4 ms·

One phenomenon I don’t think psyop brigades seem to have caught on to, is that by flooding comment sections with controversial statements they invite vigorous d

by ipnon 3y ago

One phenomenon I don’t think psyop brigades seem to have caught on to, is that by flooding comment sections with controversial statements they invite vigorous debate, which ends up boosting engagement. In the end they bring more attention to the stories they are attempting to squash.

keepamovin 3y ago
I think these new slated rules are actually more taking a leaf out of the Western democratic book: it's a distraction. It's a loss-leader. Yes, a small sacrifice that makes you (the gov) look ridiculous. But the gain? Immeasurable. Because you essentially get people obsessed over trivialities, content-free but emotionally compelling non-issues that are guaranteed to channel energy but not move the needle. It's a key tenet of democratic stability: you need to pump the media full of innumerable social debates that partition the market, so you get people fighting themselves over trivialities rather than focusing their considerable energies on change for real issues. So I see this as more a proof of the "coming of age" or new sophistication of the Chinese "psyop brigades" as you call them, rather than an indication of incompetence that you seem to think. Small caveat that I haven't decided about yet is: some of this could be to create such an overly oppressive "rules based" atmosphere that people are so afraid of tripping over any law they just toe the line more generally. But I'm not sure, this is directly non-Confucian: In governing, don't try to force issues or you'll turn away from what is right. The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be And anti-Lao Tzu: "The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become. ... The more rules and regulations, The more thieves and robbers."

4 ms·

One phenomenon I don’t think psyop brigades seem to have caught on to, is that by flooding comment sections with controversial statements they invite vigorous d

by ipnon 3y ago

keepamovin 3y ago
I think these new slated rules are actually more taking a leaf out of the Western democratic book: it's a distraction. It's a loss-leader. Yes, a small sacrifice that makes you (the gov) look ridiculous. But the gain? Immeasurable. Because you essentially get people obsessed over trivialities, content-free but emotionally compelling non-issues that are guaranteed to channel energy but not move the needle. It's a key tenet of democratic stability: you need to pump the media full of innumerable social debates that partition the market, so you get people fighting themselves over trivialities rather than focusing their considerable energies on change for real issues. So I see this as more a proof of the "coming of age" or new sophistication of the Chinese "psyop brigades" as you call them, rather than an indication of incompetence that you seem to think. Small caveat that I haven't decided about yet is: some of this could be to create such an overly oppressive "rules based" atmosphere that people are so afraid of tripping over any law they just toe the line more generally. But I'm not sure, this is directly non-Confucian: In governing, don't try to force issues or you'll turn away from what is right. The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be And anti-Lao Tzu: "The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become. ... The more rules and regulations, The more thieves and robbers."