看不见的枪手：网络公关编辑本段回目录
网络成了中国消费者的出气筒。越来越多的消费者通过上网张贴一篇恶评来宣泄自己买到伪劣产品或遭受低劣服务后的不满。然而，在看似舆论自由的面纱背后，一只肮脏的“看不见的手”正企图空通过操控企业在网民心中的形象，于翻唇弄舌间谋取私利。
In a country with nearly 400 million Web users, online marketing has become a big business and has spawned a legion of Internet public relations agencies. Their services include not only getting a product seen but also removing any negative feedback they find.
4亿网民这一巨大的营销空间催生了一大批的互联网公关公司，它们不仅致力于“让您的产品被看到”，更能“让那些恶评见鬼去”。
"Real estate, cars, electronics: These are usually the most lucrative when it comes to deleting negative posts," said Ma Mingdong, a 25-year-old Beijing blogger and online marketer. "Many people think it's complicated to delete posts but it isn't."
马明东（音）先生今年25岁，是北京的一名博客写手兼网络营销员，他告诉记者：“房地产、汽车和电子产品是删帖生意的大客户。很多人觉得删帖很难很复杂，其实恰恰相反。”
He said it costs just a few hundred yuan to bribe staff at a website or forum to delete posts, and if that fails, "paid posters" - netizens hired to leave fake comments and delete genuine ones - can use software to copy the official documents and identification that websites need before they agree to remove a comment.
他透露企业只要往网站或论坛的管理员口袋里塞进几百块钱，就能让那些恶评消失。假使收买未遂，企业还能雇佣枪手（专门发布假消息、删除真消息的网民），通过伪造认证文件潜入该网站删除那些“眼中钉、肉中刺”。
Posts can be deleted legitimately when a company or individual provides a copy of their ID card or business license, while many websites, including Baidu Post and tianya.cn, have issued statements saying they provide the service for free.
公司或个人也可以通过法律途径要求删帖，不过必须提供身份证或营业执照。许多网站，包括百度贴吧、天涯论坛都声明免费提供合法删帖服务。
Several chat groups on QQ, the instant messaging service, have even become mini-trading centers where PR firms regularly advertise for paid posters, otherwise known as shuijun, the "water army".
另一方面，QQ群这一即时通讯平台已然成为公关公司的招兵所。大旗一展，枪手纷至，水军所指，舆情惶惶。
However, industry experts argue that the use of shuijun undermines consumer trust in the Web, as well as underlines the need for stricter policies to protect the rights of netizens and ensure fair competition.
互联网专家指出水军的出现使得网络舆论的可信度受到了诋毁，因此政府亟需出台通过更严格的法令保护网民权利、维护公平竞争。
The China International PR Association also released guidelines shortly after World Consumer Rights Day - March 15 - that specifically bar marketers from paying to have genuine negative comments removed.
今年“3-15消费者权益日”甫过，中国国际公共关系协会就出台了一份“指导意见”，禁止公关公司通过删除公众的真实评价牟利。
With the vast amount of information uploaded every minute, though, the rule is virtually impossible to enforce.
但互联网信息更新速度之快，数量之大，使得这份“意见”无异于一纸空文。
"Deleting posts and comments is part of our daily job," said a Beijing Web editor named Zhang who works at a popular online forum and has to review more than 2,000 comments each day. "There are so many topics that need to be monitored, and comments need to be deleted (for legitimate reasons) all the time. It would be very easy for me to delete negative posts about a company if I wanted to."
张先生是北京某知名论坛的编辑，每天要审核2000多条网帖。他说：“删帖是我日常工作的一部分。很多话题都会犯禁，而我随时能以合法的理由删除它们。只要我愿意，删掉企业的恶评不成问题。”
More worrying, perhaps, is the growing use of fake negative comments by websites to pressure businesses into advertising with them.
然而，更令人担忧的是通过在网站上张贴虚假恶评以逼迫企业购买广告的行为。这种手段正被越来越多的网站使用。
Wang Yu (not his real name) worked as a Web editor for a property website in Jiangsu province after graduating from college in 2007. He said his job involved copying various articles about real estate agents from other sites and then leaving fake complaints about them under any number of pre-registered usernames.
王宇（化名）2007年大学毕业后便在江苏的一家房产经纪网站担任编辑。他向记者描述了他的工作：从其它房产网站上拷贝房产经销信息，粘贴在公司网站上，再以未注册用户的名义对它们进行恶评。
"Negative comments are like intangible assets," said the 26-year-old, before explaining that the companies usually responded to his comments "about poor service and bad construction" by offering to advertise with the site - on condition that the posts are deleted. It is a common problem faced by many Chinese businesses, and can be particularly hard on small, family-run firms that cannot afford to hire a PR firm to protect their reputation.
大部分房产商回应他写的“劣质服务”、“豆腐渣建筑”等恶评的方法就是购买该网站的广告（当然，条件是让网站上的恶评消失）。这个26岁的小伙子说：“恶评也是无形资产。”确实，网络舆情控制是中国企业普遍面对的问题。而对那些规模较小、无力雇佣公关公司家庭企业而言，这个问题尤为困扰。
"Deleting news articles is difficult, but deleting posts from online forums is very common nowadays, only the price changes," said Li Haigang, founder of Caogen PR, an Internet marketing company. "If one of my clients gets negative posts on certain online forum, everyone would say, 'Oh, they are in trouble' - but only because this forum charges more than the others.
网络营销公司“草根时代”创始人李海刚说：“删除新闻比较难，但删除论坛上的帖子已经成为平常手段，唯一的变数也就是价格而已。如果某论坛上出现关于我客户的恶评，很多人会说‘呀，他们是不是真的有问题啊’---事实上，只是这个论坛要价较高而已。”
"Of course, no one would list 'post deleting' as part of the contract," he added. "The deals (between the website and the companies) are made in the name of advertising."
他补充道：“当然，我们不会在合同里写明提供删贴服务。这一切都包含在‘广告’服务名下。”
Legal trouble
法律困境
Although arguably ethically wrong, there is no law stopping this practice and is deemed legitimate if both sides reach an agreement.
毫无争议，有偿删贴服务是不道德的。但目前并没有法律禁止这类交易。一般而言，只要双方达成协议，法律是不干预协议内容的。
Zhao Chaofeng stares over a laptop at the Beijing branch of 315ts.net, a consumer protection website on June 3, 2010. Zhao keeps a watch on the Internet's consumer forums by deleting posts that are proven to be fraudulent and helps to take customers' complaints. [China Daily]
2010年6月3日，赵朝峰（音）在“315投诉网”北京分公司注视着电脑屏幕。“315投诉网”是一家消费者维权网站。赵的工作是监视这个网站上出现的帖子，协助消费者表达他们的意见，删除那些被证明失实的帖子。（中国日报记者 Johnah M. Kessel 摄）
"Since these websites are private companies, they have the right to manage their content, which includes deleting posts," said Zhang Zhisheng, a lawyer with Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm.
北京中银律师事务所的张志胜律师说：“作为私营企业，网络公司对自己网站上的内容有处置权，其中包括删帖权。”
Wang Yu wrote about his experience and posted it online because he wanted to tell people not to pay too much attention to harsh comments. "Some of it is simply manipulation by Web editors, who are trying to cause a debate so that people can keep the conversation going," he said.
为了让民众认清恶评背后的人为操作，王宇将自己的经历发表在了网上。他说：“有些失实的评论出自网站编辑的手笔，他们引发争论，而网民会把话题炒热。”
Websites often run the risk of being sued for defamation if they refuse to delete comments about certain products.
网站也不是没有风险。拒绝删除产品恶评可能招致诽谤官司。
The most high-profile case was in 2007 when 315ts.net, a consumer protection website based in Beijing, was taken to court by two companies over posts they claimed damaged their image.
发生在2007年的两公司诉“315投诉网”（一家总部位于北京的消费者维权网站）侵犯公司形象的官司就颇为引人注目。
Doctor Bai, a cosmetics firm, and BiosTime Inc, which makes health food for children, both filed lawsuits claiming the site had faked comments about their products. Judges eventually ruled in the website's favor because there was no evidence to suggest the posts were not genuine.
化妆品制造商“白大夫”公司和婴儿健康食品制造商“合生元”公司分别起诉“315投诉网”，声称网站上的造谣帖子损害了他们公司的形象。法院审理后认为两公司没有足够的证据证明帖子的内容失实，因此最终做出了有利于网站方的判决。
"Enterprises have an obligation to tolerate criticism," was all Wang Fushan, chief executive of 315ts.net, would say about the outcome.
“企业家有容忍批评的义务。”---“315投诉网”总裁王福山这样评价法院的判决。
![China has almost 400 million Web users, which has made Web marketing a big business. [China Daily file photo]](http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100617/b8ac6f27aafb0d839e3808.jpg "China has almost 400 million Web users, which has made Web marketing a big business. [China Daily file photo]")
China has almost 400 million Web users, which has made Web marketing a big business. [China Daily file photo]
中国高达4亿的网民数量使得网络营销成为了大生意。（中国日报资料图片）
Since the website was launched in 2005, it has received more than 700,000 complaints from customers across China. After the lawsuit, users were asked to register and provide contact information to ensure the validity of their comments.
自2005年建站以来，“315投诉网”已经收到了来自全国各地的70多万条消费者投诉。不过在诉讼风波过后，他们开始要求用户事先注册并提供联系方式，以便核实帖子内容的真实性。
"We receive at least five calls a day from people asking us to remove complaints from our website," said the CEO, who insisted that his 30 staff members only delete content when a customer's problem is solved.
尽管“每天至少接到5通要求删帖的电话”，总裁先生仍然坚称他手下的30名员工只在消费者的投诉得到解决后才会删除相关帖子。
"You can't depend on people's conscience to do the right thing, though," said Wang Fushan, who receives an e-notification every time a post is deleted. "You need a good system to prevent abuses from happening."
王先生补充道，每当帖子被删除时，他本人都会收到系统通知。“你不能指望人人都凭良心做事，一个好的系统能让人们避免犯错。”
Like many websites, 315ts.net generates its income from advertising and selling data analysis of its customer complaints. Before filing the lawsuit, Doctor Bai paid 5,000 yuan ($730) to place a product safety announcement on the site. However, Wang stressed: "Our advertising is completely separate from our content. Even if a company advertises with us, customers can still file complaints about them."
与许多网站一样，“315投诉网”依靠广告和出售消费者投诉的分析数据获取利润。在进入诉讼程序前，“白大夫”曾花了5千元（约合730美元）在该网站上张贴了一份“产品安全声明”。但王先生强调：“我们的广告和网站内容是完全分开的。消费者完全可以发表针对我们广告客户的投诉。”
The CEO said that although the websites that accept money to delete posts are breaching netizens' trust, the real problem lies with the companies that pay them. "No companies went bankrupt because of bad comments, they go out of business because of other problems," he added.
总裁先生承认网站通过删贴牟利会损害其在网民心中的信誉，但他强调真正有问题的是那些花钱消灾的企业。他补充道：“网评不足以毁掉一家企业，它们都是被其它问题毁掉的。”
The growing demand for deleting posts deals a real blow to the ongoing efforts to protect consumer rights in China.
删贴之风若得以助长，将对中国的消费者维权活动造成沉重的打击。
Many have turned to the Web to air their grievances because the other mechanisms on offer are slow, complicated and ineffective.
快速、简单、高效是网络受到投诉者青睐的主要原因。
People unhappy with products can file complaints with industrial and commercial bureaus, but as there are few institutions that provide independent tests, it is difficult for customers to back up their claims, especially when it comes to property, automobiles and electrical goods. Legal procedures are also expensive and time-consuming.
理论上，民众可以就产品质量问题向工商部门提出投诉。但由于鉴定机构数量有限，他们往往难以获得有利于投诉的证据。这一问题在房地产、机动车和电子产品领域尤为突出。另外，司法程序冗长而昂贵，这也打击了消费者投诉的积极性。
Solving problems
路在何方
The situation has led many consumers to believe that the best way to have a complaint heard is through publicity.
上述原因使得网络成了许多消费者进行投诉的首选。
A worker at 315ts.net reviews posts on the consumer rights protection website. [Johnah M. Kessel China Daily]
一名“315投诉网”的员工正在审查网民的维权帖子。 （中国日报记者Johnah M. Kessel 摄）
A recent online survey by sina.com, a Chinese news website, found that one-third of the 783 netizens polled see the media as the most efficient way to solve a dispute.
新浪网的一项调查显示，783名投票者中有三分之一的人认为媒体曝光是解决纠纷的最佳方法。
"Not all the disputes can be solved this way but I like to report my complaints to warn others that there is a problem," said Qu Lingdi, a network engineer in Beijing.
北京的网络工程师曲林迪（音）说：“并不是所有的纠纷都能通过曝光解决，当这起码能让其他看到帖子的人提高警惕。”
Although PR expert Li Haigang said he believes deleting posts is still a "necessary measure", he admitted that "papering over the cracks" of a problem usually only leads to crisis in the future. "Communication is the best solution," he said. "If these bad comments are being generated by competitors, then we can find out the source and tell them to stop. Otherwise, we will fight back."
尽管作为公关专家，李海刚坚持删贴是一种“必要措施”，他也承认“纸包不住火”，一味掩盖问题将会导致危机。他说：“沟通是解决问题的最好方法。如果恶评是由竞争对手捏造的，我们会找出源头并请对方停手。只有在它们不合作的情况下，我们才会反击。”
However, the current law is too slow to prevent the fast spread of information on the Internet, he argued.
他辩称现行法律无法及时避免信息在互联网上传播。
"Do you know how long it takes a company to file a lawsuit against libel?" he asked. "Netizens' attention spans are very short, so it could be too late once a bad impression is made."
“你知道发起诽谤罪的诉讼要花多少时间么？”他反问记者，“网民对一件事的关注不会持续很久。当案子判下来的时候，坏印象早已植根在网民心中了。”
For those people who have noticed their posts being deleted, however, they say they have already lost faith in what they read on the Web.
对于那些被删贴的投诉者而言，他们或许本就不对网站抱有多大的期待。
"I don't trust websites anymore," said blogger Ma Mingdong, who has given up posting negative articles. "My posts are just tools for these websites to make money."
“我不会再相信那些网站了。我的投诉不过是他们挣钱的工具。”博客写手马明东决定再也不写恶评稿了。
