You think that thanks to the internet it would be easier to check rumors, but the number of hoaxes seems only on the increase. I estimate AFP and some tech blogs started the false rumor that all Western search engines in China were blocked, but most just took it for granted it was true.
I did not notice anything and I did not see any of the China-based webloggers taking the rumor very serious.
Update: Ah, this was missing, the traditional press release of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Thanks for the additions on the comments. While there seems to have been a minor incident in a limited number of places, I still think most reactions were way out of line with reality. Throwing in the Dalai Lama and the Party Congress were rather irresponsible speculations.
3 comments:
Thanks for your post and clarification. I thought the story smelled funny as soon as it appeared (typically enough) on the "Drudge Report" webpage. Yeah, AFP is well known to push anything given it by any activist group or just about anyone provided it fits in with their editorial line on China.
Nice site!
It was true, I am located in Shanghai and when I used Yahoo to search it redirected me to Baidu (on the 18th Oct if i remember correctly). It is back to normal now when I tried it again after reading your post.
My internet is acting weird these few days too... wonder if it's my computer or the internet :(
Despite the perception of a funny smelling story, it's a good idea to question ones own preconceived notions, see below for a more informed picture:
http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2007/10/foreign-search-.html
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