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Twitter whitewash: Chinese officials pay £130 to have incriminating tweets wiped from Weibo
Officials in China are paying £130 a time to have incriminating tweets about themselves removed from Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
The clean-up comes as corrupt officials, police and businesses hurriedly try to improve their online reputations ahead of the leadership handover in March.
The move follows an apparent relaxing of China's censorship in December when millions of internet users found themselves able to search online for information about Communist Party leaders and even to post criticism.
Previously, anybody trying to search on Weibo for information about officials such as President Hu Jintao or his successor Xi Jinping, would get a simple message: "According to related laws and regulations, search results are not shown".
But suddenly users could not only search for a range of Chinese leaders on the microblogging network, they were free to write criticism.
One comment called Mr Xi a "hypocrite" for suggesting that Communist Party officials should not enter politics for wealth or prestige. "Hasn't he won wealth and prestige through politics?" asked the poster.
Now, so-called "whitewashers" can erase an incriminating tweet on Weibo for £130, an embarrassing or negative post on an internet forum for £80, or an entire blog post or news story for £400, according to The Times.
Companies accused of fraud, bogus accounting and pyramid selling have been known to pay more than £100,000 to have the web wiped clean of every last bad statement about them.
Whilst some of the whitewashing is achieved by hacking, most appears to be arranged through a complex network of paid agents who include editors and managers at major internet companies.
Raids on the offices of two Beijing-based internet whitewashers led to a string of detentions that ensnared corrupt officers working inside the police's internet supervision bureau.
An employee from one of the whitewash companies told Chinese reporters that most of the clients were senior public security officials or local magistrates.
Twitter whitewash: Chinese officials pay £130 to have incriminating tweets wiped from Weibo - Telegraph
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Indicates the power of the 50 centers and the big money paid as incentives!
Therefore, one can understand the over emphasis in showcasing and virulent posts that are exhibited!
Officials in China are paying £130 a time to have incriminating tweets about themselves removed from Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
The clean-up comes as corrupt officials, police and businesses hurriedly try to improve their online reputations ahead of the leadership handover in March.
The move follows an apparent relaxing of China's censorship in December when millions of internet users found themselves able to search online for information about Communist Party leaders and even to post criticism.
Previously, anybody trying to search on Weibo for information about officials such as President Hu Jintao or his successor Xi Jinping, would get a simple message: "According to related laws and regulations, search results are not shown".
But suddenly users could not only search for a range of Chinese leaders on the microblogging network, they were free to write criticism.
One comment called Mr Xi a "hypocrite" for suggesting that Communist Party officials should not enter politics for wealth or prestige. "Hasn't he won wealth and prestige through politics?" asked the poster.
Now, so-called "whitewashers" can erase an incriminating tweet on Weibo for £130, an embarrassing or negative post on an internet forum for £80, or an entire blog post or news story for £400, according to The Times.
Companies accused of fraud, bogus accounting and pyramid selling have been known to pay more than £100,000 to have the web wiped clean of every last bad statement about them.
Whilst some of the whitewashing is achieved by hacking, most appears to be arranged through a complex network of paid agents who include editors and managers at major internet companies.
Raids on the offices of two Beijing-based internet whitewashers led to a string of detentions that ensnared corrupt officers working inside the police's internet supervision bureau.
An employee from one of the whitewash companies told Chinese reporters that most of the clients were senior public security officials or local magistrates.
Twitter whitewash: Chinese officials pay £130 to have incriminating tweets wiped from Weibo - Telegraph
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Indicates the power of the 50 centers and the big money paid as incentives!
Therefore, one can understand the over emphasis in showcasing and virulent posts that are exhibited!
