What is the ‘network navy’?
Network Navy is a group of network writers, also known as network pushers, usually disguised as ordinary netizens or consumers and active in e-commerce websites, forums, microblogs and other social networking platforms. They are employed by network public relations companies to publish, reply and disseminate blog posts as the main means, according to the service needs of employers, fabricate and publish specific information and organize network momentum, thus affecting society and the masses. At present, the industry of navy has changed from disorderly individual service to large-scale and systematic enterprise service.
Hot issue summary：
On December 2, articles and videos about Ma Rong crying about being beaten by Wang Baoqiang were put on the top of the Weibo hot search list. I thought Ma Rong, as a victim of domestic violence, could use his gender advantage to get sympathy from netizens. Wang Baoqiang would inevitably be condemned by public opinion for his role as a perpetrator. However, the storyline reversed dramatically, and the focus of media push changed from ‘Wang Baoqiang's domestic violence’ to ‘Ma Rong trespass on with knives’ and other information that was not be favourable for Ma Rong. Dramatically make tragedy a ‘comedy’.
If Ma Rong takes advantage of the overall public opinion background, with the help of netizens to discuss hotspots, and pushes the event on the hot search to win everyone's sympathy, then behind this event there may be a group of organized ‘network navy’ disguise as the ‘ordinary users’ to sympathize with Ma Rong's posts, replies or forwards. Most netizens believe that this is Ma Rong's inappropriate operation of the ‘navy’ in order to make it from a victim to a troublemaker.
There are always two sides to things. We should dialectically analyze the existence of the ‘network navy’. If used well, then the existence of ‘network navy’ is the most effective channel of propaganda and promotion, but if used improperly, it will be counterproductive, and criminal offences will be suspected.
Recently, the Xuyong County police office of Sichuan Province cracked the province's first ‘network navy’ gang case. The group uses Tencent QQ as a communication tool to collaborate with the internal staff of major official websites such as China Daily and Sina. com to provide paid publishing of false information and deleting posts on the Internet. The total amount involved is more than 20 million yuan. At present, the case has entered the court trial stage. According to CCTV news reports, since May 2017, when the Ministry of Public Security organized a special action to combat the illegal and criminal activities of the ‘network navy’, more than 40 cases of ‘network navy’ crimes have been uncovered, involving a total amount of over 100 million yuan, more than 200 suspects have been arrested, and more than 5,000 cyber accounts suspected of illegal speculation have been seized and closed down. Tens of thousands of illegal and illegal websites have been closed, involving tens of millions of malicious online illegal hype information.
Citizens'right to freedom of speech is stipulated in the Chinese Constitution, but this does not mean that speech can break through the shackles of the law. The network is not an extrajudicial place. The ‘network navy’ should be used correctly and the ‘high-voltage line’ of network infringement should not be touched.
The following points should be paid attention to in the daily use of the ‘network navy’ by network public relations companies: first, the promotion of personal influence should avoid infringing upon the personal rights of others, such as the right of reputation and privacy; second, the advertising of enterprise products should be carried out strictly in accordance with the basic requirements of the Advertising Law, without fraud which can avoid the result of joint and several obligation ; the third is to engage in legal work within the scope of business without touching criminal offences such as the crime of illegal business operation.
At the same time, we also remind employers who need to employ network public relations companies as planning and publicizing that to provide publicity information to the network public relations companies have to ensure that it is true and effective and does not infringe on the rights of others. If the information provided damages the reputation of individuals and enterprises, employers will bear corresponding civil and criminal liability.
Finally, it reminds individuals and enterprises who are infringed by network violence that if they find that there are untrue or negative articles about themselves in the website, they can complain to the website administrators or report to the police, or consult professionals for solutions.
