Xinhua Insight: The dangers of a rumor

"Rumors are fiercer than a typhoon," Li Qiangrong says, taking a deep drag of his cigarette.

The fisherman from Shijing township of Nan'an city in eastern China's Fujian Province sits sulkily outside his warehouse, which is full of seaweed he harvested but cannot sell.

"My family have lived on growing seaweed for generations, and I have been growing seaweed for more than 30 years," Li says. "I managed to reap even after typhoons. But a couple of words can bring such catastrophe."

Last year, Li was happy that typhoons did not affect the growth of seaweed. His joy did not last long, however, as a video went viral online where someone claimed "you are eating black plastic bags rather than seaweed".

Seaweed is a popular ingredient in China, often used to make soup. The footage caused panic, and sales of seaweed fell.

Li is head of a cooperative of more than 100 fishermen contracted for 200 hectares of seaweed.

"Many orders were canceled," he says.

Normally one ton of dried seaweed can be sold from 70,000 yuan (about 10,000 U.S. dollars) to 160,000 yuan. But after the footage was released, the price fell below 30,000 yuan per ton. Many fishermen like Li had to leave seaweed at home to rot.

The rumor inflicted great losses on the fishermen. In Fujian alone, the losses could reach more than 100 million yuan.

RUMORS SPREAD FAST

The video footage began spreading mid-February; a man soaked dried seaweed in water, before attempting to tear it up and failing, concluding that the product was actually a black plastic bag. Footage of more than 20 similar experiments followed suit.

"Of all these videos, seven were targeting our products. Almost all the footage was reposted a million times," says Li Zhijiang, general manager of Ayibo Food. "We later received blackmail phone calls." The company called police.

The food administrative bureau of Jinjiang city in Fujian conducted an inspection of the company, finding samples from different batches were all up to standard.

This is not the only rumour that had widespread influence.

In mid-February, video footage spread widely claiming that a chain bridge at a scenic site had broken, with many visitors falling into the abyss. Several famous tourist attractions were affected.

Among these sites was Zhangjiajie, an area famous for its scenery, which appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar."

Wang Jianjun, a publicity official with the city, told Xinhua that they spent several days quashing the rumor.

"The rumor was started by a retired woman, who has since been taken into custody," he says.

According to Li Weizhen, executive chairman of the Quanzhou corporate counsel research institute, people that spread rumors fall into three types: ignorant consumers, people who want fame on social media, and those who start rumors for blackmail purposes.

RESTORING THE TRUTH

Chen Xiaoshan, a police officer with the public security bureau of Jinjiang city, told Xinhua that a special team was sent to investigate the case three days after the footage was uploaded.

According to the amended Criminal Law, people who fabricate and spread hazards, epidemics, disasters and crimes, and those who, knowing the information is false, deliberately spread information to disrupt social order are subject to imprisonment of up to three years. Those that cause serious consequences can be jailed for three to seven years.

"As social media become popular in China, such rumors increase dramatically because it is easy to spread something sensational on WeChat or Weibo," he says. "The cost of refuting rumors is high, and the impact can be enormous."

His view is echoed by Su Junbin, associate professor with the School of Journalism and Communication at Xiamen University. "In the computer-mediated social network, spreading a rumor is just the click of a button," he says.

"Human beings are highly alert to lurking danger," he says. "Take the seaweed rumor for instance. We had food safety scandals before, which weakened people's trust in food companies. Therefore, consumers who heard other food safety scandals were susceptible to rumors."

He noted that China was in the process of social transformation. "We should improve the moral standard of people in the food industry, and rebuild social trust. In this way, we can curb the spread of rumors," he says.

While ripples of the rumor have not ceased, Li Qiangrong is contemplating his future.

"Reaping seaweed is dangerous," he says. "We are in wooden boats. After a tide, maybe a person is gone. Even such danger doesn't stop."

But now he is seriously considering other work.

In the sea lots of unharvested seaweed hang on poles, waving with the whim of the tides.

"Let the fish eat it," he says. Endi