Weibo is a microblogging website used in China. It has some similarities to Twitter in that users communicate through posts and use hashtags to coordinate discussions. (A hashtag is required at the beginning and end of a hashtag and hashtags can become quite complex). Weibo also allows for SuperTalk pages that allow users interested in a specific topic to aggregate their discussions under the SuperTalk category (such as for a celebrity, couple pairing, hobby, and so on). These SuperTalks will have one or more moderators as managers..
Weibo also contains a "HotSearch" feature that lists the top 50 hashtags being discussed at any given moment. It is updated in real time. It is believed users can purchase a place on the HotSearch, sometimes with the intention of promoting a particular product, news item, or actor. "Black" searches can also be purchased by competitors or "antis" to spread malicious rumors. The HotSearch is also susceptible to the use of "water armies" or paid bots to inflate traffic on a topic with the intent of causing such "black" searches to spread quickly and drive public opinion.
Weibo can scrub topics from discussion. A specific topic can be erased (both historically or real time) such that any discussion on that topic disappears. Such scrubbing can be targeted (an example being all negative news on Zhang Zhehan remaining available when all positive discussion was removed during the events of 813).