Further proof of the web’s power to shape public opinion: Reuters reports that China is creating a team of “internet commentators” to defend Chinese positions on controversial issues.
A special force of online commentators had already been operating in Suqian city in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu since April, the Southern Weekend said.
Their job was to defend the government when negative comments appeared on Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms, the weekly quoted local officials as saying.
Suqian city’s propaganda department recruited the commentators from among government officials, the weekly said, adding that they must “understand (government) policies, be versed in (political) theories and be politically reliable”.
“They will guide public opinion as ordinary netizens. This is both important and effective,” Ma Zhichun, one of the recruited commentators, was quoted as saying.
Further highlighting the power of internet for good and for bad, China already has internet police monitoring domestic web sites and bulletin boards for dissent.
