博文言过其实的危害_时事_双语阅读-查字典英语网

博文言过其实的危害

Some say Wang got away too lightly, especially compared with Wu Hongfei. Wu, a singer and writer, made news six months ago when she was arrested for posting threatening words on her blog. She said she "wanted to blow up the neighborhood committee" and a few other government agencies. She was detained for 10 days and fined 500 yuan ($82), but not prosecuted, possibly because of public pressure. She was said to have violated two clauses of the law, including "claims to use arson, explosion or harmful material to disturb public order" and "fabricating and purposefully distributing false or horror-inducing information".

Do I believe that Wang is a potential killer and Wu a potential arsonist? Not for a minute. It's a way to let off some steam. I can totally understand their frustration. We've all been in situations when clenching our teeth was not enough.

But what they did was wrong. Weibo is a public platform. Shouting "I want to kill him!" in the privacy of your home is not the same as saying it to hundreds of thousands of people. (Wang has 377,500 followers on his weibo account and Wu 133,100.) What if someone, like the police, takes you verbatim? You may laugh at the police for an unhealthy deficiency in humor, but you would definitely point a finger of blame at them if - and it's a big if - the person who posted it actually went out and did something bad but they had assumed it was just an articulation of anger.

The Internet is supposed to be a democratic platform where everyone has an equal opportunity for expression. In reality, it has evolved into a podium for shouting matches. To stand out in a pool of hundreds of millions of voices, many people will naturally resort to extreme means. Even otherwise professional websites often coin absurd headlines to lure readers. And on personal blogs, it is the most radical opinions that usually attract the largest crowds. Rationality is the biggest victim of social media, and moderates of all stripes are essentially drowned out by torrents of venom.