Squeezed into the new track of traffic, ex-prisoners become "inspirational internet celebrities". Whose aspirations did they inspire?
The anchor Wang (pseudonym) posted his "Certificate of Release" on the cover of Moments, which stated his household registration, crime and time served.
I don’t know when I opened Douyin and searched for “released after serving my sentence” quickly, and I saw many bloggers who said they were released after serving their sentence, using short videos or live broadcasts to share and create.
A new traffic track quietly appeared, and the ex-prisoners who operated personal accounts jointly stepped on a new track of "the prodigal son turns back and inspires Internet celebrities".
However, such "inspirational Internet celebrities" also have constant problems.
Recently, the Xiaohongshu platform account "Brother Tianlang" published his "Certificate of Release" and wrote, "I will not accept others' charity to me...regain a new life...I hope everyone will pay attention to me", which has attracted many netizens support.
But soon, some netizens discovered and exposed his crime of forced prostitution.
The account can't be searched quickly either.
Ex-prisoners serve as anchors
what's the mess
Someone's past crimes were exposed and the account was closed
After the aforementioned Xiaohongshu "Brother Tianlang" was exposed for his crime of forced prostitution, netizens expressed that he "doesn't deserve to start over" and gained support and attention, thinking that "it would be absurd for such a person to be an inspirational internet celebrity." Extremely, infuriating."
At the same time, the anchor of "Did the boy looking for relatives cry tonight" who has an account on Weibo, recounted his tragic experience of seeking relatives, saying that he had gone astray due to the ups and downs of fate, and entered a "social university" (that is, a prison) and gained a lot pity.
After attracting more than 120,000 fans on Douyin, "Did the boy looking for relatives cry tonight" began to live broadcast and sell sanitary napkins to female fans at a relatively expensive price, but was discovered and exposed that the crime he committed was rape Crime - he had raped a female victim under the age of 15 with a knife.
After the news was exposed, the public was outraged, and the anger was hard to dispel. Netizens expressed "extreme anger" and "intolerable".
As of press time, the reporter could not find the above-mentioned accounts on both platforms.
However, if you search for "released after serving a sentence" on multiple short video platforms, a large number of accounts run by people who have been released after serving their sentences will come to your attention.
Some people say that they have to "support their families" without income
The live broadcast of the anchor Cheng (pseudonym) often starts early and ends at nearly 2 o'clock in the morning.
Cheng told reporters that this is a job that pays for itself, and the other jobs he can find now "are not directly proportional to the income and returns."
In fact, since a fan told Wang in the live broadcast room that the identity of the person released after serving his sentence from the anchor of a Douyin account was fake, and that the prodigal son turned back was his fake persona, Wang posted his "Certificate of Release" come out.
Anchor Wang Mou was sentenced for infringing citizens' personal information. He told reporters that he made a video account because he couldn't vomit.
"One is to vent my depression, and the other is to hope that others will abide by the law after seeing what happened to me. This is my original intention. Life in prison is really difficult."
When asked whether there is a purpose of making money in live broadcasting on the account, Wang replied like this: "I have no income now. Fans told me that I can hang a small yellow car and others can buy things. I definitely don't reject the opportunity to make money. , and hung up. But I didn’t explain the products for this, I don’t even have those products.”
Cheng told reporters that the operating accounts are all "supporting the family", and his income from live broadcast rewards and delivery is limited and unstable, but "when it is good, it is higher than the average income of our county."
After being released from prison, he lacked skills and was hard to find a job
Wang told reporters that after he was released from prison, he could not find good jobs such as online car-hailing, courier delivery, and food delivery.
Cheng Mou, who is also the anchor of "Released after serving his sentence", told reporters that most of the released persons have low education and lack of professional skills. Small businesses that provide police clearance.
"Released after serving the sentence" anchors Wang and Cheng both said that they did not sign a contract with the company.
Cheng Mou told reporters that he once joined the "labor union" for a short time, an organization that helps with planning and streaming, and needs to be divided into about 30%.
"But my type is too unpopular. They don't know a lot of content and can't help. I quit after a while."
Cheng said that after serving nearly 10 years in prison, he did not take advantage of his status of being released after serving his sentence, but because this is his only source of creation and content he understands.
In addition to sharing as a person released from prison, Cheng also tried to operate family-related content, but the feedback was mediocre.
On January 12, 2023, Cheng released a new video on his account, saying that although operating the video account brought in a certain amount of income, Cheng still hopes to find another job in the next year. After that, we must concentrate on making an account.
Who is following them?
The reporter watched the live broadcast and participated in the fan group chat and found that in the live broadcast room of the released blogger, a large number of family members of prisoners asked questions, interacted with the host and gave rewards. How much money is paid by the personnel and what kind of clothes they need to send.
Anchor Cheng worked as a "little brother" in a casino and was imprisoned for more than 9 years for economic crimes.
A follower asked Cheng: "(The relatives and friends who are serving prison sentences) always tell me not to go, trouble, should I go?" Qian, I’m afraid you’ll be troublesome, so I definitely want you to visit him.”
debate
Leaving aside whether it is fair or not, let’s just talk about the social impact. People who have been released from prison are likely to become more serious criminals and go to extremes because they cannot live. The society should have a certain tolerance for such criminals.
Internet marketers are now undergoing comprehensive training and issuing relevant qualifications, and will need training and certificates to work in the future.
If people with criminal records are not allowed to enter this industry, it will play an important role in the transmission and protection of user values.
If there is an MCN company that uses this as a traffic outlet and uses "released after serving the sentence" as traffic to bring goods, the value is wrong.
Can a person released after serving his sentence be an "inspirational internet celebrity"?
Can a person released after serving his sentence be an "inspirational internet celebrity"?
In this regard, different experts have different opinions.
Chen Jiawei, a lawyer from Beijing Dayu Law Firm, said that regardless of whether it is fair or not, it is only about the social impact. People who have been released after serving their sentences are likely to become more serious criminals and go to extremes because they cannot live. There is a certain tolerance for such transgressors.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, told reporters that an anchor is a social image that appears in the public domain, and it represents not only a profession, but also a special need for fans and personality creation to perform externally. Profession.
In April 2022, the Network Audiovisual Program Management Department of the State Administration of Radio and Television and the Publishing Bureau of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Online Audiovisual Program Platform Game Live Streaming".
The notice mentioned that for a period of time, problems such as online live broadcast chaos and young people's addiction to games have aroused widespread concern in the society, and it is urgent to take effective measures to strictly regulate them.
The notice requires that illegal and immoral personnel are strictly prohibited from using the live broadcast to speak out.
Webcast platforms must strictly control the selection of anchors and guests, and insist on political literacy, moral conduct, artistic standards, and social evaluation as selection criteria.
Unscrupulous persons who have incorrect political stances, violate laws and regulations, and violate public order and good customs are resolutely not used.
Zhu Wei said, "Nowadays, some public figures, such as celebrities who evade taxes and have personal moral issues, are banned, so how can this happen to Internet celebrities? We still have to draw the bottom line."
On July 6, 2020, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Bureau of Statistics jointly announced 11 new occupations. Among them, the "live broadcast salesperson" job under the Internet marketer has become the new national occupation promulgated this time. , and included in the "People's Republic of China Occupational Classification Code", which has attracted attention.
"Internet marketers are currently undergoing comprehensive training and issuing relevant qualifications, and will need to be trained and certified to work in the future. If people with criminal records are not allowed to enter this industry, it will play an important role in the transmission and protection of user values. If there is an MCN The company uses this as a traffic outlet and uses "released after serving a sentence" as traffic to bring goods, and the value is wrong." Zhu Wei said.
Lawyer Deng Qianqiu of Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm said that the principle of "public order and good customs" may become a reward in such a situation just because the relevant personnel are given red envelopes and rewards with the label of "released after serving their sentence" to attract attention. However, specific and mature judicial practice is needed to clarify the reasons for the invalidity of gifts such as giving out red envelopes, and no relevant cases have been seen so far.
Lawyer Chen Jiawei pointed out that in the above two cases that aroused the anger of netizens, the ex-convicts were released for crimes that are not tolerated by society, such as forced prostitution and rape, and there were specific victims and real injuries.
Lawyer Chen Jiawei said that if a rapist who has been released after serving his sentence exposes the victim’s relevant personal information, or other remarks and behaviors that damage the victim’s reputation, to gain traffic, the victim can request compensation through civil lawsuits and stop the infringement. If the company plans to operate, it may be required to bear joint and several liabilities.
If there are other acts of seriously insulting the victim and belittling the victim's personality in self-media and live broadcasts, the victim can file a criminal lawsuit for the "crime of insult".
"For the crime of rape, the penalty does not deprive political rights. But if the crime of insult is committed again, the penalty for the crime of insult is an additional penalty of deprivation of political rights. Then after serving the sentence and within the additional penalty period, the criminal will have no freedom of speech. "
Internet moderation insiders:
The behavior of using criminal facts to hype and consume is strictly prohibited by the platform, such as live broadcasting in prison uniforms, explaining prison content information, and describing the criminal process, etc., are all covered by the platform's rules.
Expert: Live broadcast practitioners need to pay attention to value orientation
Zhu Wei told reporters, "But now there are dozens of occupations that people with criminal records are not allowed to engage in. This is also a legal requirement. There are no clear legal regulations for live broadcasting, but value orientation is important. On the issue of orientation , If you use the release after serving your sentence as a traffic outlet to attract everyone, there must be a problem.”
The reporter searched and found that civil servants, judges, prosecutors, court clerks, people's bank clerks, journalists, school bus drivers and other occupations are prohibited from engaging in all crimes for life.
Direct sellers, tour guides, taxi drivers, and online taxi drivers are prohibited from engaging in specific crimes (penalties) for life.
An Internet audit industry insider revealed to reporters that the use of criminal facts for hype and consumption is strictly prohibited by the platform, such as wearing prison uniforms to live broadcast, explaining prison content information, and describing the criminal process, etc., are covered by the platform’s rules within.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Wang Chenyuan Zhang Yanliang