Three months later, Nongfu Spring is finally no longer silent

Glacier think tank

2024-05-24 17:00Posted on the official account of Zhejiang Glacier Think Tank

Three months later, Nongfu Spring is finally no longer silent

This time, Nongfu Spring has set an example for the private enterprises that have been suffering for a long time: gentle, firm, uncompromising, and have a point of evidence to say something.

Written by丨Zhang Mingyang

After being plagued by rumors from all walks of life for nearly three months, Nongfu Spring finally got involved.

On the evening of May 20, Nongfu Spring posted a long article on the WeChat public account: "Rumors and the truth about Nongfu Spring and the founder Zhong Sui since February 25".

In the statement, Nongfu Spring listed 20 rumors in detail, refuted and clarified them one by one, and provided corresponding evidence and explanations.

Nongfu Spring said that it has started the relevant work of reporting the case to the public security organs and filing a lawsuit with the people's court, and will investigate the legal responsibility of those who maliciously spread rumors.

Rumors have gone up in smoke, and rumor-mongers have nothing to hide, but the damage has already been done.

Nongfu Spring may not have figured out how he fell into the monstrous wave of rumors and slander for no reason, and the density of rumors and rumors are rampant, which can be called the most in recent years.

In the past three months, Nongfu Spring has suffered more framing and malice than in the past 28 years combined.

On February 25, Mr. Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, passed away.

An unwarranted disaster struck Nongfu Spring. With the death of Zong Lao, there have been a lot of cyberbullying and slander against Nongfu Spring and its founder, Mr. Zhong Sui, on the Internet.

The first wave of cyberbullying was basically related to Wahaha.

For example, Zhong was a dealer of Wahaha and had a fleeing behavior, and Zhong was fired from Wahaha; Zhong Sui founded Nongfu Spring for Wahaha, En will take revenge, "Farmer and Snake"; For unfair competition with Wahaha, Nongfu Spring was fined 200,000 yuan in 2000.

Of course, these are all rumors, and Nongfu Spring has clarified them this time:

Zhong has never received a salary from Wahaha Company, and there is no dismissal for fleeing goods; The establishment of Nongfu Spring by Zhong is a completely temporary project, and it is not aimed at any person or enterprise; Since its establishment, Nongfu Spring has never had a single fine due to competition with Wahaha.

But at that time, the rumor-mongers manipulated and exploited the most instinctive view of good and evil among netizens, which instantly stirred up turbulent waves.

It can be said that Nongfu Spring was a little stunned at first, and never expected that he would inexplicably become the protagonist of cyberbullying. This is a completely unexpected cyber violence, without any factual support, no logical collusion, only naked framing, "putting aside the facts" cyber violence.

▲Nongfu Spring Mineral Water Qiandao Lake Production Base (Photo/CFP)

Nongfu Spring is not a company that is good at public opinion warfare. For a company that is focused on its products and users, they have had little interest in profiting from the so-called war of public opinion from the beginning. In the old days, even when they were slandered by rumors, they rarely fought back with great fanfare, let alone resorted to pathetic marketing.

They are only interested in water.

They didn't expect that the mechanism of cyberbullying and rumors in China had "evolved" to such a wanton and reckless manner.

The rumormongers have pinpointed a company that is well-known all over the world, but is vulnerable because it is too pure.

What a suitable target for cyberbullying for rumors.

The reason why rumor-mongers are so rampant is because behind them are a large number of traffic-rubbers who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic.

At the beginning of March, a group of self-media bloggers "performed" the whole process of pouring Nongfu Spring mineral water into the toilet during the live broadcast, claiming that they were real "patriots".

Do these people really hate Nongfu Spring so much? I don't think so, they are just carnival in the traffic, they are accomplices.

More are netizens who have been bewitched and used.

Someone rushed to the customer service of Nongfu Spring flagship store and said that he wanted to buy other brands of mineral water, but the customer service said no, and the other party scolded.

Someone poured into Nongfu Spring's live broadcast room, and in the midst of the abuse, a female anchor couldn't help but shed tears in the live broadcast room, choked up and said: "I'm just a worker, please don't treat me like this." ”

Of course, there are also people who can't get used to Nongfu Spring being cyberbullied, trying to say something fair, and then they also become the target of cyberbullying. At that time, many self-media, including our glacier think tank, defended Nongfu Spring in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and a large number of vicious comments poured into the background, branding the voice as "unpatriotic".

Unable to bear it, on March 3, Nongfu Spring also made an important response. After such humiliating and intensive vilification, the text remained restrained and forbearing.

At that time, I even felt that this rumor was too gentle and generous, and it could not play a role in deterring the ugly.

Facts also seem to prove that after the article was published, the intensity of cyberbullying has even intensified. Some rumors about Zhong Zhang's personal and three-way path are overwhelming, and some even rumors about his life experience.

But looking back, Nongfu Spring's response actually played a decisive role in controlling rigidity with softness, the so-called "he is strong by him, and the breeze blows the hills; He is crossed by him, and the bright moon shines on the river".

Since then, although rumor-mongers are still rampant and new rumors are still emerging, the attitude of netizens and the atmosphere of public opinion have undergone a quiet but decisive change: the stock price has stabilized, the sales that once fell off a cliff have rebounded, and public opinion and self-media have also complained about Nongfu Spring and reflected on cyberviolence.

In hindsight, Nongfu Spring made a very wise choice at that time: the top priority was not to scare the rumor-mongers and fight a war of public opinion, but to return to the essence of the enterprise, "produce good products for the people", and refuse to enter the public opinion trap set by the rumor-mongers of "tearing apart the opposition and stepping on the war".

As for the rumormongers, let the bullets fly a little longer.

Nongfu Spring, no sound.

On the evening of May 20, Nongfu Spring launched a comprehensive counterattack against the rumor-mongers: report the case and file a lawsuit.

Justice doesn't mind being a little late.

Judging from the statement released, Nongfu Spring did not want to get caught up in an emotionally driven war of words, but compiled 20 rumors circulating on the Internet, responded to them one by one, and attached a chain of relevant evidence.

If you don't respond, you will be fine, and as soon as you make a move, everything will be detailed, so that the rumor-mongers will have nothing to hide.

The rumors responded to by Nongfu Spring were roughly divided into three categories: 4 rumors related to Wahaha (1, 2, 3, 11), 7 rumors related to Japan and the United States (5, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18), and 5 rumors related to product quality (7, 8, 13, 14, 19).

In terms of absurdity, especially rumors related to Japan are the most.

As Rumor 12:

Nongfu Spring, red bottle water, oriental leaves, tea pie and other products are labeled to promote Japanese culture;

Nongfu Spring refutes the rumors, and the truth is:

Nongfu Spring Red Bottle Water Bottle Cap uses the red Chinese national flag, which symbolizes national self-confidence. The so-called implication of the Japanese flag is a complete rumor.

The Oriental Leaf Green Tea Label story is based on the history of Jingshan Temple in China, showcasing the cultural power of Chinese tea to influence the world. The stupa pattern on the label is a reference to the image of an ancient pagoda in the Southern Dynasties.

As Rumor 18:

The 1588 on the Nagashirayuki label refers to the year when Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan;

Nongfu Spring refutes the rumors, and the truth is:

The number 1588 represents "as many as 1,588 species of wild animals living in the Changbai Mountain area", and the data comes from the official website of the Baishan Municipal People's Government and the Changbai Mountain Management Committee, which has nothing to do with Japan.

The rumors are so absurd, and Nongfu Spring's response is so serious, forming a wonderful sense of contrast.

Photo/CFP

Of course, this is the "sense of ease" after the passage of time, and when the rumors are rampant, there is a sense that the mountains and rains are coming.

Such outrageous rumors can occupy the field of public opinion for a time, and you can imagine how ridiculous and perverse the atmosphere was at that time.

The rumors are thoughtful and thoughtful, and they do everything they can to forcibly bond Nongfu Spring with Japanese elements. Stimulated by the traffic business, this "coalition army" composed of thousands of rumor-mongering bloggers, with a magnifying glass of hundreds of millions of times, "carried lanterns to assess damage" on Nongfu Spring from all angles, using and trampling on the simple patriotic feelings of netizens, thus giving birth to a "miracle" of rumor-mongering on the Internet.

Why do private companies and their founders always fall victim to rumors?

Of course, this has something to do with the public opinion environment, but the incident of Nongfu Spring being slandered by rumors has indeed exposed some new rumor trends.

For example, as mentioned above, rumor-mongers associate entrepreneurs with "unpatriotism" to stimulate and exploit nationalist sentiment among netizens. This kind of rumor is extremely lethal, and the rumor-mongers often resort to the mouse, lest they be seized by the rumors when they refute the rumors, thus restraining their hands and feet, and making the rumor-mongers even more rampant.

For example, engaging in "pulling and stepping". Competition is the proper meaning of the market economy, and many entrepreneurs with competitive relationships actually have no personal grievances, let alone incompatible forces, but in the narrow world of rumor-mongers, competition means life and death, and it means the struggle between good and evil.

It can even be said that precisely because the populist rhetoric of encircling and suppressing private enterprises is not tolerated by the current mainstream public opinion, they have changed their appearance to "pull and step on" to cover up their real purpose of "singing about the private economy and slandering the entire group of private entrepreneurs".

Photo/CFP

Although the private enterprises that have been "stepped on" have been wronged, the enterprises that have been "pulled" should also be vigilant. They are only temporarily used, and when they turn around, they will be bitten back by those who pull them, and turning their hands into clouds and covering their hands into rain is their behavior pattern.

But in any case, in the face of a similar whirlpool of public opinion, passive dodging is not the way, spending money to eliminate disasters is to put out fires, only active response, is the right way. This time, Nongfu Spring made an example for the private enterprises that have been rumored for a long time:

Gentle, firm, uncompromising, with a point of evidence to say a word.

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