— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) May 13, 2020 This quick action indicates that the removal is, in fact, some company anti-spam filter and not a humane moderation action. It is worth mentioning that the removal only happens when the comment is written in traditional Chinese. If the same terms are written in any other language or using the Pinyin romanization method or equivalent, the comment is not deleted from the page. A YouTube spokesman said the problem is already being analyzed and that the company has not programmed its anti-spam filter with this type of censorship and that the terms are not included in the platform’s content moderation policy. “This appears to be a mistake in our inspection systems and we are investigating it,” said the spokesman. Another factor that indicates that the removal is part of an anti-spam filter is that they are removed even when the expressions are used in a positive phrase, such as “Os 五毛 do an excellent job” Despite surfacing just now, The Verge noted that this type of censorship has been going on for a few months, more specifically, since October last year, when the topic was raised on a Google support page. Meaning of offenses The term “共匪”, which means “Communist Bandit” is an offense used for a long time in China that is directed at the Chinese Communist Party. The expression “五毛” (or “wu mao”) is a slang used by Chinese – meaning “Party of 50 cents” – to disparage people who are hired by the Chinese government to direct internet discussions to matters outside the topic party. The phrase came about because of claims that people get 50 cents per comment. Controversy between YouTube and the Chinese Communist Party YouTube is often criticized for complying with party requests to remove comments on the social network. The most controversial case was the creation of the Dragonfly Project (Libélula, in Portuguese translation), which was created in one of YouTube’s attempts to enter the Chinese market. However, the project was dismissed by the company after several criticisms from American politicians and employees of the company itself that YouTube was selling its principles. The removal of the content, however, is a curious fact, since even today YouTube is not allowed to operate in Chinese territory, so there is no reason for the company to collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party.
