Battle blogging for profit – LATimes
While this article touches on a number of topics, something that all human rights workers must be aware of is the level of your anonymity when online. A false web mail account or blog is not really anonymous if you are ruffling the feathers of government or large corporations.
Look back to 2004, when reporters at a Hunan province newspaper listened as their editorial director read a statement from the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department about the upcoming 15-year commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre. It warned that dissidents may use the Internet to spread “damaging information.”
One reporter used an anonymous Yahoo e-mail account to ask a colleague in New York to post a report about the statement on pro-democracy website Minzhu Tongxun (Democracy Newsletter).
But as the 37-year-old married reporter behind the numeric pseudonym “198964″ learned, he shouldn’t have assumed that Yahoo defends press freedom. When Chinese security agents asked executives at Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) to identify the man, they did so. Police grabbed him on a street, searched his house and seized his computer and other belongings, according to documents filed in his defense.
Mr. “198964,” whose real name is Shi Tao, is serving a 10-year jail sentence for “divulging state secrets abroad.” Bloggers, human rights groups and journalism organizations, including PEN and Reporters Without Borders, condemned the action.
Web Mail and other online services only provide 1 level of anonymity. Using internet cafe’s (anonymously), proxies and other options like tor can provide further layers of anonymity. From a previous post Guide to anonymous blogging has more details and options.
