50% hot topics manipulated by Cyber Mafia?

Lv Benfu, an Internet economist, vice dean from Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that normally a hot topic could only be public focus for three days, it would be abnormal if the period lasted more than three days.

He explained the Qihoo 360 case, "It has been two months between the first focus period and the second one. During this period, no media have repetitively reported this issue. How come this old topic could become public focus again? It must be manipulated by some people intentionally. And I estimate about 50% such so-called hot topics belong to this type."

Lv also said that some companies had registered as PR company or sales company recently. These companies not only help customers make or enhance their brand, but also defame other companies under their customers'will. During recent three years, the number of such companies keeps increasing. They have been called "Cyber Mafia" or "Internet Bully".

Li Haigang has recently started his Internet PR Company. He admitted that some similar companies would viciously attack targeted companies under the order of their customers.

Negative news of companies always easily draws media's attention. Those "Internet Bully" always makes use of a company's negative news, or even create some to attack targets.

Huang Lianghua, Manager of a Beijing Media Company, who claimed to plotted the "Jia Junpeng incident", said that eight companies had asked him to attack their competitors since he started his business three years ago. (Jia Junpeng incident: Jia Junpeng is a virtually created person, who posted topics in Moshou forums to draw netizens' attention during a time Moshou, a popular Internet game, was banned by official.)

Huang said he rejected all those tasks, but many other companies did accept them. As how to hype up negative information, Huang said, the Internet PR workers would divide into two groups and start positive and negative discussions to get netizens involved.

By People's Daily Online