For many years now, Chinese citizens have been very skeptical about information delivered by the Chinese government. Information delivered by the Chinese government is known to contain tons of misinformation and withhold many details in an effort to maintain order and stability. Because of this, many Chinese citizens turn to social media as a medium for trustworthy information and news. With the death toll from the coronavirus being currently as high as 250 people, Chinese citizens search for as much trustworthy information as they can regarding the effects of this deadly virus. In an effort to control the information that is released about the coronavirus, many of the social media posts made by Chinese citizens about the coronavirus have been censored, or even completely deleted, by the Chinese government. Not only that, but police in China are going as far as to detain citizens for “spreading rumors” if they are found spreading information online about the virus.
In my opinion, the Chinese government is doing its people a grave misjustice by censoring information and news on social media about the coronavirus at such a scary time in the country’s history. Chinese citizens already do not trust information from the Chinese government. By continuing to censor information on social media and not giving citizens the ability to give first-hand accounts of their experiences with the virus, the Chinese government is increasing citizens’ mistrust for them. I think that it is even worse that Chinese citizens are being detained by police for “spreading rumors” on social media about the virus. As a citizen of China, you have no other way to communicate information about the virus other than to “spread rumors” because you live in a country where your government gets to decide what information you should and shouldn’t know.
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 