Politics
Written by: Lin Jian
2020-02-25 07:00
Last updated: 2020-02-25 07:00"If the elements of war to date are bullets and oil, the elements of war in the 21st century are information." This is the New York Times senior reporter David E. Sanger in The Perfect Weapon. In a book, quotes from the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in 2003.
The political situation in Hong Kong has changed drastically in the past six months. Regulations have disrupted the administration of the SAR government, and Wuhan pneumonia has added another factor to the situation. Recently, a number of pro-establishment KOLs (Key Opinion Leader) have suddenly appeared on social networks, and the name "KOL100" has gradually risen. Last week, some netizens posted a post describing KOL100 as part of the "CCP propaganda war against Hong Kong."
The reporter viewed the online channel of Li Zijing, a member of the KOL100 initiative and a member of the Liberal Party. The channel has been active since December 4 last year. As of the afternoon of February 24, a total of 79 clips were released, with tens of thousands or even 100,000 views. According to Li Lifeng, the dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of CUHK, it is believed that it was a political incident last year, which prompted the pro-establishment camp to strengthen the tools of public opinion. "Information warfare" will become the new normal of Hong Kong's future social struggle.
However, Liu Zhaojia, the vice chairman of the National Hong Kong and Macao Research Association, did not believe that there was an official co-ordination behind these organizational KOLs. They believed that the institutionalists consciously appeared shortcomings in online warfare, so they competed for the right to speak online in the form of YouTuber, etc. Favorable for future political outlets such as the Legislative Council.
▼ Anti-revision case storm lasts for more than half a year ▼
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Means to fight well for propaganda, Li Zijing: spread positive energy
Since the government proposed to amend the "Fugitive Offenders Regulations" to trigger controversy, a wave of fierce demonstrations that have been delayed for more than half a year since June, pro-democracy KOLs and current affairs commentators such as Pan Xiaotao, Jinshui, Liu Xiliang, and even "Yuanzu Class" Xiao Ruoyuan and others had a wide influence on the Internet. The government and the establishment faction were passive in public opinion. Not only the Hong Kong government was overwhelmed but also indirectly caused the defeat of the formation faction in the district board elections.
After the district board elections, a number of constitutional factions KOL and YouTuber sprung up and checked the public information on the Internet. Beginning in December last year, an institutional faction online platform began to discuss the "KOL100" plan. Among them, "Hong Kong People Speaking Land" announced the visit of Li Zijing, a former Liberal District Councillor and promoter of the "KOL100" plan, at the end of December last year. Li Zijing said that "black violence" forces spread fake news, and "organized justice" forces must fight well to declare war. KOL100 plans to recruit 100 amateurs to make films and "spread positive energy."
Li Zijing's YouTube channel has frequently uploaded political comments in recent months, saying he wants to "reveal the truth that the media doesn't want you to know." (Screenshot of Li Zijing YouTube channel)
Li Zijing and another former district councilor Chen Yingxin (left) frequently uploaded clips and posted political comments on YouTube. (Screenshot of Chen Yingxin's YouTube channel)
Channel "Flora" appeared frequently in the channel
Viewing Li Zijing's YouTube channel, it can be seen that the channel was added on August 28, 2010, and the number of videos has been small. However, since December 4 last year, the frequency of uploading clips has increased significantly. According to statistics, as of the afternoon of February 24, a total of 79 clips have been released, and the number of viewers of each clip ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The number of times reached 457,000.
Looking at the Huangying channel "memehongkong", Xiao Ruoyuan ’s recent political commentary was mostly viewed by six digits. However, it is important to know that Xiao Ruoyuan has operated a web site since the 2000s and has accumulated supporters for 20 years. Manage this figure.
To the right of the homepage of Li Zijing's channel, there is a list called "KOL100 Recommended Channels". The recommended ones include another former District Councillor Chen Yingxin from the FTU / DAB. Chen Yingxin's channel "Join Date" is December 10, 2019. It includes a canvassing clip of her district election last year, a sports-related life clip, etc., and some are political comments.
There are also many channels in the list that joined in December last year, and the comments are all opinions that are very common in the establishment circle. One of the channels, called "Fei Zijie", was added on December 13, 2019. As of February 23, there were 75 videos at noon, with more than 100,000 subscribers, and tens of thousands of viewers per session.
After reviewing the report, the sponsor Mo Jiajie entered the petition in 2016 and requested the cancellation of the qualification of Liu Xiaoli, a member of the Legislative Council. He was elected to the Wong Tai Sin Dragon Star Constituency in 2019 and was supported by the establishment. A clip from the channel accused Hong Kong Zhongzhi of selling masks as a "big scam," such as repeated deductions. The clip has been viewed more than 400,000 times so far, and there are nearly 3,000 messages below, most of them are abusive to the Secretary-General Huang Zhifeng.
One of the channels recommended by Li Zijing claimed to be a "post-90s Hong Kong fat boy". The channel was added on December 13, 2019. (YouTube screenshot)
Li Lifeng: The theory of "vaccination" in communication
Li Lifeng, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of the University of China accepted the interview of "Hong Kong 01". Since 2013, the establishment system has begun to build different online platforms. Some of them have indeed attracted a considerable number of supporters, but they have not yet entered the mainstream. The government and the entire formation camp are still passive in the public opinion war, prompting the Blue Camp to further strengthen the tools of public opinion. He mentioned that the information war is now waged all over the world, including the online world, and it is getting more and more fierce. In Hong Kong, it can be expected to become the new normal.
However, Li Lifeng has reservations about whether the discussion of Blue Camp KOL can change the overall political structure. He pointed out that there is a so-called "Inoculation Theory" in communication. The main point is that the focus of some discussions is not necessarily to win the mainstream support of the masses, but to consolidate the original supporters and consciously inculcate them. The information of a certain position will provide them with a "statement" to allow them to argue with dissidents. They will be supported by an argument, like a vaccination shot to strengthen "resistance."
Li Lifeng analyzed that the main role of this kind of blue camp KOL is to consolidate the original supporters of his camp, and it is not easy to break into the mainstream. (Profile picture)
Li Lifeng pointed out that the mainstream public opinion tends to be moderate and rational, and there will always be a basic disk. Whether it can break into the mainstream depends on what the content of the discussion is and whether there are sufficient grounds to support it. Whether it is the Yellow Camp or the Blue Camp, an overly biased statement has a limited impact on the overall public opinion map. "A few percentage points (support) may have an impact, but there is a limit in the end. A political storm, such as anti-revision, You can reshuffle the entire layout at any time. "
Regarding Internet users questioning the support of the official system KOL, Li Lifeng believes that it is difficult for the outside world to find substantive evidence to verify the authenticity, but he speculated that the organizational side has the resources, "If these organizations do not have official support, it is strange. thing".
Liu Zhaojia: I don't think there is any co-ordination behind the institutional KOL
However, Liu Zhaojia, deputy chairman of the National Hong Kong and Macao Research Association, did not believe that there was an official co-ordination behind these organizational KOLs. Instead, the organizational faction saw the camp "shortcomings" in cyber warfare during the storm of revisions, and felt it was an "absence." Join the battlefield to increase personal visibility through the network channel. He also pointed out that everyone can be a YouTuber in this era, and the threshold for admission is extremely low. The availability of official resources is non-critical. The key is the high content of the channel content. "In the past, the opposition has done a good job in this regard. Legislation in September The elections are gradually coming to an end. If the formations do not fight cyber warfare, the situation will be even less optimistic. "
Liu Zhaojia analyzed that in the past, under the general principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong", the establishment faction was firmly in the position of ruling power, so it was more dismissive to occupy the right to speak on the Internet. However, since the end of last year's District Council election, the formation of the establishment and the opposition faction began. Expand the network front. He pointed out that "information warfare" and "internet warfare" will play an increasingly important role in Hong Kong's political situation.
Li Zijing indirectly denied official assistance
"Hong Kong 01" reporter asked Li Zijing about the background of the establishment of "KOL100", but did not receive a direct response. Li Zijing later in a Facebook-only "friend-only" post, screenshots criticized the reporter's problems, indirectly denied plans to have official support, and accused the media of "smearing" him.
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