Page 243 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 7. The Yihuang incident

especially on Weibo with its large numbers of participants, makes it impossible at times

to prevent sometimes large numbers of people from accessing seemingly problematic
content and spreading it.
Cao Guowei, who was the CEO of Sina, was interviewed in September 2012 and
indicated that the containment of rumour dissemination and the business model for
Weibo would be the first two and the most important tasks for future development. Xue

(2011) indicated that, unlike conventional media, blocking or prohibition does not func-
tion well on the internet; whereas a whole clear-out may break the ecological balance
in cyberspace and lead to inestimable negative consequences for society and economic

development. Rumour dissemination has been one of the top problems for Weibo. As
Weibo develops, the huge flow of information with more instant dissemination and fre-
er speech will make it a hotbed for rumour dissemination. Terrible rumours can even
cause huge social panic and unrest. Rumour refutation work is a long-term strategy
work for Weibo (Li, 2016).

7.5.5.1 Causes of rumour on Weibo

Three factors are summarised for the cause of rumours on Weibo: physical rea-
son, psychological factors, and social reasons. Physical reason relates to the nature and

settings of Weibo. Unlike the layered censorship system in traditional media, it lacks a
customised filtering system that cleans out rumours and fake news (Yang and Zhang,
2010). Users’ self-discipline is the only ‘firewall’ that Weibo can rely on. However,
many of its users do not have the competence as information providers. The conse-

quence is that content on Weibo has a relatively high level of subjectivity and uncer-
tainty. Without the traditional gatekeeper to censor content that is about be distributed,
people with bad motives take advantage of Weibo and made it the breeding ground for
rumour (Quan and Fang, 2012). Combined with the instantaneity of information dis-

semination through Weibo, when rumours are received by the innocent but less-com-
petent users, they naturally contribute to the second-flow of rumour communication.
Moreover, as there is no entrance restriction to using Weibo, a large number of grass-
roots members gain the right of speech in the virtual space without economic or techni-

227
227