leader is the relatively authoritative speaker, who usually appears after a controversy and speaks with powerful evidence. The public usually finds such users very convincing. There are two opposing groups of followers. The role they play is to continuously debate, argue, or even swear on the forum. This will attract attention from observers. At the end of the argument, the leader appears, brings out some powerful evidence, makes public opinion align with him and the objective is achieved. The third type is the onlookers, the netizens. They are our true target “clients”. We influence the third group mainly through role-playing between the other two kinds of identity. You could say we’re like directors, influencing the audience through our own writing, directing and acting. Sometimes I feel like I have a split personality.
Can you tell us the content of the commentary you usually write?The netizens are used to seeing unskilled comments that simply say the government is great or so and so is a traitor. They know what is behind it at a glance. The principle I observe is: don’t directly praise the government or criticise negative news. Moreover, the tone of speech, identity and stance of speech must look as if it’s an unsuspecting member of public; only then can it resonate with netizens. To sum up, you want to guide netizens obliquely and let them change their focus without realising it.
Read the fascinating interview in full at the New Statesman.
[H/T: Charlie Custer]
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With regards to BBC_Redux and LSD2012
The world is full of psychopaths of one type or another. The real question is if there comments are of the variety... inadvertent naivety or purposeful libel.
Based on the body of evidence I'm going with clueless.
BBC_Redux has it partly right. Wumaos work in Chinese and on domestic sites. But 遊俠 is precisely NOT the dickwad in these exchanges and his/her question is a fair one. What makes you guys who regularly spread obvious disinformation tick?
A sacred crusade to spread BS? Being absolute losers in real life?
--"Dissident artist Ai Weiwei"?
I dont think this NED employee still likes to be called as dissident after the Blind Chen became a fee-loader in US, though the name "dissident" may help him evade hell of tax.
I reckon an enthusiastic poster in a forum suckered Weiwei into handing over an iPad and told him what he wanted to hear. LOL! But then, Weiwei has lots of money selling his junk art and dodging taxes, what is an iPad?
BTW, the so called Wumaos (if they indeed exist) do not post in forums such as Shanghaiists, they might be found in domestic forums where they can sway opinion (as per the allegations of people who invented the wumao tag) . People suggested by Shanghaiist as wumaos are mostly folks who like to wind up dikkwads like 遊俠. LOL!
Why ya calling me a dikkwad brah? Don't flame me brah, I'm just trying to give you guys some advice. I could only read Shangaiist for so long before I could no longer resist and had to sign up and help you guys out.
If they indeed exist. oh redux, you are so funny sometimes.
Hey LSD, dollyrama, jcyin, and company: any other interesting insights to add?
遊俠 girl, Shall I add you as American Wumao using newly developed 'sock puppet' multi-IP software to create fake online identities licking each others and spreading pro-American propaganda?
By Googlingt: "US spy operation that manipulates social media",
we will all be enlightened to know where you are from and what democracy really is. I only hope you'll get well paid for each of your 10 identities by NED or DOD.