Abstract
Cyber crowdsourcing — known in Chinese as renrou sousou, literally “human flesh search” (HFS) — is a type of collective online action aimed at discovering facts relating to certain events and/or publicizing details concerning a targeted individual (Cheung 2009; Herold 2011; Ong 2012). It involves the tracking down and publishing on the Internet of information that might help to solve a crime or to disclose personal information of someone who has allegedly engaged in corrupt practices or immoral behavior (Hatton 2014; Ong 2012). It can also be used to identify people in events that attract the public’s attention, such as love affairs of celebrities. Examples from the Chinese online community include news about people who abuse animals, teenagers who do not respect their elders, wealthy children who do not care about the feelings of others, and the behavior of corrupt officials. Although some Chinese researchers claim it is an online phenomenon unique to the Greater China region (Cheng and Xue 2011), similar cases have emerged in the West in recent years. One recent example is the identification of suspects responsible for the Boston marathon bombings (Wadhwa 2013).
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© 2015 Lennon Y. C. Chang and Andy K. H. Leung
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Chang, L.Y.C., Leung, A.K.H. (2015). An Introduction to Cyber Crowdsourcing (Human Flesh Search) in the Greater China Region. In: Smith, R.G., Cheung, R.CC., Lau, L.YC. (eds) Cybercrime Risks and Responses. Palgrave Macmillan’s Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137474162_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137474162_16
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