Power, Spectacle, and Memory - Impact of Social Media in China - Case Study Example

Power, Spectacle, and Memory: The Impact of Social Media in China Chinese Social Media and the Government Power, Spectacle, and Memory: The Impact of Social Media in China Chinese Social Media and the Government Social media has become a powerful tool for organized and collective action. The immense popularity of internet celebrities is critical in impacting millions of their followers to be influenced by their supposedly false posts and messages. There have been many uprisings and protests which have been fuelled by means of social networks to gain support and communicate important messages. The Sina Weibo case in China is just one example of how popular social media celebrities exert influence on their followers and how this can have detrimental impact on the government in terms of policy changes. Charles Xue more commonly known by his Sina Weibo screen name Xue Manzi confessed to having made mistakes pertaining to his online posts on the social network (Zhai 2013, n.pag.). Xue confessed to his crimes as a micro blogger on Sina Weibo where he presumably spread rumors (Custer 2013, n.pag.). A charge was filed against Xue along with other micro bloggers. However, Xue has set himself apart and is acting as an example to admit to his blogging crimes thereby helping the government to regulate the internet. At first, this might seem quite trivial however the impact of social networks on a country’s interest and government policies cannot be undermined. According to Shirky, the internet and social media is a place of varied players including citizens, activists, NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations), telecom companies, software houses, governments, and so on (2011, 1). The presence of various actors on the internet and social media has raised concerns regarding its ability to influence a particular country’s interests and government policies. The social network Sina Weibo is extremely popular in China is known as “China’s Twitter” (“China’s Memory Hole” 2013, n.pag.). Xue has been known in the Weibo-sphere as a supporter of positive social causes including anti-kidnapping campaigns, clean water campaigns, etc and has been known to for his involvement in good causes as he spoke of the social media’s power to do good. However, his actions and confession sends out a completely opposite message to his millions of fans and followers and Xue now seems to be remorseful. He hopes to set an example by admitting his online crimes and helping the government to regulate the content on the internet. Much of the concern regarding the regulation of internet in particular social websites like Sina Weibo arises from the fact that pressure fuelled up by public opinion communicated over Weibo resulted in a change in government policy regarding air pollution. Also, the government was forced to start reporting the PM 2.5 levels in a timely manner (Custer 2013, n.pag.). Not only this, but public opinion regarding corrupt and inefficient government officials over Sina Weibo resulted in the removal of these officials from office. The spread of rumor online has caused the government to censor online content particularly on social websites like Sina Weibo. As of now, several posts and images have been removed and deleted from Sina Weibo website as a result of censorship (“China’s Memory Hole” 2013, n.pag.). Unlike the United States, the social media in China is highly decentralized which is why the responsibility of censorship falls under numerous internet service providers (King, Pan, and Roberts 2013, 1). Thus, the government has employed a method which fines or takes other actions against them is they fail to comply with the government requirements regarding censorship. This step, as King, Pan and Roberts explain, has been taken “to limit freedom of speech” and therefore restricts the expression of public opinion. The censorship efforts have been great even though China is not a top inhibitor of press freedom. Xue, who is considered to be a strong opinion leader on the social media, has been arrested due to the same influence which many other micro bloggers also exert on the government and hurt their interests. A research studying the methodology of the censorship and the speed within which the posts were deleted found out that majority of the deletions occurred within an hour of its postal on the web (Zhu, Phillips, Pridgen, Crandall, and Wallach 2013, 1). The censorship of Weibo has given rise to a conflict among the censors and the users of Weibo. Since the inception of social media micro blogging, there have been many incidents and protests including Wukan protests, Deng Yujiao incident, Yao Jiaxin murder case and Shifang protest which has forced the government to address some serious issues of the country (Zhu, Phillips, Pridgen, Crandall, and Wallach 2013, 2). The censorship of online politically sensitive content on Sina Weibo has been done by filtering IP address packets and some words-based censorship has also been used. There are two types of deletions through censorship; one by the user himself and the other going through censorship procedures by the internet provider (Zhu, Phillips, Pridgen, Crandall, and Wallach 2013, 3). Chinese micro blogging services particularly Sina Weibo has been significantly important in spreading viral posts and messages so as to organize collective action by individuals regarding matters of governmental control. There have been many stories of chat censorship, search censorship and blog censorship apart from IP address filtering (Bamman, O’Connor, and Smith 2012, n.pag.). There have been many cases of post removals and the case of Xue has not been an exceptional on in the sense that the government has started a crackdown against micro bloggers. His arrest was undertaken after a post which contained presumably false content (Zhai 2013, n.pag.). There have been tones of cases of post deletions however the fact that Xue was a “Big V” or the holder of a verified Sina Weibo account and had millions of followers. This spurred more attention by the government which considers Xue to be an important opinion leader which can harm government interests via false posts. The censorship of Chinese social media sites like Sina Weibo has allowed Chinese users to use other outside sources such as Twitter to avoid censorship. Although Twitter and Facebook has been banned in China, the users are using these sites particularly Twitter for use as an international micro blogging service. Since the service is international the Chinese users often get away with the blogging censorship. However, since these sites are banned users have to gain access via proxy settings which mask the IP address and hide the location of a user (Bamman, O’Connor, and Smith 2012, n.pag.). The main reason for government intervention regarding social media and its censorship is due to its ability to call upon highly organized protests and uprisings which can hurt government interests and can influence policy makers in several ways. In other words, the fundamental liberty of the people to enjoy freedom of expression and speech has been restricted by means of censorship to avoid the stirring of anti-government campaigns via social networking websites like Sina Weibo. Such organized collective actions are, in the eyes of the Chinese government, detrimental to government interest and its control as it can lead to disorder and confusion. Thus, by placing limitation on communication via social networks the Chinese government aims to protect its people and itself from any chaos and confusion. According to King, Pan, and Roberts, thirteen percent of all posts on social networking websites are censored (2013, 6). Censorship depends upon the goal of the Chinese government as either wanting to stop public discussion of politically sensitive topics. This would imply greater levels of censorship in the coming days. Unlike in United States, the Chinese people are skeptical of government intentions and therefore social media provides a useful platform to voice anti-government ideas which have previously stimulated numerous protests. The case of Xue Manzi on Sina Weibo has been an important one as it reflects the impact of social networks on people and the government. Following the ban on websites like Facebook and Twitter, the arrival of several local social networks including Weibo has given the people an environment to discuss their issues. Also, since these social websites have millions of users posts regarding causes which require government attention reach the public really fast. After the Xue Manzi case, Xue has taken responsibility for a safer and regulated social media which is mature. In his own words, he considered himself to be in a socially responsible position “being a Big V” and therefore his actions have brought about a negative result for the society. Xue Manzi is now helping the authorities to identify other players in online social media who have great influence on people and the government is even detaining popular figures involved in triggering for organizing violent crowds and disrupting order (Zhai 2013, n.pag.). According to Custer, government trust is very low among Chinese people unlike their American counterparts who trust the news they read (2103, n.pag.). As a result, Chinese people are skeptical and anti-governments attitudes are quite popular particularly on social networks which spark more violent public reaction about the most minor government relates issues. Hence, there is an attitude among the Chinese public to react impulsively to politically sensitive content they come across online. Theoretical Concepts and the Power of Spectacle and Memory Two theoretical frameworks provided by Michel Foucault and Guy Debord effectively explain the relevance and significance of modern day media and other channels of communication. Some aspects of the modern day society have been outlined by Debord in his book The Society of Spectacles and identifies a culture where popular celebrities demonstrate a style of life which is far from the realistic lives of the majority (Harris 2012, n.pag.). Debord’s ides regarding alienation by choice of also points towards social media where an individual in today’s world seems alienated with any face to face contact (Debord 1994, 17). The idea of alienation by free choice points out to a profound notion of neo-liberalism (Harris 2012, n.pag.). The concept of a spectacle provided by Debord in his book provides an accurate and relevant explanation for today’s profit maximizing media which plays with communication outflow to control the information (Sutherland 2012, n.pag.). Debord has described a spectacle as not merely an assemblage of pictures and text but a “social relationship” between individuals which is interceded by images (Sutherland 2012, n.pag.). This provides a good explanation for the formation of social relationships among people online as they are mediated by images. Hence, the relationship is so strong that it is capable of causing organized campaigns despite their anonymity to each other. However this spectacle seen through the lens of the social media is what Debord warned of using because it can reconstruct the world view into an objective strength. Its ability to create social relationships can be detrimental as it brings about a transformation of the world view into a force which can damage governments and their interests. A research articulating a study conducted on the success of Facebook as a social network affirms that its ability to provide a platform for youth to voice their opinions has lead it to success (Marturano 2009, 2). The research on Facebook nevertheless provides a relevant finding for the Chinese social media particularly websites like Sino Weibo which have been significant in causing organized protests and disorder. The social relationship on these websites is a result of the spectacle as elaborated by Debord (1994). It provides people with an effective channel for information dissemination among large audiences which might otherwise not be possible via any other channel of information. Thus, electronic media provides an abstruse environment which where social relationships become electronically mediated (Best and Kellner n.d.). Foucault has laid down a useful foundation pertaining to communication and discourse and how power impacts the information dissemination (Elden, O’Farrell, and Rosenberg 2004, 1; Foucault 1982). Foucault has emphasized the importance of various forms of media and how the different audiences are being oriented to these forms of media (Thorpe 2008). He even focused on the technologies of self as it affected the transformational processes of an individual within the power relations (Thorpe 2008, 208). The impact of media in our lives is great and this has shaped the lifestyles of its audiences in terms of our consumption of the media (Bernico 2011). As people are experiencing a technological revolution in the form of social media, these media channels are having a psychological effect on our social attitudes. Users are constantly sharing content with wide number of audiences via social media channels which enables them to get their message across to large audiences. Foucault’s ideas help in understanding the purpose of social media which is not merely to share information but the information sharing also has a performative aspect which satisfies an individual’s need for recognition unless an action is performed in anonymity (Rayner 2012). Foucault has attached great importance to discourse as producing meaningful objects and practices. However this notion rejects that objects have any internal meanings in themselves (Hobbs 2011, 8). His concept of discourse shows openness to other forms of social forces which impact communication. The social media censorship of Sina Weibo posts in China presents a case of social control which is carried out by government institutions. This is a form of “institutional control” as mentioned in a journal article by Lianos (2003, 413). Such systems, according to Lianos, range from private services to governmental bodies that monitor activities so as to control the behavior of citizens (2013, 414). In this case, the behavior which is being regulated is the spread of viral and false information producing emotive responses among the public against the government. The authorities which view such behavior as a threat to their power try to control them by regulating online content existing in various social networking websites particularly Seino Weibo. The most important reason why Xue had been arrested was because he was a verified Weibo account holder which meant he had millions of followers who could easily be influenced by his posts which could spark negative reaction and disorder among public. Foucault’s ideas about “control society” are also important in considering the experiential influence of media on the individuation of human beings (Hansen 2013, 497). Social control also includes the ability of social networking sites to store information thereby keeping individuals under constant surveillance where the movement and online activities of every individual can be tracked. While the Chinese government does not involve itself with the online activities of all its naysayers it can however use it to their advantage. Censorship is also a social control of the behavior of pubic so as to prevent them from expressing their opinions freely. A crackdown has also started against opinion leaders which Xue claimed to help the government in. All these steps restrict the fundamental liberty which has been provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, it has undoubtedly resulted in a decline in anti-government activities because of wide censorship which deletes sensitive posts within a brief time of a blog being posted. Thus, the Chinese government has been somewhat successful in silencing anti-government voice at the cost of freedom of opinion and speech. According to Foucault, discourse allows the dissemination of knowledge and it produces truth (Whisnant 2012, 6). Discourse allows an individual to speak the truth and in doing so the discourse gives the person some extent of cultural, social or even political power (Whisnant 2012, 7). Thus, when large number of individuals speak about a politically sensitive issue which is true, they develop some form of cultural power which influences the way people interpret the matter. When Xue posted the content for which he was arrested, the post was false rumor, however the government understood the impact of a supposedly legit post on the perception of the audiences. In China, since people have a skeptical attitude towards the government anti-government views always spread more rapidly via electronic sources and social media websites. In order to combat this situation the Chinese government considered the censorship of social websites particularly Sina Weibo so as to limit the viral spread of sensitive posts that may start an organized anti-government campaign. Even the United States government is considering the impact of social networks in influencing government interests and asking gathering support for policy change. Conclusion Sino Weibo is increasingly becoming a source of highly organized protests which is exerting great pressure on the Chinese government for attention on various matters. The arrest of Xue Manzi and other student protests such as one in Sichuan against the creation of a copper factory has caused the Chinese government to control information flow so as to inhibit violent protests against the government. Sino Weibo has about 300 million users, which explains why the government is taking measures to stop information dissemination via Sina Weibo (Hewitt 2012). Hewitt says that Weibo has provided people with a way to express themselves freely on an online platform (2013). The government has introduced Weibo censorship which deletes posts which contain certain terms or words that are sensitive. In some cases, the government may even delete user accounts. Censorship also restricts the number of re-posting of certain posts or usernames. However, the large database of information means that the censorship cannot last long. Bloggers continue to post content while censors continue to delete images, posts, etc and even accounts. The internet and social media has changed people’s thinking and has given them a chance to freely express themselves. And censorship reduces their right to free speech. Xue Manzi had been a popular celebrity on Sina Weibo and was a holder of a verified account. He had a large number of followers and his greater popularity was due to his involvement in greater transparency over the issues of pollution and human trafficking. His popularity and his huge following posed a threat for the authorities as he spread false rumors on the internet. This could have proved to be detrimental for the government however after detainment Xue admitted to his online crimes. He accepted that he was a responsible celebrity on the internet and is helping the authorities to track other micro bloggers who spread false information. References Bamman, D., Oconnor, B. and Smith, N. (2012). Censorship and deletion practices in Chinese social media. First Monday, 17 (3). Bernico, M. (2011). Foucault and the Power of Media. Greenville College. [online] Available at: http://blogs.greenville.edu/itdept/2011/03/25/the-power-of-media/ [Accessed: 30 Nov 2013]. Best, S. and Kellner, D. (n.d.). Debord and the Postmodern Turn: New Stages of the Spectacle. [online] Available at: http://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/essays/debordpostmodernturn.pdf [Accessed: 30 Nov 2013]. Custer, C. (2013). 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The Velocity of Censorship: High-Fidelity Detection of Microblog Post Deletions. USENIX Security Symposium. Read More