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government departments have the responsibility to respond to public concerns and handle public relations, and this requires giving full play to the role of the media and social platforms.

written by guan buyu

on september 3, the qingdao public security bureau issued a report on the case of "wang driving in the wrong direction and insulting and beating others", and the "qingdao female driver beating incident" that had caused a sensation on the internet has come to an end.

the related topic #qingdao police reports on the case of wang driving in the wrong direction and beating others# directly rushed to the top of weibo's hot search, reaching the highest "explosive" level of popularity.

picture/internet

many netizens exclaimed "reversal". in fact, looking at the whole incident, there is no so-called "reversal". it was just a nonsensical "online hype" from the beginning to the end.

01

on august 28, the video of the "qingdao female driver beating incident" began to circulate on the internet.

the initial version was very simple, not very "exciting" and did not contain much information. the next day, the qingdao police issued a report on the situation, announcing the result of "administrative detention for 10 days and a fine of 1,000 yuan".

however, public opinion did not subside.

"internet researchers" came out one after another, and the story became more and more outrageous. the perpetrator wang was said to be a "city management official", "hit-and-run" and "went downstairs to report the incident". even the black-clad passers-by in the camera were pointed out as policemen.

the "plot" is suspenseful, and the police's handling of the matter has also been questioned, with the perpetrator refusing to apologize, the victim not accepting the apology, and "home detention" and so on.

the "chain of suspicion" formed from the identity of the perpetrator wang continued to spread and extend, all the way to judicial justice.

on september 3, qingdao police issued another announcement, still in the form of a simple announcement, without any frills, but it specifically explained the "chain of suspicion" of the incident in detail.the three people on camera are all ordinary local villagers and self-employed business owners, without any special "identity". the most innocent one is the passerby in black, who was kind enough to mediate the fight but was arranged to be a "plainclothes policeman".

picture/video screenshot

the handling process of the matter was also normal. the perpetrator was sent to the detention center and apologized on august 30. "going downstairs to call the police", "home detention", "refusal to apologize", etc. were all false.

the truth is so simple. this is just an ordinary public security incident caused by a road dispute, the kind that couldn't be more ordinary. is this a "plot twist"? not really, because there is no "plot" at all.

02

netizens who have calmed down might as well take a look at the original video. isn’t that the scene of a "village-level public security incident"?

the trigger of this storm was the "mysterious identity" of the perpetrator, wang. which "hero" could accurately identify wang's identity as an "urban management official" from his face covered by a mask and his casual summer outfit?

all the mysteries, strangeness and suspense are based on imagination, without any reliable source.

this is also a typical "online heckling incident", a "online secondary creation" derived from an ordinary video. it's not a big deal, but it's very typical. the turbid current of public opinion formed by a large amount of social emotions, irrational impulses and the profit-seeking motive of traffic is an unavoidable social problem in the internet era.

it is impossible to avoid it, and it is even more impossible to avoid it. the qingdao police's handling of the public opinion this time can be said to be timely.

on august 29, the day after the incident, the police's briefing was a routine response. it was just a small matter, no need to make a long statement.

later, as public opinion escalated, the "details" became more and more abundant, and the "questions" became more and more specific, the police did not evade them.

in the second notice on september 3, the police had apparently collected and sorted out the relevant hot spots and made a "package" treatment, responding to the "questions" one by one, clarifying the "details" one by one, and announcing the legal basis for handling the incident.

picture/internet

the most difficult thing to deal with in such incidents is the scale of information disclosure.emotional netizens are eager to expose the household registration booklet of the perpetrator, but the privacy rights of the perpetrator are also protected by law, and it is obviously impossible for the police to meet such a request.

in similar incidents in the past, using the phrase "ordinary villagers" to simply pass it off is unlikely to clarify the facts. direct denials such as "not an urban management staff member" or "not a civil servant" may even backfire, and some people think that "the more you explain, the worse it gets." the qingdao police's disclosure of identity information of "formerly engaged in tea shop management and individual transportation, currently without a fixed job" is just right.

once the identity of the perpetrator is revealed to the world, the explosive point of the entire public opinion incident is eliminated, and other bizarre plots that have been derived from it are also self-defeating.

this was a successful response to public opinion and was very inspiring.

03

"rumors stop at the truth" is a common saying in dealing with online public opinion. it is certainly true, but it lacks specificity.

the characteristics of information dissemination in the internet age are: information is cheap and "truth" is even scarcer.the information explosion has created a huge amount of environmental noise and a large amount of information fragments. "three people make a tiger" is the norm in internet public opinion.

many government departments are not used to this kind of public opinion environment. although they try very hard to keep up with the "internet era" and actively open public accounts and make videos, their awareness of handling public opinion is still stuck in the centralized thinking of "authoritative information release" in the pre-internet era. once they encounter a surge of public opinion that challenges their "authority", they are easily trapped in the dilemma of "having a reason but not being able to explain it clearly".

over time, they developed a fear and avoidance attitude towards dealing with public opinion. when public opinion erupted, they avoided, delayed, and shirked responsibility among departments, putting themselves in a passive position.

this has led to many public events where there is clearly no shameful truth, but due to untimely and insufficient disclosure of information and poor "online sense" of information disclosure, they eventually caused bigger disturbances.

picture/tuchong creative

government departments should realize that in the internet age where "everyone has a microphone", the reason why "authoritative information" can protect the bottom line of the truth cannot rely on "power" and "authority". under the competition of countless "microphones", the only "authority" comes from the truth.therefore, government departments must have courage and skills when fighting against "online rumors."

we must have the courage to face doubts and the skills to spread the truth. the openness of internet public opinion is neutral. this kind of "instrumental rationality" can be used by those who spread rumors and stir up trouble, and government departments can also use it. all doubts and rumors are posted online, and there is no need to hide them.

those who spread rumors and stir up trouble fight "guerrilla warfare", while government departments must fight "positional warfare" to spread the truth. we should deal with it uprightly, and "no matter how many ways you come, i will only go one way." we will not let go of any key points in the "chain of suspicion" of public opinion, and dismantle them one by one with the truth and facts. whether you are unconsciously amplifying social emotions or intentionally harvesting traffic leeks, we should respond to each move and speak out the truth, instead of playing the "whack-a-mole" game with the spread of rumors.

04

of course, we should also realize that the battle between rumors and truth in the internet age is a complex "protracted war." it is difficult to cope with the ever-changing internet communication by relying solely on the authoritative sources of government departments.

therefore, to protect the truth and combat rumors, we cannot rely on the "authoritative release" of a single source. we must give full play to the role of various media and social platforms, and conduct in-depth and extensive investigations, reporting and dissemination to make the truth known to the world faster and more completely.

government departments have the responsibility to respond to public concerns and handle public relations, and this requires giving full play to the role of the media and social platforms.

for example, in the "qingdao female driver beating incident", although only a few media followed up in a timely manner and there was no comprehensive and in-depth coverage, the police information released was widely disseminated with the help of weibo, wechat and short video platforms, and entered the public eye in a timely manner.

compared with short video platforms, the graphic and text formats of social platforms such as weibo and their attributes as public opinion fields make them suitable channels for relevant departments to respond to public concerns.

picture/tuchong creative

the internet is an information revolution, and its powerful technological force has reshaped the ecology of public opinion.technical tools are neutral, but if truth spreaders don’t use them, they become a weapon for spreading rumors. the method and path to resolve this kind of social contradiction is known and clear, that is, to respond to rumors in a timely and clear manner, which will definitely settle disputes, relieve pressure and promote consensus.

the key to combating online rumors is to spread the truth, rather than blindly believing in "silence is golden" and "strike hard." we must believe in the power of truth. if the truth is revealed in time, there won't be so many "reversals."