Renrou Sousuo
Renrou Sousuo ( Chinese 人 肉 搜索 , Pinyin Rénròu Sōusuǒ , literally: "Search engine for human flesh ") is a Chinese Internet phenomenon in the People's Republic and in the Republic of China in Taiwan . When searching for human flesh, a large number of Internet users collect information about a specific person and publish it. It's a form of collective doxing .
principle
The target person has usually incurred the ire of the online community through an actual or perceived reprehensible act . You should by deliberately disclose their identity and privacy to the pillory are provided. The aim of the campaign-style actions is the personal degradation and psychological destruction of the target persons, as well as to intimidate and muzzle potentially like-minded people. The means used range from verbal abuse to tangible violence and death threats. In Chinese culture, loss of face is particularly severe ( shame culture ).
The occasions for such pillory include behaviors of a private and professional nature that meet with greater displeasure. In the absence of free public expression, the practice is also used by Chinese Internet users specifically to draw attention to possible abuse of office by Chinese Communist cadres .
Renrou Sousuo is not centrally controlled, but tries to mobilize a general sense of nationalist or social outrage among Internet users. The main instrument of the virtual defamation campaign is the use of search engines . Spying on site also occurs.
Examples
The phenomenon first became known to the general public during the turmoil at the Olympic torch relay in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing , when nationalist Chinese netizens targeted moderate compatriots on the Internet and put them in public pillory as " enemies of the people ".
Another example of Renrou Sousuo is the Li Gang incident . In 2010, Li Qiming, the son of a Chinese official, commented on a fatal car accident that he was responsible for, saying, “Only judge me if you dare. My father is Li Gang! ”This sparked a real shit storm on the Internet that could not be suppressed and resulted in Li Qiming being sentenced to six years in prison and pain and suffering.
Web links
- Die Welt : Freedom of the Press-or-Lynch-Justice.html (July 30, 2009)
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : Internet in China: Human flesh wanted (November 8, 2008)
- Netzeitung : Internet pillory: Chinese people on manhunt ( Memento from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (May 29, 2008)
- Tages-Anzeiger : Pre-Olympic witch hunt for self-critical Chinese ( memento from October 15, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (April 19, 2008)
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung : The search for human flesh (April 17, 2008)
- The Times : Human flesh search engines: Chinese vigilantes did hunt victims on the web (English)