The BBC reported that social media Sina posted a notice that they are hiring 1000 Weibo supervisors who are responsible for reporting any pornographic, illegal, or harmful contents. According to the announcement, it is part of the effort to “increase the supervision of Internet users and to clean up Weibo’s online environment.” These supervisors will be rewarded with a 200 yuan allowance and Weibo membership. Each month, the top 10 performers will receive a prize such as an Apple cell phone, a domestic brand cell phone or a laptop computer. One professor from Hong Kong University told the BBC that the hiring of Internet supervisors suggests that relying on the existing internal Internet supervision or voluntary reporting mechanisms can no longer cover the increased heavy Internet traffic. The article quoted one Internet user who noted that the Weibo Supervisor is just like an online “Chaoyang Resident.” This refers to the active residents in Beijing who report “tips” to the police. Based on the numbers that the Legal Evening Newspaper reported in September, there are 130,000 registered “Chaoyang residents” in Beijing. Some of the active members can receive several hundred yuan in their monthly allowance. Other than Sina, another Internet search giant Baidu recently implemented an “online rumor detector” on its search engine, news, and post bar. If any contents are deemed to be a “rumor,” the user will receive an alert and the article will be reported.
Source: BBC, September 28, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-41425969