The fact is that the media has an axe to grind with what the public is thinking unless it alignes with the status quo.  this is nothing new per se it is just that the golden years of the internet are over.  I just find it interesting how the West is continuously ragging on about that in some countries personal freedoms are trampled on and completely deflect what's happening in Europe and North America. The West is doing the same as said countries.  we are slipping into another authoritarian age.,(reply>), @Chardonnay Option A is a kick in the balls, Option B is a kick in the balls. How many options do you have? The correct answer is zero, it's a ball kick no matter what you pick or don't pick. The EU and the USA follow the same path so saying one is better than the other is just picking which shoe you want the kick from. It's the same shit which manifests slightly differently.,(reply>), LMAO wanna know why the golden years are over? It´s because we allowed the corporate scum to start owning the stuff.,(reply>), it's not a hive mind.  there are nationalistic overtones as is common for a country that has a mostly homogenous society.  we all know some places there where it's bad over there.  some minorities are treated extremely bad but no means as described in the Western media but tbf  I rather would compare China to several nations rolled into one.  in one place the vibe can be completely different than in another. people need to understand that not everyone thinks a like and mostly people live a very normal life.  there are laws passed every year that change aspects but nothing is egregious or damning as made out to be.  I lived in mostly poorer parts in several cities and I have never felt more safer than in China,  completely different from my hometown in which I was robbed w few times.  that was in Germany... so the West loves to portray other nations as evil but it's far from reality.,(reply>), it's not even that bad over there as people make it out to be.  I lived in China for many years and I am still there fairly often. people are just people nobody is truly enforcing it.  every city in fact is a bit different in their enforcement of said social credit. Beijing might be a forerunner for this but down South most people don't give a shit.  it's not as unified in some aspects as the Western media would like to believe and yes the west is certainly trying their damnest to punish people for wrong think.  best thing you can do is to get off social media and turn off the news.,(reply>), I roll my eyes whenever someone mentions China's social credit system in fearful tones. Like we don't have a soft version of that already?