Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, January 4 Title: From "sharing by talents" to false propaganda, who "played bad" with "planting notes"?
Xinhua News Agency's "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Shao Luwen and Hu Linguo
"'Planting grass' for a long time, and finally 'pulling grass' succeeded"... In recent years, a new shopping recommendation method, "Planting Notes", has risen rapidly. This kind of content such as "net red detective shop" and "good food species grass" that consumers spontaneously share and upload is popular on apps such as Little Red Book and Dianping. However, some "planting notes" have recently been questioned and accused of being fraudulent.
The "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporter's investigation found that the "planting notes" on some platforms began to taste bad, harming the rights and interests of consumers and undermining the market order.
"Talent sharing" is frequently complained about "a lot of moisture"
Nowadays, many young consumers will refer to the "planting and sharing" recommendations of the "net red masters" around them and various platforms when they consume. According to a research report released by CITIC Securities in May 2021, 64.3% of Gen Z (the generation born between 1995 and 2009) was influenced by the "planting grass" recommendation when shopping.
However, many consumers reported that some platforms were filled with "planting notes" that were "very watery" and over-publicized.
Ms. Tian, who loves online shopping, has repeatedly "stepped on the thunder" in online shopping consumption in the past year. She said that after seeing the recommendation of the "planting grass" article on an app, she bought a lot of products, but the effect of some products was far from the recommendation. Especially a facial cleanser, the face begins to itch after use; after inquiry, I know that this product belongs to the "three no products".
Ms. Tian said that she later realized that many "planting grass" articles were not actually the real feelings of recommenders, but merchants paid for and invited a group of "net red" bloggers to publish false "grass planting notes".
A brand party paid to recruit "internet celebrities" to write false "planting notes"
In order to make the subject appear more attractive, some "planting notes" have the phenomenon of over-beautifying using filters, and the pictures are seriously inconsistent with the real scene, causing some consumers to complain.
Sun Hui, a citizen of Jinan, said that when traveling, he will look at the "planting notes" of some destination city "net red" restaurants in advance, and its content often highlights the color and aroma of food, but after on-site experience, it is found that the service is poor, the price is high, and the dishes are ordinary. After more experience, she understood that adding a layer of filters to products and promoting them on the platform has become the "basic operation" of some store marketing.
On platforms such as Black Cat Complaints, there are not a few victims who have suffered physical damage due to the purchase of scar removal, wrinkle removal, weight loss and other products due to believing in false "grass planting notes". Some platforms have also repeatedly investigated and punished accounts that publish false content, but they are still repeatedly prohibited.
Giving birth to the gray industry chain, the minimum release of "plain people" accounts is only a dozen yuan
The reporter's investigation found that hiring professional writers and network water troops to fictitiously "planting notes" and "net red evaluations" has formed a gray industrial chain. Reporters search for keywords such as "soft text ghostwriting" on the Internet, and there will be a large number of results of services such as ghostwriting, generation, and brushing; the "planting notes" originally used to share good things have become inducements and even misleading to consumers.
On a platform, merchants post "cooperation" requirements
Qin Chuan, owner of a newly opened restaurant in Jinan, told reporters that the most important thing for the opening of a new store today is not to engage in preferential activities, but to publish "planting notes" and videos through various channels, such as "net red punch card" and "food expert recommendation" to the store through various channels, such as Xiaohongshu, Dianping, Weibo and other platforms. "Some brokerage companies have such resources, some have some 'internet celebrity' bloggers, and some have social network head accounts, through which they publish promotional content, and the promotion effect is far better than the promotion activities of the store itself."
A merchant showed the reporter that in the early days of opening the store, he paid to invite a "net red" to publish notes on visiting the store
False "planting notes" are often bundled with "business" such as brushing orders and brushing evaluations, forming a fixed routine. For example, after a wave of influence publicity through "net red" bloggers, they will increase their voice through "ordinary people" to create a feeling of "praise".
In order to prevent false "planting notes" from being investigated and punished by the platform, some insiders told reporters that behind the false "planting notes", there is also a huge "industry" of "raising numbers". These institutions register accounts on multiple platforms, and the operation team is responsible for packaging each account, shaping the image of "internet celebrity" and "food master". In addition, some platform detection mechanisms are not perfect, as long as the content is realistic and equipped with real-life content such as photos or videos, it is easy to recommend bits.
It is recommended that multiple parties implement policies to manage false "planting grass"
Industry insiders believe that "planting grass" as an emerging consumer culture is understandable; but for the behavior of deliberately publishing false "planting notes" for the purpose of making profits, regulatory authorities and relevant platforms should not let it go.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Chinese Min University, said that if he knows or should know that the content is not the true experience of the publisher, and fabricating "planting notes" for the purpose of making profits is suspected of false propaganda; according to the provisions of the Advertising Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, if consumers are deceived with false propaganda or misleading content, the relevant personnel shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities.
Hong Tao, director of the Institute of Commercial Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, said that in view of the frequent occurrence of false content on the Internet, multi-level governance should be strengthened. Regulatory authorities and industry associations may formulate corresponding rules and standards to strengthen industry supervision and self-discipline. For institutions and accounts suspected of false publicity, timely bans are carried out, and relevant institutions and personnel such as merchants, counterfeiters, and single brushers are included in the industry blacklist to form a deterrent effect. At the same time, consumers are encouraged to actively participate in supervision, and the regulatory authorities intervene in a timely manner to prevent false content from causing consumers to be deceived and causing adverse consequences.
Experts suggest that relevant Internet platforms should take the main responsibility, strengthen content review, strengthen manual checks, and strictly screen "planting notes" with similar or similar forms. Liu Junhai and other experts believe that the platform should indicate the word "advertisement" in a conspicuous position for articles with advertising nature to ensure that consumers' right to know is guaranteed and maintain a fair market competition environment. In addition, relevant platforms should use more scientific algorithms to recommend high-quality content, no longer taking similar "comments" and "likes" as the only basis for ranking, but taking integrity, qualifications, etc. as important reference indicators.
Gong Weiqing, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong Consumer Association, said that consumers should be calm and rational when consuming, and carefully screen the popular "planting notes" in various online platforms to avoid being induced by marketing advertisements. When purchasing goods, in addition to paying attention to asking for purchase invoices or receipts, you should also retain the advertising slogans, promotional content, order details, etc. on the Network in the form of screenshots, so that when necessary, you can apply to the consumer protection department in a timely manner to protect your rights.
Source: Xinhua Net