{"id":15387,"date":"2022-09-03T13:59:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T04:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=15387"},"modified":"2022-09-03T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T04:59:41","slug":"20220903-15387","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/nongaming-news\/20220903-15387\/","title":{"rendered":"A pixiv clone site has been created, and users were using \u201cmagic words\u201d to try to take it down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


vpixiv<\/strong> is a malicious clone site that has caused quite a stir within Japan. The site was created via unauthorized copying of the data from artist community site pixiv. In response to vpixiv, pixiv<\/strong> users are adding \u201cmagic words\u201d to their profiles as a method to have their account pages deleted from the clone site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those \u201cmagical\u201d words happen to be the \u201cTiananmen Square Incident.<\/strong>\u201d As vpixiv appears to be a Chinese site, users made crafty use of China\u2019s own censorship practices to get their pages deleted from the site. Whether it was due to this or was a result of actions taken by pixiv itself, vpixiv\u2019s servers were taken down.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pixiv is a service that allows users to post or view illustrations, manga, and novels. Since its establishment in 2005, the number of registered users has continued to grow, and it is now one of the major platforms in Japan for posting creative works. vpixiv is a clone site that copied pixiv\u2019s data and user profile information in its entirety and then allowed the content to be freely viewed without a pixiv account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a time, pixiv users adopted a tactic where they would tag their own content as R18 which made it impossible to view unless you were logged into a pixiv account. However, this had a variety of problems including the fact that the tag would no longer serve its intended purpose on pixiv. That\u2019s where the magic words come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words \u201cTiananmen Square Incident\u201d have often been used in Japan as a measure to prevent fraudulent activities or illegal access from China. The Tiananmen Square Incident occurred on June 4, 1989, when people participating in pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, were forcibly suppressed by the military with many being killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, over 30 years later, the Chinese government continues to restrict information related to the event within the country (related article<\/a>). Content on the internet is checked, and any reference to the incident is automatically deleted. However, this system can be taken advantage of, and if fraudulent practices are being conducted by Chinese websites, just like with vpixiv, then it\u2019s possible to cause those sites to be censored by using certain words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a relatively common countermeasure in Japan and is used in a number of different ways, such as replying to a suspicious invitation on a messaging app with \u201cTiananmen Square Incident.\u201d As vpixiv began to trend on Twitter<\/a> in Japan, pixiv users embraced these tactics and added words like \u201cTiananmen Square Incident\u201d and \u201c8964\u201d (a reference to the date that the incident took place) to their pixiv profile page. It appears that this may have been quite effective, with some users reporting that their pages were no longer viewable on vpixiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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pixiv\u3068\u5916\u898b\u30fb\u5185\u5bb9\u304c\u9177\u4f3c\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\u30b5\u30a4\u30c8\u306b\u3064\u3044\u3066\u306e\u304a\u77e5\u3089\u305b\u3092\u516c\u958b\u3044\u305f\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u8a73\u7d30\u306f\u3053\u3061\u3089\u3092\u3054\u78ba\u8a8d\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\u3002\u3000https:\/\/t.co\/3OlA6unjI6<\/a><\/p>— pixiv (@pixiv) September 1, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>