Photo: IC Photo
China’s internet may be tightly controlled, but it still has its fair share of trolls.
Over the years, armies of the country’s netizens have singled out various social groups for online vitriol, from Muslims — who have been blamed for isolated terrorist incidents — to Japanese people, who have been attacked for the brutal deeds of their nation’s invading armies during World War II.
But it’s not fair to lambast entire groups of people for the actions of a minority, says Lan Fang, co-founder of online education platform C Plan. “Does it mean all Muslims or all Japanese people must bear responsibility for events they personally played no part in?” she says in an opinion piece for Caixin Weekly.
For Lan, China’s online trolls lack two crucial skills: empathy and critical thinking. Cultivating these abilities can convince netizens not to interpret disagreements with members of other social groups as affronts to their personal values and dignity, and help to tackle the causes of the country’s trolling problem.
Read Lan’s deep-dive into the roots of Chinese trolling culture on Caixin Global later today.
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)
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