[New Crown Pneumonia] University Study Means WeChat Filters Outbreak Words Scholar: Causes Mistakes in Protecting People

Social News

Written by: Xiaobin Bin

2020-03-04 07:00

The outbreak of a new type of coronavirus pneumonia in the Mainland (commonly known as "Wuhan pneumonia") was severe. About 80,000 people were diagnosed, and about 30,000 were not cured.

WeChat, a social communication program owned by Tencent, is a communication tool commonly used by mainlanders and is also the main source of information for understanding the latest epidemic situation. A University of Toronto study found that mainland censorship of new crown pneumonia remarks was severe. As of mid-February, a total of 516 groups of words related to the epidemic have been filtered and banned, of which 99 groups are related to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions, such as the "initiation of strike + five major appeals + staff front" combination, and even the "Hong Kong" + 林 郑 + petition + virus "combination was also banned by WeChat.

Researchers believe that rigorous censorship during the outbreak will limit public access to information, which will lead them to fail to take appropriate protective measures.

From January 1st to February 15th this year, a total of 516 sets of vocabulary combinations related to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic were banned by WeChat filtering and failed to send and receive in group chats in mainland China accounts. (Screenshot of the report from the University of Toronto Munch International Research Center)

516 sets of vocabulary closed in February

The Citizen Lab of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto published a research report yesterday (3rd) on the East Bank. From January 1st to February 15th this year, a total of 516 groups of words related to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic were disabled by WeChat filtering and failed to send and receive in group chats in Mainland China accounts.

Researchers found that the February review was more severe than January, with 132 groups of vocabulary combinations banned from January 1st to 31st; a total of 384 groups of vocabulary combinations were banned from February 1st to 15th.

Of the various banned word combinations, words that touched the central high-level to deal with the epidemic were most often banned, involving 192 combinations. There are 19 forbidden vocabulary combinations involving the deceased doctor Li Wenliang, such as "sound + person to person + Li Wenliang", "coronavirus + person to person + Li Wenliang" and so on.

99 vocabulary combinations banned from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan

WeChat censorship is not only applicable to Mainland China, but also applicable to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan areas where common traditional Chinese is used. The research report found that 99 vocabulary combinations were banned in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 68% of which were related to Hong Kong's political and social events and the Chief Executive, Mrs Lam Cheng Yuet (see table below).

In addition, there are 7 groups related to the demands of people's mobilization and investigation of the mainland government. The research report described these terms as borrowing from Hong Kong demonstration slogans, such as "Wuhan + Recovery" and the five major demands.

The WeChat server sets "gates" to check the user's sending and receiving data. (Screenshot of the report from the University of Toronto Munch International Research Center)

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Forbidden vocabulary combinations related to WeChat in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the public (excerpt)

Initiate a strike + five major appeals + employee front

Hong Kong + Lin Zheng + Appeal + Virus

Hong Kong + Hong Kong Government + Health Protection + Hong Kong People

Wuhan + Guangfu

Hubei + Five Major Appeals

Wuhan + Five demands

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Research reports describe that since the outbreak, Chinese leaders have emphasized "public opinion guidance", filtering and disabling criticisms of the central government in order to avoid embarrassing leaders and maintain a positive image of the central government. The report also argues that private companies are responsible for preventing the spread of harmful information and inappropriate speech. In order to avoid official rebuke, these companies have caused "over-censoring" situations.

Researcher Lotus Ruan believes that rigorous censorship during the outbreak will limit public access to information and prevent them from taking the most appropriate protection measures.

Wuhan Pneumonia WeChat Free Speech