When it comes to online rumor debunking, Shanghai is considered the pioneer, and now Suzhou has also mastered the skill, with its techniques becoming increasingly refined.
Recently, some self-media outlets have published articles and videos expressing concern about the fact that a large number of foreign-funded enterprises have already or are preparing to withdraw from Suzhou, expressing their worries. As a high ground and key area for the gathering of foreign-funded manufacturing enterprises, the changes in Suzhou have a profound impact on China’s macroeconomy and also touch people’s increasingly sensitive nerves.
Are foreign-funded enterprises really withdrawing? Which foreign enterprises have withdrawn? What is the proportion? Why are they withdrawing? Out of concern for their own jobs and income, people urgently want to know the answers to these questions and also eagerly expect the government to take decisive measures to improve the situation.
So, Suzhou took action, Suzhou debunked the rumors…
Although it is difficult to understand the act of debunking a well-known fact itself, it has to be said that Suzhou’s level of rumor debunking is quite high.
Didn’t you say that foreign-funded enterprises are withdrawing from Suzhou? I’ll use actual data to slap you in the face:
Look, we currently have 24,639 foreign-funded enterprises in Suzhou, 35 more than last month, and 1,000 more than at the end of last year. There is growth in the short term, and there is also growth in the long term. You guys should stop spreading rumors when you have nothing better to do!
This time, the rumor debunking is definitely being orchestrated by experts!
There are three levels of rumor debunking:
The first level of rumor debunking, mainly about whether you believe it or not
The authoritative departments come forward, usually the local government or the public security organs and other competent units issue a rumor-debunking notice, saying that a certain matter is untrue. What exactly is untrue? They don’t say. What is the real situation? They don’t say either. Anyway, we are authoritative, anyway, only we have the information, and if I say it’s untrue, it’s untrue.
The rumor debunking of “whether you believe it or not” is very strong, but the effect is almost non-existent. The reason why rumors have a space for rapid spread reflects the public’s extreme thirst for the truth. Simply debunking rumors without providing the truth cannot meet the public’s information needs, and naturally cannot quell the rumors.
The second level of rumor debunking, mainly about nitpicking details
This type of rumor debunking usually seizes on a trivial error detail in a complex rumor to make an article, and by denying the detail, the entire rumor is characterized as a rumor.
For example, there was a rumor that “Pleasant Goat killed Big Big Wolf with an 80-centimeter-long machete last night”, and a certain place came out to debunk the rumor, saying that there was no incident of someone killing a wolf with an 80-centimeter machete in our city on December 22. Please do not believe or spread rumors. However, the truth is that the murder happened at 2 a.m. on December 23, and the length of the machete was 75 centimeters. In this way, “last night” is indeed not rigorous, and “80 centimeters” is indeed inaccurate, but can this statement be considered a rumor?
The rumor debunking of “nitpicking details” could still fool some people when it was first popular in Shanghai, but now everyone has generally seen through this trick, and the effect has been greatly reduced.
The third level of rumor debunking, using the bright side of the true information to cover up the whole picture
This type of rumor debunking is the most deceptive and is an upgraded version of the second level. It will directly face the core of the event, giving people a confident feeling of not avoiding the problem, and will give specific and true information, which looks very frank.
The above rumor debunking by Suzhou on the withdrawal of foreign investment has reached the third level. First, it directly faces the core of the problem, which is the current situation of foreign-funded enterprises in Suzhou and the changes in the past period of time. Then, it responds to the public’s needs with market supervision data and provides authoritative data on the number of registered foreign-funded enterprises.
However, is the number of registered foreign-funded enterprises the whole truth? No.
When people discuss the withdrawal of foreign investment, the first intuitive feeling is the layoffs and the shutdown of production lines of enterprises. If a factory closes 80% of its production lines, lays off 80% of its employees, and transfers the corresponding positions and production capacity to other countries and regions, does it count as the withdrawal of production capacity?
When people discuss the withdrawal of foreign investment, the second intuitive feeling is the changes in leading enterprises and large enterprises in the industry. If a certain area withdraws a factory with an annual output value of 5 billion, and opens 5 new factories with an annual output value of 10 million, does it count as the withdrawal of giants?
When people discuss the withdrawal of foreign investment, the third intuitive feeling is the changes in the actual use of foreign investment. If a certain area used to have tens of billions of dollars of direct foreign investment every year, but now it only has millions of dollars of investment, does it count as the withdrawal of funds?
Of course, Suzhou did not provide the data on the above aspects when debunking the rumors, and I do not have the courage to investigate and release them privately. Therefore, I do not know the actual changes in the number of employees in foreign-funded enterprises in Suzhou, the actual changes in the output value of foreign-funded enterprises in Suzhou, the changes in the number of large foreign-funded enterprises in Suzhou, and the changes in the actual use of foreign investment in Suzhou…
How is the real situation of foreign investment in Suzhou? You guess?
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