{"id":28645,"date":"2008-11-26T18:57:40","date_gmt":"2008-11-27T01:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=28645"},"modified":"2008-11-26T18:57:40","modified_gmt":"2008-11-27T01:57:40","slug":"chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Christian Science Monitor<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Some call it a weapon in the hands of a righteous army, forged so that wrongdoers might be smitten. Others say it simply allows a mob of vigilantes to publicly vilify and humiliate anyone they choose to pick on through grotesque invasions of privacy. <\/p>\n

Either way, the peculiarly Chinese Internet phenomenon known as the “human flesh search engine,” a citizen-driven, blog-based hunt for alleged undesirables, claimed a fresh victim this month when a mid-ranking government official lost his job. <\/p>\n

Accused of accosting a young girl, Lin Jiaxiang<\/a> found his name, address, phone number, and workplace plastered all over Chinese cyberspace for 250 million Internet users to see, and his alleged crime the subject of hundreds of insulting blog postings. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Christian Science Monitor: Some call it a weapon in the hands of a righteous army, forged so that wrongdoers might be smitten. Others say it simply allows a mob of vigilantes to publicly vilify and humiliate anyone they choose to pick on through grotesque invasions of privacy. Either way, the peculiarly Chinese Internet phenomenon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[7306,1356,586],"class_list":["post-28645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information-revolution","category-society","tag-human-flesh-search-engines","tag-online-activism","tag-privacy","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nChina's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Christian Science Monitor: Some call it a weapon in the hands of a righteous army, forged so that wrongdoers might be smitten. Others say it simply allows a mob of vigilantes to publicly vilify and humiliate anyone they choose to pick on through grotesque invasions of privacy. Either way, the peculiarly Chinese Internet phenomenon […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Digital Times (CDT)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"186\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"177\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liu Yong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liu Yong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liu Yong\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/bde859fa557a468c7a4b1a9d9db2b46c\"},\"headline\":\"China’s Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\"},\"wordCount\":130,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"human flesh search engines\",\"online activism\",\"privacy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Information Revolution\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\",\"name\":\"China's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"China’s Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times (CDT)\",\"description\":\"Covering China from Cyberspace\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"width\":186,\"height\":177,\"caption\":\"China Digital Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/cdt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/bde859fa557a468c7a4b1a9d9db2b46c\",\"name\":\"Liu Yong\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/liu-yong\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"China's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"China's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?","og_description":"From Christian Science Monitor: Some call it a weapon in the hands of a righteous army, forged so that wrongdoers might be smitten. Others say it simply allows a mob of vigilantes to publicly vilify and humiliate anyone they choose to pick on through grotesque invasions of privacy. Either way, the peculiarly Chinese Internet phenomenon […]","og_url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/","og_site_name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","article_published_time":"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":186,"height":177,"url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Liu Yong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cdt","twitter_site":"@cdt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Liu Yong","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/"},"author":{"name":"Liu Yong","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/bde859fa557a468c7a4b1a9d9db2b46c"},"headline":"China’s Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?","datePublished":"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00","dateModified":"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/"},"wordCount":130,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"keywords":["human flesh search engines","online activism","privacy"],"articleSection":["Information Revolution","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/","url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/","name":"China's Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00","dateModified":"2008-11-27T01:57:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2008\/11\/chinas-virtual-vigilantes-civic-action-or-cyber-mobs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"China’s Virtual Vigilantes: Civic Action Or Cyber Mobs?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","description":"Covering China from Cyberspace","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization","name":"China Digital Times","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","width":186,"height":177,"caption":"China Digital Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","https:\/\/x.com\/cdt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/bde859fa557a468c7a4b1a9d9db2b46c","name":"Liu Yong","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/liu-yong\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}