December 28th, Municipal Building.
Over a dozen media outlets gathered at the fifth-floor press conference venue.
The invited reporters were discussing a trending news story from the past few days.
It was the news of Gao Fei being arrested by the police at the very moment he was awarded the honor of "Home of Meritorious Servicemen" four days prior.
"Have you guys seen the news online recently? Self-media are saying that our city's outstanding youth, Gao Fei, was actually arrested."
"Those self-media marketing accounts are incredibly good at making things up. They dare to claim Gao Fei was arrested based on just a few screenshots. Aren't they afraid that Comrade Xiao Gao will sue them?"
"Honestly, if we hadn't all been there to witness it, with the stirring tactics and all the 'conclusive' evidence those marketing accounts presented, I might have almost believed Gao Fei was arrested!"
"Self-media marketing accounts are all about sensational news. Gao Fei is a traffic magnet online. Once those two videos came out, all the marketing accounts were definitely eager to get a piece of that lucrative cake!"
"Gotta say, Gao Fei's online traffic is indeed huge. If it weren't for orders from higher-ups prohibiting us from reporting on the incident from four days ago, I would have wanted to jump in and compete with those self-media for clicks!"
A group of reporters huddled together, discussing the trending news online.
Even though the franchisee incident had passed four days ago, the false news about Gao Fei's arrest had been a trending topic with hundreds of millions of views over these past few days.
If it weren't for these reporters having their social security and employment status, and being strictly ordered by their leaders not to report on it, they too would have wanted to join in and capitalize on the trend, just like those self-media accounts that had gained tens of thousands of followers in four days.
As the reporters waited for the press conference to begin, they whispered amongst themselves.
The hall fell silent as leaders such as Zhou Dakang, Bai He, and Chen Anping entered.
A moment later, the speakers crackled with static, and the press conference commenced.
After the host on the podium finished the opening remarks, Vice Mayor Zhou Dakang, seated in the center, began his speech.
He looked directly at the cameras and said with a serious and earnest tone: "Dear media friends, hello...
Recently, a lot of false news and public opinion concerning our city has emerged online.
The cause of this online turmoil stems from two videos, edited to omit context and filmed by passersby.
These two videos, through distorted reporting by unscrupulous media, have plunged our city's best youth, Gao Fei, into a whirlpool of public opinion online.
Therefore, today's press conference is not only to clarify the matter for Comrade Gao Fei, who has contributed to the military and received military honors, but also...
The police department will, through this press conference, explain the real events and details surrounding the arrest of thirty-eight individuals four days ago."
After Vice Mayor Zhou concluded his speech, it was Bai He's turn to speak, a stern-faced police superintendent in uniform.
Superintendent Bai addressed the cameras below and spoke with gravity: "On December 24th, our city experienced a heinous case of trespassing, illegal occupation of property, forced monopoly, and unlawful confinement, involving organized crime and malicious acts.
The perpetrators of this case were precisely the thirty-eight individuals captured in the videos filmed on the 24th.
It has been determined that Sun Mou and Ma Mou, aiming to monopolize Fengyun City's night market business, fabricated false news about Yuanfei Catering Company, framing it for fraud.
Concurrently, Sun Mou and other individuals resorted to intimidation, confinement, and other violent means to coerce Gao Fei, the head of Yuanfei Catering Company, into forced transactions...
With the assistance of Mr. Gao Fei, the police successfully apprehended all of Sun Mou and his associates."
"During the interrogation, investigators discovered that...
The organizer of this incident, Sun Mouguo, was an individual executed by firing squad eight years ago.
Following an in-depth investigation by the police and relevant departments into Sun Mouguo's unexpected survival, a major case of serious violations and breaches of discipline, hidden for eight years, was unearthed..."
Bai He then proceeded to recount how Sun Yaoguo had evaded execution eight years prior and subsequently reappeared in the city under a new name to conduct business.
In his narrative, he omitted certain city officials, as their involvement still required investigation by the disciplinary department before public disclosure.
After Superintendent Bai elaborated on the '1224' case, he concluded: "Due to the gravity of the case and the need for a confidential investigation, the city bureau did not immediately issue a clarification regarding the false news about Gao Fei.
Now, as the case enters its final stages of investigation, we are able to speak publicly.
On behalf of the Municipal Bureau, I express our deepest apologies for the adverse impact caused to Gao Fei!"
Following Bai He's remarks, Battalion Commander Chen Anping, dressed in civilian attire, took the floor. "Today, I am speaking at this press conference as the representative spokesperson for the General Military Command.
On behalf of the General Military Command, I have a statement to make. I urge those unscrupulous media outlets to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the laws of Longguo. Fabrication of false news, distortion of public opinion, and smearing of individuals with military honors will result in severe punishment!
Upon the conclusion of this press conference, the military will pursue legal action against all those who have attacked and slandered Comrade Gao Fei online!
My statement is concluded!"
The preceding statements were all elaborations and clarifications regarding the '1224' case of organized crime and malicious acts.
However, Battalion Commander Chen's speech stunned everyone present.
No one had expected the military to directly intervene and pursue legal action against self-media outlets that fabricated false news.
But upon further reflection,
Gao Fei, as the creator of the new military anthem, the chief responsible person for the conscription propaganda film, and a recipient of three military honors, could be considered a propaganda figure for the military.
Such a status was indeed enough to provoke the military's outrage.
After Chen Anping finished speaking, Zhou Dakang began his concluding remarks for the press conference.
"We are now nearing the end of today's press conference. On behalf of the municipal government, I wish to make the following announcement to the public!"
Vice Mayor Zhou stood up, and everyone else followed suit.
"I hereby announce that starting from January 1st next year, Fengyun City will embark on a year-long 'Hundred Days Action'!
This initiative aims to cleanse the impurities within the city and eradicate the cancerous elements that harm society.
We hope that the vast majority of citizens will actively report any leads and clues, working together to create a brighter future for Fengyun City..."
The announcement of the 'Hundred Days Action' also marked the end of the press conference.
The reporters diligently taking notes below simultaneously understood one thing.
The skies over Fengyun City were about to clear up!
...
Online.
As the press conference had not yet been made public,
A group of online trolls and marketing accounts, seeing that Yuanfei Studio remained silent, became even more audacious.
The marketing accounts, centering their fabricated news around Gao Fei's alleged arrest, began to concoct new stories.
For example, they claimed Gao Fei had used the catering company to commit fraud, with amounts exceeding ten million yuan, leading to victims committing suicide or jumping into rivers.
Even more absurdly, some fabricated stories claimed Gao Fei was the illegitimate son of a powerful figure, and that this identity was the reason for his alleged arrogance in real life...
Various types of false news emerged out of thin air, involving nearly thirteen self-media companies.
As for the trolls, they enthusiastically supported the fabricated news from the self-media and simultaneously created satirical images of Gao Fei.
Ever since Gao Fei gained fame for astonishing Longguo as the top liberal arts student,
Apart from interviews during the college entrance examination and official interviews for propaganda films, he had rarely appeared in front of cameras.
The photos circulating online were all old pictures from his high school days.
The trolls modified these old photographs,
Placing his image against backgrounds of prisons, executions, and the inside of a jail cell, creating a barrage of fabricated images.
Just as the self-media and trolls were having a field day online,
The official social media accounts of Fengyun City and Yun Province quietly went live...