New media formats such as Facebook could be used as a force to subvert society if they are manipulated by people who have ulterior motives, the South China Morning Post reported, citing researchers at a top state think-tank. Speaking at the launch of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ "Bluebook of New Media," Yin Yungong, head of the think tank’s Institute of Journalism and Communication, said the internet is like a "nuclear bomb." "Human beings should rein in its negative effect," Yin said, adding that the internet was a double-edged sword due to negative elements such as libel and defamation. Also at the launch, Cui Baoguo, vice-dean of Tsinghua University’s School of Journalism and Communication, said that media could transform a society in an underdeveloped country. "Media [are] revolutionary and could dismantle a society," Cui said. "I believe that in the development process of newly emerged things, they will gradually emerge with the state system." China continues to block services offered by Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.
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