原文发表在英文《环球时报》2010年2月5日；对网评员如此深刻和全面的报道在中文媒体似乎还没有见到。
这样的文章只给外媒看，为什么不能在环球时报的中文版发表这样的文章呢？
http://special.globaltimes.cn/2010-02/503820.html#
Invisible footprints of online commentators
By Zhang Lei
They hide behind changing identities and false IDs. They take orders from supervisors in cyber-space. In the US, they might be called "spin doctors," trying to mold public opinion in favor of one political party or the other.
In China, they are working for both the commercial firms and government entities.
Gansu government recently announced that it was recruiting a team of 650 Internet "commentators" to "guide" public opinion through posts and replies to comments by Web users on Internet forums.
The recruits were soon being ridiculed by other netizens as the "5 mao army," or "5 mao dang," referring to those who are paid 50 Chinese cents to post comments favorable to the government.
Some critics say the term "5 mao army" is a product of prejudice under western influence. Zhang Shengjun, a professor of international politics at Beijing Normal University, recently wrote in the Chinese edition of the Global Times that the foreign media are crucial in spreading the term.
"Now it has become a baton waved towards all Chinese patriots...Is there nothing worth admiring in China? Should Chinese government always be the target of criticism?" Zhang said.
According to a veteran media professional with more than 20 years of experience, government websites will approach commentators from traditional media on various issues such as the United States's arms sales to Taiwan. "It is my decision whether to write under my real name or a pen name," said the journalist, asking that his name be withheld.
"I was sometimes advised to take a stand different from the government position, so as to create a discussion." He said the ensuing online debate "helps the public better understand the issues and the truth behind them."
In addition, marketing companies specializing in online promotion write comments praising certain products to lure consumers into buying them, or at least influence the public's buying decisions.
Officials viewed China's online forums, a unique outlet for public opinion, as a threatening environment that could easily get "out of control",according to an article on the website of the State Council Information Office.
One-third of the 77 most influential social events in 2009 were publicized through Web forums and blogs while traditional media were kept silent, according to a report titled, "Society of China: Analysis and Forecast 2010," by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In 2005, Li Wufeng, director of the State Council Information Office's Internet Affairs Bureau, said that online discussions made a deeper impression on people's minds and behavior than traditional newspaper reports or radio- TV commentary.
"Once mass protests erupt, online discussion boards can quickly mobilize in a way that can undermine social stability if mishandled," he said.
At about the same time, local publicity departments began to recruit Internet commentators as official jobholders, an idea which the government praised as a great innovation.
In April 2005, the government of Suqian, Jiangsu Province hired 26 commentators. Qualified applicants were required to show political integrity, logic and a sharp news sense, according to the Yangtze Evening News, noting that, "Their performance, based on the number of posts and replies, will be considered for awards in municipal publicity
A picture dated July, 2009 showing a training session for Internet commentators, conducted by the Inspection Commission in Raohe county, Heilongjiang Province.
Pay cut
An official document revealed that in 2004, the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee began to hire a group of Internet commentators who were paid a basic salary of 600 yuan ($88) a month, plus 50 cents ($7 cents) for each post. Many believe that's where the "5 mao" came from.
Lately, the online commentators have taken a pay cut. On the Hengyang Dangjian website, a recent notice advertised that Internet commentators will be given an allowance of 0.1 yuan for one article and no more than 100 yuan ($14) a month, apart from their basic salary.
Beifeng, a former commentator for a news portal, told the Global Times that commentators either work full-time for State-owned news portals, such as xinhuanet.com, people.com.cn and southcn. com or work part-time as government employees for various government branches, including ministries, public security and academic institutions.
"There are an estimated 20 full-time commentators in Guangdong Province. They usually write two to four articles a week and seldom reply to posts," he said.
A commentator surnamed Song, 28, who works for a county-level discipline inspection commission in South China's Hunan Province, said writing news propaganda was part of his job.
"We usually write about our own achievements and comment on the fight against corruption and building a clean government," Song said.
If local news portals run their articles, the writers get 40 yuan per article for 500 words. The price goes up to 200 yuan if they get published on websites run by the central government.
They are occasionally trained by rednet.cn, a forum run by the Publicity Department of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, teaching recruits how to become a Web correspondents and delve deeper into policy issues.
There are more than 100 correspondents in the county, mostly working in their spare time, Song said. The county has a population of about 1 million.
This group, mostly public servants, goes online as ordinary users. They then try to put the best face possible on government policies, or praise the virtues and achievements of role models like Shen Hao, a local hero from Xiaogang Village, Anhui Province, who died at age 45.
Their supervisors give them detailed instructions on how to complete each article. They use QQ group to communicate with each other.
Several days ahead of China's 2008 National Day celebration, 20 commentators in Hengyang, Hunan Province were given an urgent assignment to write 1,000 posts on the discussion topic, "Emancipating minds and development of Hengyang." Local government leaders had solicited advice from netizens and wanted to counter any negative replies with positive comments.
Each commentator had to edit and post more than 60 suggestions and offer advice, based on propaganda materials they had each received. Comments between 100 and 500 Chinese characters in length were to be posted on rednet.cn. They were encouraged to sign up under many IDs and post no more than five comments for each user name.
There was even a guidebook of Dos and Don'ts on writing articles properly to shape public opinion.
An anonymous editor at tianya.cn, which boasts 30 million registered users, made it clear that no Internet commen-tators had been hired by the website to shape public opinion, but also noted that the online forum has a department to censor content.
"We've found online public relations companies doing commercials inside the forums, trying to reach tens of thousands of users to create a commercial hype," she said. "These online pushers are not easily recognized because we mostly delete illegal and pornographic content."
As for the online commentators blending in with ordinary users, she said, "They can register as many IDs as they want, as long as they don't violate the law."
The editor recalled how the online commentators were quickly mobilized during the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and again during the Xinjiang riots.
Pressure
Wang, a former employee at the Public Security Bureau, told the Global Times that she has never heard of the "online commentators," but she acknowledged that there are a certain number of people trying to spin online opinions into support for the government.
Wang said netizens often misunderstand the commentators, and that "actually they are not that mysterious. Guiding public opinion is just a job."
"It is necessary to have the commentators because sometimes truth may hurt social stability," Wang said. "Netizens want to seek justice, but from their perspective, they can't foresee possible negative consequences."
"The forums can't be easily controlled, but it seems to work that way because most netizens tend to follow what others say," Wang added.
A law graduate student, who preferred to remain anonymous, said netizens may have their own opinions but the "online commentators" can have a beneficial value.
"Endless online comments put much pressure on the judicial authorities," he said. "In fact, some of their criticisms are not appropriate. Perhaps that's when the online commentators are doing the right thing."
Beifeng played down the impact of the "online commentators":
"They are inefficient and ineffective," he said, "People who can log on to Twitter can't be easily swayed."
Weakness
Hu Yong, an Internet expert from Peking University, told the Global Times that the public opinion molders have already penetrated different layers of Chinese society.
Hu said that a tourist city's airport has public opinion watchdogs that keep an eye on the forums and deal with any negative information about the airport. Even a county-level middle school has such a department.
The invisible army is mobilized to downplay hot button issues when controversy heats up on the Internet.
"The commentators may exist and temporarily spin public opinion when conflicts emerge, but they will have no effect over the long run, except making the public more aware of them," Hu said.
He pointed out that a significant weakness of "online commentators" is that they are hiding behind an IP without identification, so they can't build credibility and be trusted as a reliable source.
"To a certain extent, their reputation will collapse and the information they provide will become trash."
In that case, the commentator is not entirely a bad idea in term of teaching netizens how to sort out valuable information, he said.
Another camp
Meanwhile, the term "5 cent army" or "Internet agent" has spreaded online referring to anyone with an anti-China opinion, or commentators allegedly hired by the US and Japan.
"Actually it is only a label," said Hu. "Public opinion guidance now carries the stigma of immorality, because netizens assumed commentators were only doing it for the money."
He said the government is getting wiser, adjusting its strategy from online control to guidance.
"It is good they stepped down and joined the debate because people with differing opinions should learn to coexist on the Internet."
"As technology develops, there is little room for 'online commentators' in the Twitter-sphere because they can't work if nobody follows them, even if they register under many IDs. Besides, their identification is easily exposed."
In the future, he said, people will care more about their social identity in the virtual world.
Wu Hao, deputy director of the Publicity Department of CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, who chose not to withhold information when negative news came out, said rather than secretly trying to shape public opinion, govern-ment officials should reply to criticism and offer problem-solving ideas under their real names.
Several provinces followed Yunnan's lead last year, appointing Internet spokesmen to answer criticism using their real names and titles, according to Southern Weekend.
In 2009, online communication between the government and the citizenry was improving, although tempers flared during some mass protests, according to the Public Opinion Monitoring Office of People's Daily Online.
Several provincial and ministerial leaders guested on the Qiangguo Forum to communicate with netizens directly after President Hu Jintao talked to netizens via the online forum in June 2008.
China has world's largest number of Internet users, an estimated 384 million people by the end of 2009. The online community now makes up 28.9 percent of the total population, according to a report by the China Internet Network Information Center in January.
Dos and Don'ts for Internet commentators
Dos:
• Be accurate, timely, and objective
• Short title and brief article
• Fast response to rumors
• Guide people, don't simply give opinions
• Check your article on Baidu before signing up
Don'ts:
• Don't fabricate news or copy others
• Don't repeat the news or talk about trivial stuff like food and health
• Don't use an authoritarian tone and talk crap
• Don't post inappropriate comments on international or foreign affairs
• Don't mention personal information.
Source: Training materials for Internet commentators.
中文版
引用:
《环球时报》：网评员寻踪
他们隐藏身份，变换ID，在虚拟空间接受命令。在美国，他们被称为“政治顾问”，通过左右民意来支持某一政党。而在中国，他们为政府或企业工作。
近日甘肃省宣布组建一只650人的网评员队伍，针对网民关注的热点问题，及时发帖跟帖，正确引导社会舆论。他们被网民谑称为“五毛党”，指的是那些为政府说话的人，发一个帖得五毛钱。
有些学者说“五毛党”是西方偏见的产物。北京师范大学政治学与国际关系学院副院长张胜军在《环球时报》撰文说这个词的流行，西方媒体起到了推波助澜的作用。
“这个词成为对中国爱国主义挥舞的大棒子。中国难道没有什么值得爱吗？中国政府就永远应当是被批评的对象吗？”他说。
一位有着20多年经验的资深媒体人说政府办的网站会邀请传统媒体的评论员来发表评论，比如最近的美国对台军售问题。“用笔名或者真名，由我自己决定，”他说。有时候有人建议他采用和政府不同的观点，来营造讨论的氛围，而接下来的网上议论能帮助大众更好地理解事件背后的真相。
与此同时，央视曾曝光网络营销公司雇佣“水军”在网上热炒某产品，引诱消费者购买，或者影响他们的购买决定。
国务院新闻办公室网站的一篇文章《驾驭网络这匹容易脱缰的野马》指出，网络论坛为民间舆论的发泄口，也是最难管理的口头舆论场，被称为“容易脱缰的野马”。
人民网舆情监测室对2009年77件影响力较大的社会热点事件的分析表明，其中由网络爆料而引发公众关注的有23件，约占全部事件的30％，也就是说，约三成的社会舆论因互联网而兴起，特别是在传统媒体因为种种顾虑而缺席或反应迟钝的情况下，互联网孤军深入，成为网民自发爆料和集结舆论的平台。
早在2005年，国新办网络局局长的李伍峰在《引导网上舆论为构建和谐社会服务》一文中写道，“与传统媒体的传播行为相比，网民对热点问题的讨论对人们思想和行为的影响更为深刻，作用更大。”
“一旦出现重大突发性事件，网上的讨论会迅速转化为一种广泛的社会舆论动员力量，把握不好就会对实际工作、对社会稳定带来直接的冲击。”他说。
就在此时，各省宣传部开始正式聘用网评员，此举一时间被视为一项政绩工程，被大力宣传。
2005年4月，《扬子晚报》报道宿迁市委宣传部在全市范围内招聘了政治素质好、理论水平高、新闻嗅觉敏锐的第一批26名网络评论员。报道称“该市市委宣传部将定期或不定期对重点网站评论员组织培训，年终根据发帖量、跟帖量等情况进行综合测评，并列入全市宣传工作表彰奖励范畴。”
贬值
一份官方文件透露，2004年10月开始，长沙市委外宣办选聘网评员，底薪600元，按发贴量加薪，每发一帖，键入“网络评论员管理系统”进行统计，每帖五角钱。很多人认为“五毛”由此而来。
而最近，网评员贬值了，在衡阳党建网的“《党校阵地》网评员管理办法”中，网评员评论奖励为0.1元/篇，每月奖励不超过100元。
曾在某新闻门户当过网评员的北风向《环球时报》英文版透露，网评员大致分两种，一种是新闻网站的专职评论员，另一种是政府系统的兼职评论员，比如各部委、公安系统和理论研究单位。“广东省大概有20个专职网评员，他们每周写2-4篇评论，很少回帖，”他说。
28岁的网评员小宋在湖南省某县级纪委任职，他说新闻宣传是他们工作的一部分，“我们一般会写自己工作中的特色，亮点和廉政方面的稿件，并发表在网站的反腐倡廉频道。”
如果在地方新闻网站发表，一篇500字的稿子可得40元，而在中央级网站发表，可得200元。湖南省委宣传部下属的红网会组织培训，教他们挖掘新闻和写作的方法。小宋说全县有100多名通讯员，都在业余时间写稿，而这个县有不到100万人口。
这群人大多是公职人员，而在论坛里，他们是普通网民。他们想尽各种方法拥护政府发布的各项政策方针，或者歌颂小岗村党委书记沈浩这样的模范基层干部。而他们的监督者会布置任务，发布详细的说明。他们平时利用非公开的QQ群交流。
08年国庆节前夕，湖南省衡阳市的20名网评员接到一项紧急任务，他们要在最短时间内在红网发布1000条跟帖，表现网民积极响应号召，为“解放思想与衡阳发展大讨论”活动献计献策。
每个网评员要在收到的文字资料中任意编发60条以上的“意见和建议”；每一条建议必须在100-500字；需要多少ID就注册多少，一个ID一次最多只发5个帖，而且不能连续使用。
为了更好地引导舆论，组织者为网评员编写了工作指南。
天涯论坛有3000万注册用户，一位不愿透露姓名的编辑说，天涯没有雇佣网评员，但是有一个专门的部门来审查内容。他们常发现网络公关公司雇佣“水军”进行商业炒作，但“水军”不易察觉，因为网站只审核违法或色情内容。至于网评员就更难发现，因为只要不违法，他们想注册多少账号都可以，她说：“四川地震和新疆暴乱发生时，网评员会迅速行动，能看得出来，很多帖子是他们发的。”
压力
前公安局职员小王告诉《环球时报》英文版她从没听说过“五毛党”，但是多个部门都有专门人员在网上进行舆情引导。她说网民对网评员的误解很深，“其实他们没有那么神秘，引导舆论只是他们的工作。”
“但网评员的工作很有必要，因为有时候了解真相反而会危害社会稳定，”她说：“网民想寻求正义没有错，但他们没有站到那个位置上，就想不到有什么后果。”
“虽然论坛不好管理，但是大多数网民都会有从众心理，所以网评员还是能起到作用的。”她说。
一位不愿透露姓名的法律系研究生说网民自己会分辨是非，但网评员也有积极作用。“网上那些数不清的跟帖会给司法机关带来很大压力，”他说，“事实上，网民很多对司法机关的批评并不恰当，也许这时候便体现出网评员的价值所在。”
而北风说网评员战斗力很差，效率不高，而且“会上Twitter的人不会轻易相信他们的话。”
弱点
北京大学互联网专家胡泳接受《环球时报》英文版采访时说，“舆情管理人员已经深入中国的毛细血管。”让他惊讶的是一个旅游城市的机场都设有“网络舆情管理处”，专门巡视各种论坛，快速处理负面消息，而他的朋友说县级中学都有这种设置。
“现在每个事件出现后，都会立刻动员这样一些人在网络上发声。”他说
然而，“五毛党”却成不了气候，只会成为笑柄，“他们会在某时某地起到混淆视听的作用，但从长远来讲，并没有杀伤力，反而让大家提高警惕，注意去识别什么叫做‘五毛党’的言论。”他说。
“五毛党”致命的的软肋是他们只有IP，没有可识别的身份，因此他们无法积累名誉，获得信任，他说。“最后到一定程度会产生质变，‘五毛党’的社会信用一旦丧失，他们制造的舆论就会土崩瓦解，变成垃圾。”他说，“这样说来，‘五毛党’并不完全是坏事，因为网民会因此培养分辨真假信息的能力。”
新阵营
与此同时，网上也出现了“五美分党”和“网特”，意指那些被美国和日本雇佣，在网上散布反华言论的人。
然而胡泳认为，这些说法已经被标签化，标签化的背后是污名化，“成了骂人的东西，是互联网上的一种语言现象，这和网评员的制度设置不是一回事。”
在政府和网民博弈的过程中，政府会越来越聪明，不断调整策略，从早期的高压管制，到现在的舆论引导。“因为管制的效果不一定好，所以要加强舆论引导。”他说。
他认为现在政府不得不屈尊地去适应多元化的信息化环境，是一件好事，因为“我们都经历过意见、观点趋于一尊的时代。”
归根结底，各种机构和个人要学会如何在网络中共处，他说。
新技术的发展导致五毛的生存空间受到巨大的影响，在论坛发挥的效应在微博客不一定能发挥，“你可以大量注册，如果无人关注你，就发挥不了作用，跳得再高，叫得再响，你没有影响力。而且，Twitter本身会加强人的社会识别，”他说。
他同时指出，今后大家会越来越注意自己的社会身份，因为人类越来越多的活动会从现实社会转向虚拟社会，所以每个人都会越来越在意自己的社会身份。
高调策划、组织“躲猫猫”网民调查、面对质疑并不回避的云南省委宣传部副部长伍皓在接受《南方周末》采访时说，“政府部门应该公开身份直接回应、直接解决问题，比暗中派一批人，用些虚拟网名在网络上发言要好得多。”
据《南方周末》报道，自去年7月云南建立“网络新闻发言人”制度后，全国先后有广东、贵阳等多个省市政府机关设立网络发言人，实名发帖回复网民质疑。
据人民网舆情监测室报告称，2009年，网络非理性情绪有所抬头，同时网络舆论日益受到各级党政机关的重视，从中央部委到地方政府，普遍建立快速应急机制，回应网民关切，网络舆情应对提速。
2008年6月，胡锦涛总书记通过人民网与网友交流，随后，各省部级领导也纷纷做客人民网强国论坛与网友在线交流。
据统计，截止2009年底，中国网民数量达到3.84亿，继续位居全球首位，网民在总人口中的比重从08年的22.6%提升到28.9%，互联网普及率稳步上升。
《网评员工作规则》
宜：
• 及时洞察矛盾，准确传达党和政府的声音，客观反应事实
• 短标题，短段落，短文章
• 迅速批驳谣言，澄清事实
• 必须正面引导，而不只是谈观点、分析问题
• 投稿前在百度搜索，避免雷同
忌：
• 编造新闻、虚构情节或剽窃他人
• 只重复新闻中的内容，或者谈论生活琐事，如饮食和健康
• 用官方语言，讲大道理
• 对国际或外交事务作不恰当的评论
• 谈及个人和单位信息
来源：《网评员培训材料》
即便是一张报纸的中英文版本也有各自表述的空间，比如最近曾被张朝阳点名抱怨的《环球时报》。《环球时报》英文版2月5日发布的一篇报道《网评员寻踪（又名：寻找“五毛党”）》问世后被很多网民翻译成中文广为传播，进而又变成了“出口转内销”的中文报道。这篇报道把网民戏称为“五毛党”的网评员面纱又掀开了一些，一个有趣的细节是，文章配图使用了旧版0.5元人民币票样。
这篇文章中介绍了网评员的来龙去脉，中文读者并不陌生。有些细节未披露过，比如译文说，“曾在门户网站工作的北风透露，各部委和理论研究单位等成员兼职网评员，‘南方某省大概有20个专职网评员，他们每周写2-4篇评论，很少回帖。’天涯论坛有3000万注册用户，一位不愿透露姓名的编辑说，‘一些事件发生时，网评员会迅速行动，能看得出来，很多帖子是他们发的。’北风还认为，会上Twitter的人不会轻易相信网评员的话。”
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本帖最后由 qdpan 于 2012-5-4 10:50 编辑 ]
