China's internet has been invaded by gumshoes. Cyber sleuths are digging up personal information about everyone from inpiduals to public officials in China. They've exposed crimes, corruption, affairs and more. 

It began in 2006 with an online post of a photo-and later a video-of an elegantly dressed woman stomping a cat to death with her stiletto heel. The clip circulated on the web, invoking outrage amongst Chinese cyber citizens, better known as netizens. They slammed the woman on a Mop discussion board, and quickly traced clues back to the the woman and the cameraman. It took them just 6 days to discover their real identities. While they were never charged, they were publicly exposed and in the end, both lost their jobs.  

Since then the phenomenon has exploded into what is now known as cyber manhunts or human-flesh search engines. Chinese netizens collectively mobilize their power on the Internet to investigate issues or incidents that get them boiling. They dig up personal information about their target and expose it online. 

These internet vigilantes are a powerful force on China's internet. But are they going to far?

Katie Fischer's guests debate the motion: 

Cyber sleuths are out of line

For the motion: Fred Dintenfass

Against the motion: He Xin

Since The Internet Era Began Reliance On Online Search Engines Has Grown Whether It’S For Work, Leisure Or Just Curiosity. The Word Google, As Well As Multibillion Dollar Company, Has Become A Verb - And Here In China The Name Of The Most Popular Search Engine – Baidu – Is Used In The Same Way. But With So Much Information Available So Conveniently At Our Fingertips There Is A Temptation To Simply Not Bother Storing Information In Our Brains. In Fact Some Educationalists Are Worried By This Trend And Its Possible Effects On Our Brains. So Here In China, With More Net Users Than In Any Other Country In The World, What Do People Feel About This; How Often Do They Use Search Engines; And Do They Feel It Affects Their Memory? Our Researcher Aaron Peng Went Out On The Streets Of Beijing To Find Out.

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