新西兰全搜索新闻直播间,本文来自于澳大利亚广播电台(ABC)的文章,2019年5月19日,“悉尼奶爸”频道在视频播放平台油管(YouTube)上问世。澳大利亚华人卢雄飞在后来两年多的时间里人气不断上升,积攒了27万名订阅粉丝。
作为一个时政评论类的主播,卢雄飞在节目中探讨的话题广泛。从评论中国和澳大利亚的社会热点,到讲述个人的政治观点,再到与持不同政见的网络红人对话,卢雄飞的视频在发布后普遍获得数万的播放量,有时甚至可以达到数十万。
“我的口号是‘八月十五杀大红龙’,红代表极左,龙代表极端民族主义,”曾在中国当过节目制作的卢雄飞告诉ABC中文。
在距离悉尼七千五百公里外的中国广东省会广州,澳大利亚人赫瀚睿(Harry Harding)在2020年9月创办了自己的油管频道“HazzaChinaVlogs”。一年后的今天,赫瀚睿的订阅粉丝数已接近两万。
在广州生活了十多年,如今的赫瀚睿在广东广播电视台担任英文新闻主播,负责每天制作一档广播节目和一档电视新闻节目。当地观众亲切地叫他“大哈”,或者Hazza。
许多年前,因为喜欢中文流行音乐而决定学中文的赫瀚睿在毕业后到中国发展。在自己的频道上,赫瀚睿除了谈论自己对中国社会和一些政治议题的理解以外,还会分享自己演唱的中文歌曲。
“这个频道的所有内容都是独立制作的,与我的平常的工作无关,”赫瀚睿说。
近些年来,持有不同政见、说中文的网红在西方社媒平台上展开了一场旷日持久的对峙。
卢雄飞和赫瀚睿都用中文制作节目,但他们在节目中看待中国议题的角度几乎完全不同。在ABC中文最新一期的《直播澳洲》节目中,他们和几位嘉宾展开了一场别开生面的对话。
“反共≠反华,爱国≠爱党”
卢雄飞说,他口中的“大红龙”指的是对意识形态的垄断。他说,自己制作的内容反对的是中国共产党,而“不是反华,也不反中”。
“我个人认为反共不等于反华……首先我不是反华,也不反中,我自己的身份认同是澳大利亚人,中国人或华人,我做的很多事情的确是反共的,”卢雄飞说。
在被问及他对自己的定位是公民记者,还是娱乐节目主持人时,卢雄飞说,他一直主张“说人话”,也就是讲道理、用浅显易懂的方式谈新闻。
“你可以认为我把新闻娱乐化了,但对我来说这就是一个接地气的表达方式。虽然我只有一个人的力量,但是我还是很重视新闻素材来源的查验。”
几个月前,卢雄飞与观点亲中国共产党的油管网红主播组织了一场直播。他形容那期节目是一场“辩论”。
这是他的系列节目《我的粉红朋友》其中的一集。卢雄飞说,他希望把辩论的另一方当作自己的朋友,在“反共不等于反华,爱国不等于爱党”的框架下进行交流。
“我一直在找对面的,和我意见相反的人做连线……我特别喜欢和这种极端的——跟我的意见不一样的、声音很少被人听到的这些人对话交流,”卢雄飞说。
当被问及他是否嘴上都是主义,心里都是生意时,卢雄飞说,他的收入全部来自油管视频的广告费,以及自己在另一个会员平台上获得的捐赠。
“如果你是反共的人,你只有靠YouTube这一个平台赚钱,YouTube是唯一一个给反共的声音提供资金支持的平台。”
他说,与“亲共”网红的视频变现能力相比,这是“一根萝卜和一堆青菜”的区别。他说,接广告或直播带货对和他一样的时政评论主播来说是不可能的。
“我因为生病,会员节目已经三个月没更新了,我的会员们都非常慷慨地在支持我,”他说。
“我个人做节目一年多来,我觉得最方便、最简单、最高效、最轻松的方法就是把自己想什么说出来。而不是去营造一种舆论氛围,表演什么,那是最累的。”
“发表看法、分享生活”
2021年5月,中国国家主席习近平表示,中国要在国际社会广交朋友,努力塑造“可信、可爱、可敬”的形象。话音落地,分析人士认为中国政府将寻求更接地气的方式拓展和巩固在海外的宣传工作。
部分国际媒体在报道中提到过一些在华外籍主播参加了中国政府组织的宣传活动。也有声音怀疑,这些主播是拿钱办事,为中国政府做“大外宣”。
赫瀚睿说,他在中国认识的外籍网红主播不多,目前还没有听到身边有人被征召参加宣传项目,也表示自己的油管账号没有得到过中国政府或官媒的经费资助。
“习主席说完这些话以后,对我的生活没有任何的影响…… 我不能告诉你完全是没有这样的现象,因为我自己不知道,”赫瀚睿说。
“[身边的主播]跟我说没有收钱,他们还开玩笑说‘如果能收钱就好了’。
“我有主动跟我工作单位说我有这个[油管]号,但是他们从来没有要求我去做任何内容,也不会控制我的言论。”
赫瀚睿说,一些亚洲的国家和欧洲国家的政府会通过在广州的领事馆邀请他的节目前往拍摄。这种被称为推广体验游(Familiarisation trip)的活动他曾参加过,但那些国家的政府对节目组没有具体的要求。
“没有跟我们说一定要拍这个,一定要说这个,所以我想可能国内的活动应该也是差不多,”赫瀚睿说,尽管他曾经受到过邀请,但他在中国国内“从来没有参加过这样的活动”。
“我个人认为是没有任何问题的,但是我是担心我的观众会误会,他会觉得我是因为收了钱,或者我的言论被控制,所以我就拒绝,没有去参加。
“我做YouTube不是为了钱,我有一份稳定的工作,有稳定的收入。我做YouTube是因为我要发表我自己的想法,分享我的生活。”
尽管如此,赫瀚睿曾多次遇到网络攻击,甚至有人把他称为“叛徒”。
“我在国内发表一些言论也会被网友骂…… [在YouTube上是]繁体字,还有有粤语表达方式的,还有澳大利亚人也骂我,攻击我,”赫瀚睿说。
“网络上有人分享了我澳洲的电话号码。有一段时间,有很多我不认识的人给我打电话来骂我,说一些特别难听的话。
“这个是我见过最可怕的事情。”
平台的责任
在澳大利亚,总理莫里森本周把“网络喷子”形容为“懦夫”,并表示堪培拉将研究如何确保人们对其行为负责。
莫里森总理说,社交媒体是“懦夫的宫殿”(coward’s palace),允许人们不负责任、不计后果地发表粗俗和冒犯性的评论。
“那些匿名在社交媒体上诋毁别人、骚扰他人、欺负他人,从事诽谤性言论的懦夫,他们需要对他们所说的内容负责,”他说。
其他社交媒体,例如脸书(Facebook)近期有吹哨人爆料,该公司为了商业利益“助长分裂”,未能有效打击假消息。
澳大利亚总理提及的情况对卢雄飞和赫瀚睿来说并不陌生。
时政评论员、前中国驻悉尼外交官杨涵说,华人在西方社交媒体上对峙的观点,有时涉及人身攻击,也有可能涉及反对民主自由,甚至触及法律。
他说,在澳大利亚,具有人身攻击、侮辱人格、诽谤、不实言论等网络暴力行为的账号拥有者或机构须负法律责任。
“最近澳大利亚的最高法院有这样的判例…… 账号的主人要负责,”杨涵说,这可能会减少躲在虚拟世界账号名称之下的不良行为。
“两重”世界的背后
对于目前油管上华人网红主播形成的生态圈,皇家墨尔本理工大学(RMIT)数字媒体专家于海清教授说,自媒体为了吸引眼球就需要保持其争议性,这与例如福克斯在内的传统媒体类似。
“你越是中肯,越是中间派,越没有争议的话,你的粉丝就越觉得你没有意思,”于海清教授说。
她还指出,受众也在今天这个政治议题娱乐化的时空,不再考虑新闻来源是否可靠,而像追韩剧一样“抱着围观一切的心态”观看时政新闻、国际新闻。
“因为各种阴谋论、假消息、各种争议,这些吃瓜群众……觉得这是个消遣。他们不在乎真相如何,信息来源,”于海清教授说。
“就把国际新闻、博主之间的争论就当做明星出轨一样的娱乐新闻来看。
“越是匪夷所思,两个人打得越厉害,越能满足他们看热闹,看热闹不怕事大。”
澳港联维州主席、前香港资深媒体人Jane Poon说,油管网红主播就是时政评论员,他们表达的是自己的观点,因此无需保持客观、公正、平衡。但是,她说信息准确则是一个最基本的要求。
“YouTubers实际上就是时政评论员,你有你的立场。YouTubers不是记者,除非你认定自己是记者,”她说。
“但是,我觉得最重要的他们讨论的事实一定要准确,不能说一些假的消息。”
墨尔本大学国际关系硕士、“澳洲华人事实核查”小组发起人杨冰清说,无论是中国还是西方的社交媒体,算法对信息的过滤都可能会误导受众。
“[这些社媒]屏蔽了一些你不感兴趣和不认同的内容。这就造成了一种‘过滤气泡’(filter bubble),最后就变成了一种‘回音室’(echo chamber)。不断接受一些你愿意看到的东西。就会错认为这就是当下的政治光谱,其实不然。”
卢雄飞说,从他个人做主播的经验看来,以油管为例,播放量的主要来源是来自“同温层”的受众,而不是和主播观点相对的人群。
“我可以负责任地讲,90%的会看你频道的人都是认同你是某一个意识形态的,而你和我是‘同温层’的,”卢雄飞说。
“他们是想听自己觉得舒服的东西,而不想你来挑战他们的认知。”
悉尼奶爸关于新西兰人Andy Boreham在中国见义勇为事件的讨论:
New Zealand Review News Live Room, this article is from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): May 19, 2019, “Sydney Daddy” channel debuted on the video platform YouTube. Australian Chinese Lu Xiongfei’s popularity has been rising steadily over the past two years, accumulating 270,000 subscribed fans.
As a current affairs commentator, Lu Xiongfei discusses a wide range of topics on his show. From commenting on social hot topics in China and Australia, to sharing personal political views, to engaging in conversations with internet celebrities holding different opinions, Lu Xiongfei’s videos generally garner tens of thousands of views upon release, sometimes even reaching hundreds of thousands.
“My slogan is ‘kill the Big Red Dragon on August 15th.’ Red represents extreme left, and dragon represents extreme nationalism,” Lu Xiongfei, who once worked in program production in China, told ABC Chinese.
Seven thousand five hundred kilometers away from Sydney in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, Australia, Harry Harding founded his own YouTube channel “HazzaChinaVlogs” in September 2020. A year later, Harry Harding’s subscriber count has approached twenty thousand.
Having lived in Guangzhou for over a decade, Harry Harding now works as an English news anchor at Guangdong Radio and Television Station, producing a daily radio program and a television news program. Local viewers affectionately call him “Big Ha” or Hazza.
Many years ago, driven by his love for Chinese pop music, Harry Harding decided to study Chinese after graduating. On his channel, besides discussing his understanding of Chinese society and some political issues, Harry Harding also shares Chinese songs he sings.
“All the content on this channel is independently produced and unrelated to my usual work,” Harry Harding said.
In recent years, Chinese-speaking internet celebrities with different political views have engaged in a prolonged confrontation on Western social media platforms.
Lu Xiongfei and Harry Harding both produce programs in Chinese, but their perspectives on Chinese issues in the programs are almost entirely different. In the latest episode of “Live from Australia” on ABC Chinese, they and several guests engaged in a unique dialogue.
“Anti-Communism ≠ Anti-China, Patriotism ≠ Loving the Party”
Lu Xiongfei said that when he mentions the “Big Red Dragon,” he is referring to the monopoly of ideology. He said the content he produces opposes the Chinese Communist Party, but “it’s not anti-China, nor anti-Chinese.”
“I personally believe that being anti-Communist does not mean being anti-Chinese… Firstly, I am not anti-China, nor anti-Chinese. My own identity is Australian, not Chinese or Chinese Australian. Many things I do are indeed anti-Communist,” Lu Xiongfei said.
When asked whether he considers himself a citizen journalist or an entertainment show host, Lu Xiongfei said he has always advocated for “speaking human language,” which means discussing news in a logical and easy-to-understand manner.
“You may think I am making news entertaining, but for me, this is just a down-to-earth way of expression. Although I am just one person, I still attach great importance to verifying the sources of news materials,” he said.
A few months ago, Lu Xiongfei organized a live broadcast with a YouTuber who holds pro-Chinese Communist Party views. He described that episode as a “debate.”
It was one episode of his series “My Pink Friends.” Lu Xiongfei said he hopes to regard the opposing side in the debate as his friends, engaging in communication within the framework of “anti-Communism does not mean anti-China, and patriotism does not mean loving the Party.”
“I have been looking for people with opposing views who are extremely different from me – those whose opinions are rarely heard and are different from mine,” Lu Xiongfei said.
Australian Chinese political commentator Lu Xiongfei said he is anti-Communist, not anti-Chinese.
When asked if he is all talk and no business, Lu Xiongfei said all his income comes from advertising revenue from YouTube videos and donations he receives on another membership platform.
“If you are anti-Communist, and YouTube is the only platform where you can make money, YouTube is the only platform that supports funding for anti-Communist voices,” he said.
He said compared to the monetization capability of “pro-Communist” internet celebrities, it’s like “a carrot and a bunch of vegetables.” He said it is impossible for political commentators like him to accept advertisements or conduct live sales.
“I have been ill, and the membership program has not been updated for three months. My members have been very generous in supporting me,” he said.
“In the more than a year that I have been doing the program, I think the most convenient, simplest, most efficient, and easiest way is to say what I think. Instead of creating a public opinion atmosphere, performing, which is the most tiring.”
“Expressing Opinions, Sharing Life”
Hazza currently has his own YouTube channel, HazzaChinaVlogs.
In May 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China should make friends broadly in the international community and strive to shape a “credible, lovable, and respectable” image. As soon as he finished speaking, analysts believed that the Chinese government would seek more grounded ways to expand and consolidate its propaganda work overseas.
Some international media have mentioned that some foreign YouTuber hosts in China have participated in propaganda activities organized by the Chinese government. There are also suspicions that these hosts are paid to do so and are conducting “big external propaganda” for the Chinese government.
Hazza said he does not know many foreign internet celebrity hosts in China, and he has not heard of anyone around him being recruited to participate in propaganda projects. He also said that his YouTube account has not received funding support from the Chinese government or official media.
“After President Xi said these things, it has had no impact on my life… I can’t tell you that such phenomena definitely don’t exist because I don’t know,” Hazza said.
“[The hosts around me] told me that they didn’t receive money. They even joked, ‘It would be nice if we could get paid.'”
“I have actively informed my employer about this [YouTube channel], but they have never asked me to do any content or control my speech.”
In recent years, YouTube hosts have faced increasing online violence and personal attacks.
Hazza said that governments of some Asian and European countries invite his show to be filmed through the consulate in Guangzhou. He has participated in such “familiarization trips,” but those governments did not have specific requirements for the program group.
“They didn’t say we must film this, we must say this, so I think domestic activities should be similar,” Hazza said. Although he has received invitations, he has “never participated in such activities within China.”
“I personally think there is no problem, but I am worried that my audience will misunderstand. They might think I’m doing it for money, or my speech is being controlled, so I refused to participate,” he said.
“I do YouTube not for money. I have a stable job and stable income. I do YouTube because I want to express my own thoughts and share my life.”
Nevertheless, Hazza has encountered online attacks many times, and some have even called him a “traitor.”
“I will be scolded by netizens when I make some comments in China… [on YouTube], in traditional Chinese characters, with Cantonese expressions, and even Australians scold me and attack me,” Hazza said.
“Someone shared my Australian phone number on the internet. For a period of time, many people I didn’t know called me to scold me and say some particularly unpleasant things.”
“This is the scariest thing I have ever seen.”
Platform Responsibility
In Australia, Prime Minister Morrison described “online trolls” as “cowards” this week and said Canberra will explore how to hold people accountable for their actions.
Prime Minister Morrison said social media is the “coward’s palace,” allowing people to post vulgar and offensive comments irresponsibly and without consequences.
“Those cowardly trolls who anonymously denigrate others, harass others, bully others, and engage in defamatory speech need to be held accountable for what they say,” he said.
Other social media platforms, such as Facebook, have recently had whistleblowers reveal that the company has been “fueling division” for commercial gain and has failed to effectively combat misinformation.
The situations mentioned by the Australian Prime Minister are not unfamiliar to Lu Xiongfei and Hazza.
Yang Han, a current affairs commentator and former Chinese diplomat in Sydney, said that Chinese people’s confrontational views on Western social media sometimes involve personal attacks and may also involve opposition to democracy and freedom, even touching on the law.
He said that in Australia, account owners or institutions that engage in cyber violence, insults, defamation, and false statements bear legal responsibilities.
“In recent years, Australia’s highest court has such a precedent… The owner of the account is responsible,” Yang Han said, which may reduce misconduct hidden behind virtual world account names.
Behind the “double” world
Western social media has become a battleground for global Chinese people to vie for discourse power, a territory for large-scale internal and external propaganda.
Regarding the current ecosystem of Chinese internet celebrity hosts on YouTube, Professor Yu Haiqing, a digital media expert at RMIT, said that self-media needs to maintain its controversy to attract attention, similar to traditional media like Fox.
“The more impartial, moderate, and non-controversial you are, the less your fans feel you are interesting,” Professor Yu Haiqing said.
She also pointed out that today, in the space where political issues are entertained, the audience no longer considers whether the news source is reliable, and instead watches political news and international news with the mindset of “watching everything like watching Korean dramas.”
“Because of various conspiracy theories, fake news, and controversies, these onlookers… feel that this is entertainment. They don’t care about the truth or the source of information,” Professor Yu Haiqing said.
“They treat international news and the debates between bloggers as entertainment news, just like celebrity scandals.
“The more bizarre it is, the fiercer the fight between two people, the more they can satisfy their appetite for watching, and they are not afraid of big events.”
Dr. Yu Haiqing, a professor at RMIT University, has conducted specialized research on Chinese internet celebrity hosts on YouTube.
Jane Poon, chairman of the Australia-Hong Kong League Victoria and former senior media person in Hong Kong, said that YouTuber hosts are political commentators, and they express their own views, so there is no need to remain objective, fair, and balanced. However, she said that accuracy of information is a basic requirement.
“YouTubers are actually political commentators, and you have your own position. YouTubers are not journalists unless you consider yourself a journalist,” she said.
“But, I think the most important thing is that the facts they discuss must be accurate and cannot say false news.”
Yang Bingqing, a master of international relations at the University of Melbourne and initiator of the “Australian Chinese Fact Check” group, said that whether it is Chinese or Western social media, algorithms for filtering information may mislead audiences.
“[These social media] block out content that you are not interested in and do not agree with. This creates a ‘filter bubble,’ and eventually becomes an ‘echo chamber.’ You keep receiving things you want to see. You will mistakenly think that this is the current political spectrum, but it is not.”
More and more people are beginning to realize that staying in an environment of similar opinions may affect their judgment of things.
Lu Xiongfei said that from his personal experience as a broadcaster, for example, on YouTube, the main source of views comes from the audience of the “same temperature layer,” rather than the group with views opposite to the broadcaster.
“I can responsibly say that 90% of the people who watch your channel agree with you on a certain ideology, and you and I are in the ‘same temperature layer’,” Lu Xiongfei said.
“They want to hear things that make them comfortable, rather than challenge their cognition.”
Discussion on the act of bravery of New Zealander in China by Sydney dad:
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