Chapter 189 The Internet is Not a Lawless Place (Second Update)
Zhou Jin was hospitalized once again, and after being resuscitated, he survived, but he had to be monitored in the intensive care unit, unable to leave his bed, with various tubes inserted all over his body.
The last time he was hit hard by a finless porpoise, the doctor explicitly told him that it would be best to rest in bed for a few months, and to avoid getting angry. But he stubbornly did not listen; just over a month later, he forced himself to take part in the model worker award ceremony and later went through the hospital discharge procedures, continuing to fight the illness and Suming. Now, his old wounds and new injuries had flared up simultaneously, and he had all but lost half of his life.
Just when everyone was jubilant, another problem quietly surfaced.
If steroids had indeed been found in the fish, then even if the previous articles and posts were somewhat exaggerated, they were not completely groundless.
But in fact, no such steroids in fish were detected. Not only in Yangchuan City, but nearby cities also conducted substantial random inspections and found nothing.
Then the question arose, why did there suddenly appear so many posts about steroid fish overnight, and how did they spread so quickly within a few days?
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Had it been just a few posts, it would have been one thing, but these posts undeniably caused an extremely negative impact!
The most direct result was that the fisheries markets in Yangchuan City and its surrounding areas experienced a large-scale contraction in a short time, and the economy slid to a certain extent; moreover, with the Spring Festival approaching, it caused considerable panic among the people and gave rise to many unstable social factors.
Perhaps the ordinary people did not think too deeply; for them, as long as the fish were safe, it was fortunate. But for the government, it was not as simple as that.
Wang Jian She received a call from Mr. Sun\'s secretary early in the morning and rushed to his office. As soon as he entered, Mr. Sun said with a stern expression, "The party committee had a meeting this morning specifically to discuss this matter! We must thoroughly investigate who is spreading the rumors and causing public panic!"
"It\'s just too much!" Wang Jian She was also furious, if there had been any factual basis and someone messed around online, it might have been excusable, but to create such a commotion over a groundless issue, known nationwide no less, was simply smearing the face of Yangchuan City.
"Wang, you will still be in charge of the follow-up investigation. The party committee has already spoken to the comrades from the online affairs office, and they will cooperate with you. The internet is not a lawless zone, and for those who spread rumors and create trouble, we will deal with them severely according to the law!" Mr. Sun said.
Wang Jian She knew a bit about the internet laws; with 5000 views or 500 shares, one could be sentenced, and over the past two years, national leaders have emphasized the issue of the internet more than once. Offices managing online affairs were established in various places, equipped with cyber police, putting substantial effort into internet management.
The influence of this internet rumor incident was too malign; it left the common people in a state of anxiety and rose to a level that could be called "as clear as daylight to the authorities".
"Moreover, you should be aware that such rumors, ostensibly created for so-called click rates, for personal gain, actually attack the government!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
This statement from Mr. Sun set a \'tone\', conveying the directive of the party committee. To put it plainly, it called for a crackdown in the most severe terms possible.
...
In an office of a deputy director at Yangchuan City TV Station, the big screen repeated the day\'s interview at Shuijun Lake, with host Yang Meng\'s words deliberately targeting Shuijun Lake echoing over and over in the office.
Many viewer comments scrolled back and forth beneath the large screen.
"Does this host have a grudge against Shuijun Lake or what?"
"It\'s like she knew in advance there was something wrong with the fish in Shuijun Lake? Now she\'s slapped her own face!"
"So unprofessional, she might really be sleeping with the boss, that\'s how she climbed up to the host position..."
...
The deputy director\'s face darkened as he picked up the remote and turned off the big screen. Annoyed, he turned to Yang Meng sitting opposite him and said:
"This is ridiculous, you\'re professionally trained, how could you say those things on live broadcast! Did a dog eat your professionalism?"
Yang Meng had none of the pride and flourish she had when she started the show, looking very haggard. If Shuijun Lake had indeed turned out to have problems, her accusations would have been the words of justice, the conscience of journalism; now that nothing was found, they turned into harsh and unprofessional criticism.
"How was I to know it would turn out like this, Shuijun Lake was the only one left, I thought for sure there was a problem there!" Yang Meng was quite frustrated and took a cautious glance at the deputy director before speaking in a somewhat coquettish tone, "You have to help me with this, you just have to."
The deputy director frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "You should stay out of this matter for now. Keep a low profile on the show for the time being. Hmm, it\'s best to take a leave of absence, stay off the show for a while!"
"How can that be!" Yang Meng screamed as if she were a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "You know as well as I do how cutthroat the competition is right now, just missing a few shows and others will easily replace me!"
"Foolish woman!" The deputy director slammed the desk hard: "What do you know, I\'m protecting you! I\'m telling you, it\'s not over yet. The city government is furious and wants to investigate the rumor-mongers thoroughly. You\'ve been involved from the beginning and added fuel to the flames, you could easily get dragged into it."
"Me, but it\'s really not my fault, I didn\'t spread the rumors..." Yang Meng\'s momentum faltered; she hadn\'t expected things to get this serious. Regardless of her commanding presence on TV, acting the part of a tough woman, she knew very well that she was just a local station host, and any city committee leader could end her career with a single expression of dissatisfaction, leading to her being blacklisted and put on ice.
"That\'s why I\'m suggesting you take a leave for a while, don\'t appear in public media for now, wait until the attention dies down, and then you can continue working," the deputy director said.
Yang Meng left the office feeling dispirited. The deputy director opened his computer and received a mass-sent email on the internal network.
"To all departments: Following discussions by the party committee of the TV station, in order to cooperate with the city\'s propaganda department and the city internet office in the special operation to rectify online rumors, our station has established a special program team, specifically led by News Department Nangong Yan, who will handle the reporting and interview work. All departments are expected to provide full support. Hereby notified."
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PS: The previous post-launch acknowledgement was sent incorrectly, ending up in the VIP chapter. I apologize to friends who subscribed for the acknowledgement!