The pandemic caused due to the novel coronavirus has exposed China’s political system to a rough situation. The spread of coronavirus from the Wuhan city of China has made people believe that the novel coronavirus might be a bio-weapon after all. In this vulnerable situation, the rage of people towards China has increased which led to posting, commenting, and sharing content that holds the nation guilty.
In the meantime, YouTube is automatically deleting the two phrase comments in the Chinese language that is insulting to the CCP. The platform and its users have witnessed that within seconds these two phrase remarks are automatically vanishing from the comment section.
Is it a glitch on the system?
YouTube in response to the automatic deletion of specific Chinese comments said that it is an error in the system. The company reported to The Verge that it is a glitch on the system and they are looking into it already. According to a YouTube spokesperson, the investigation has begun and confirmed that this act is certainly not a result of any changes in the moderation policy.
A few months back YouTube declared to make some changes in its community guidelines in response to the content related to coronavirus. The spread of conspiracy theories was increasing from this platform hence they decided to use automated filters to remove them. On 16th March 2020, YouTube declared that it will remove some contents immediately without any human review if found against the guidelines. So, the company, this time said that since they are more dependent on automated filters based on AI. So, it will delete even the positive comments including those two-phrase.
User says the problem existed for a long time now
But, many of the users have also reported that it is not a recent “error” or “practice” of YouTube. Evidence shows that YouTube is responsible for deleting such comments for the past six months or more. Many users raised this issue on the official help page of the platform demanding a proper explanation for this problem. But, the issue has finally got voice when Palmer Lucky, U.S. technologist tweeted about it. Thorough investigation shows that human right activist; Jennifer Zeng raised the same issue a few weeks back.
But, the question is why YouTube would do it intentionally given that the platform is currently blocked in China. So, deleting or establishing censorship to save the reputation of the current ruling party of China should be of no concern for Google. This is very disturbing for the users of every other nation and questions the integrity of the company.
The two phrase comments
According to the reports, the Google-owned-platform, YouTube is specifically deleting comments like “wu mao” and “communist bandit” written in Chinese. The former term is a slang often used to insult the Communist Party of China. The latter was mostly used when the Chinese Nationalist government ruled the nation. The slang “wu mao” means “50-cent party” which is often used for the paid internet users that direct any kind of criticism regarding CCP away from the discussion. People believe they are paid 50 Chinese cents per post and thus the name-calling.
The human rights activist, Jennifer Zeng who spotted this mishap also posted relevant screenshots. She commented on the same phrase three times and YouTube automatically deleted it within fifteen seconds. This is not the first time that Google is criticized for censoring content that goes against CCP. Project Dragonfly launched in 2018 is proof of it.
Also read: Steve Chen – Co-Founder of YouTube
Project Dragonfly
In August 2018, Google launched a censored version of its search engine in China. It was for more than a decade that citizens of China were barred from accessing Google’s search engine. Hence, this censored search engine, also known as Project dragonfly was maybe an attempt by the company to re-establish itself in the Chinese market. But, this act of Google’s raised many questions about public interest and transparency.
Google accepting even the strictest policies of China’s search engine rules questioned its moral principles. This act of Google’s received criticism not only from many politicians but also from its employees. Hence, in June 2019, Google declared that it has dropped the Project Dragonfly and has no plan to launch China.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more