Online celebrities move from being revered to reviled

I attended a book launch at One Way Street Bookstore in Beijing on Sunday. One of the guest speakers was He Weifang, a renowned law professor at Peking University. When another guest speaker joked that he is not only a famous professor but also an online celebrity, he, who has more than 1 million followers of his micro blog, appeared offended by the remark, saying in a dramatic voice, "I am not an online celebrity — you are!"

Online celebrities, also known as "big Vs" in Chinese, are micro-bloggers whose identities are officially verified by micro-blogging website Sina.com and who boast a large number of fans. Their messages are often forwarded and commented on hundreds of times. It used to be complimentary to be called an online celebrity as that equaled popularity. It was no wonder, therefore, that many actors and actresses dived into the micro-blogging pool.

Stigmatization of the title started with a prostitution scandal involving Xue Manzi, a Chinese-American investor who has more than 10 million fans online. Xue was detained over the issue by the Beijing police. Two weeks later, Kai-fu Lee, CEO of Innovation Works with 50 million followers, posted on his micro blog that he had been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Online celebrities seem to be unlucky lately, netizens say.

Whether or not it is a good time for online celebrities, one thing that is for sure is that they used to enjoy the power bestowed on them by their online popularity. Things have changed. They have been dragged down from their "altar" and are now despised by some netizens who once adored them.

Before the prostitution scandal, Xue was famous for an online campaign to save kidnapped children in China. After, he was criticized as being a hypocrite and was suspected to have faked information of the needy and solicited donations for his own pocket. People may have been too quick to criticize immediately after Xue was arrested? Why such a contrast of treatment after the scandal? Is it safe to just blot out such people's contributions to society, if they made any? Have they suddenly become pure evil?

Celebrity micro-bloggers are a new phenomenon in China. Some comment on government policies and services, or share their personal views. Opinions vary, but they do provide a diverse voice and offer netizens timely comments and interpretations of issues. There is no need to view them as godlike simply because they know how to utilize this power of discourse; nor is it necessary to view them as wicked culprits after their weaknesses are exposed. They are just ordinary people with unique personalities and expertise, along with their own shortcomings.

What we really need to be cautious about is the movement against them, especially to the degree that it scares off people who feel the need to claim not to be labeled online celebrities. Any sensible and reasonable change would not be quick, blunt or intense. It would be progressive.

It was media that first put online celebrities in such revered positions with their praising tone and by boasting of the bloggers' humble attitudes and sense of active participation. But now, online celebrity has become a byword for hypocrisy and selfishness. That is simply not fair.

To be frank, Xue's scandal is a good thing. It reminds us to be independent and critical when viewing information. Online celebrities might release information for the public good or for personal interests. The number of people who follow them doesn't necessarily translate into accuracy or credibility. Netizens cannot expect too much from them, let alone be able to judge their personal characters from less than 140-word posts on micro blogs. Humans are complicated to a far greater extent than what they choose to say and express online.

It is no use to put online celebrities up on a podium and it is certainly not useful to drop stones upon a person who has already fallen into a well. Being an ordinary netizen with few followers myself, I will not judge, while always being critical.