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VOA慢速英语--越南如何在Facebook上打信息战

时间:2021-07-18 04:15:13

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(单词翻译)

How Vietnam Fights Information War on Facebook

The Vietnamese government is fighting political disapproval1 online with social media "influencers" who are usually soldiers.

Force 47 is Vietnam's online information warfare2 unit. It has thousands of soldiers who perform normal duties in addition to their online work. They create and moderate online material to correct "wrong views" on pro-state Facebook groups.

Reuters studied state media reports and broadcasts. It found that, since Force 47 was created in 2016, it has set up hundreds of Facebook groups and pages. It also published thousands of pro-government stories and posts.

Social media researchers say the group may be the largest and most complex influence network in Southeast Asia. It is playing an important role in the country's intensifying3 dispute with Facebook.

A Facebook source told Reuters last week that the company had removed a group called "E47." The group used military and civilian4 members to report posts to have them taken down. The person said the group was connected to a list of Force 47 groups identified by Reuters.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that some groups and accounts were taken down last Thursday for organizing attempts to report a lot of posts. A person with the company said the action was one of Facebook's largest takedowns started under its mass reporting policy.

But many of the Force 47 accounts and groups identified by Reuters remain active. The company source said they do not violate Facebook policies because they are operated by users under their real names.

Facebook has become an important tool for political speech in Vietnam. This has created a dispute between Facebook and the country over the removal of material said to be "anti-state."

The ruling Communist Party in Vietnam controls the media and accepts little criticism.

Last year, Vietnam slowed down Facebook traffic until the company agreed to increase the censorship of political material on its service in Vietnam. Months later, officials threatened to close Facebook in Vietnam if the company did not restrict additional material in the country.

A Facebook spokesperson told Reuters that the company's goal was to keep its services online "for as many people as possible to express themselves, connect with friends and run their business."

The spokesperson said Facebook has been honest about its efforts to continue operating in Vietnam.

Skilled and hostile

There is no official definition of what a "wrong view" is in Vietnam. But activists7, reporters and social media users have all received long jail terms in recent years for spreading opinions opposed by the Communist Party.

Le Van Dung, who goes by the name "Le Dung Vova," is a leading activist6 who regularly broadcasted live to thousands of followers8 on Facebook. Last week, he was arrested after more than a month on the run, a police statement said.

Dung was detained on charges of "making, storing, spreading information, materials and items for the purpose of opposing the state," under Vietnamese law.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The size of Force 47 is not known. But in 2017, the general of the unit at the time, Nguyen Trong Nghia, said it had 10,000 members. However, the Reuters study of known Force 47 Facebook groups showed tens of thousands of users.

The Facebook source said the company acted against the E47 group which is made up of military members and civilians9.

"Struggle on the internet"

Vietnamese state media reports named at least 15 Facebook pages and groups it said were controlled by Force 47. Reuters found that collectively these groups had over 300,000 followers.

Force 47 soldiers appear to carry out their social media activities and create locally targeted material along with their usual duties.

The reports showed Force 47 also creates anonymous10 email addresses with Gmail and Yahoo. And they make accounts with two social media sites: YouTube and Twitter.

YouTube said that it closed nine channels last Friday for violating its policies on spam. This included an account identified by Reuters as a suspected Force 47 operation.

Twitter said it had not seen any activity by Force 47.

Dhevy Sivaprakasam is a writer for the internet rights group Access Now. She said, "We are witnessing the creation of a reality where people are not safe to speak freely online, and where there's no concept of individual privacy."

Words in This Story

post – n. a message on an online message board

source –n. someone who provides information

view –n. an opinion or way of thinking about something

account – n. an arrangement in which a person uses the Internet or e-mail services of a particular company

censor5 – v. to examine books, movies, or letters in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral11, or harmful to society

item –n. a separate piece of news or information

anonymous – adj. made or done by someone unknown

spam – n. e-mail that is not wanted: e-mail that is sent to large numbers of people and that consists mostly of advertising12

concept – n. an idea of what something is or how it works


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 disapproval VuTx4     
n.反对,不赞成
参考例句:
  • The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
  • They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
2 warfare XhVwZ     
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突
参考例句:
  • He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
  • Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
3 intensifying 6af105724a108def30288b810d78b276     
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的现在分词 );增辉
参考例句:
  • The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
  • The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
4 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
5 censor GrDz7     
n./vt.审查,审查员;删改
参考例句:
  • The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
  • The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。
6 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
7 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
9 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
10 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
11 immoral waCx8     
adj.不道德的,淫荡的,荒淫的,有伤风化的
参考例句:
  • She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
  • It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。
12 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

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