好问题！吃瓜群众这个词，外媒翻译起来都头疼得很，所以衍生出了各种各样的译法，应该说各有千秋吧！扒了几个，楼主看看合不合口味？
1.【Melon-eating masses】
在 BBC《The words that ruled the Chinese internet in 2016》（2016横扫中国互联网的热词）一文中，吃瓜群众一词光荣入选，并被直译成 Melon-eating masses。BBC 对于 吃瓜群众 一词的理解是这样的：
A term whose closest equivalent is possibly "popcorn gallery", its fullest expression is "the melon-eating masses who don't know what's really going on".
和吃瓜群众最接近的解释或许莫过于 popcorn gallery 了，这个词的完整表达是 不明真相的吃瓜群众。
Its origin is unclear, but netizens often use this - sometimes derogatorily - to describe a passive group of bystanders at a major incident or event.
虽然不清楚这个词的来源，但网民常常用这个词——有时含有贬义——来描述对于重大事件的一群消极旁观者。
* bystander: a person who is standing near and watching something that is happening but not taking part in it.
* 释义：只看热闹、不插手的旁观者（可指吃瓜群众）
* 相近表达：spectator，onlooker
* onlooker: someone who watches something that is happening in a public place but is not involved in it.
* 释义：在公共场合围观但不参与其中的人（可指吃瓜群众）
2.【Watermelon-eating spectators】
在外媒 Quartz《The memes that took over China’s internet in 2016 speak to the country’s power and fragility》（中国2016年度表情包）中， 吃瓜群众表情包也成功跻身其中。
When asked what happened at a traffic accident scene, a senior citizen told a Chinese reporter, “I know nothing, I was eating a watermelon.” This is said to be the origin of the meme “watermelon-eating spectators,” which refers to bystanders who know nothing about what is going on.
在某个交通事故现场，一位接受采访的老伯告诉记者：“我什么都不知道，我当时在吃西瓜。”这个据说就是“吃瓜群众”一词的来源，用来指代那些不明真相的围观人员。
Chinese internet users often call themselves “watermelon-eating spectators” when they comment under news posts, suggesting that they just want to follow the news but hold no opinions. The phrase is sometimes associated with gloating or indifference.
中国网民评论新闻报道时常常自称"吃瓜群众"，以表明他们只追热点、不站队的心态。这个词有时也和幸灾乐祸、漠不关心联系在一起。
* spectator: a person who watches an activity, especially a sports event, without taking part.
* 释义：一个观看活动（尤其是体育赛事）但不参与的人。（可指吃瓜群众）
* gloat: to feel or express great pleasure or satisfaction because of your own success or good luck, or someone else's failure or bad luck.
* 释义：因自己的成功、走运，或别人的失败、倒霉而感到巨大的快乐或满足，幸灾乐祸，暗自窃喜。
3.【ordinary social media fans】普通的社交媒体粉丝
Los Angeles Times 在王宝强离婚案一文《A Hollywood-style celebrity scandal is dominating the Internet in China》中，就提到了 ordinary social media fans，以指代国内的吃瓜群众。
China is in the midst of one of its biggest celebrity scandals in recent memory, a messy divorce which, over the last week, has dominated the country’s Internet and turned ordinary social media fans into avid sleuths.
中国正处于近期最大的名人丑闻之中。这场让人风中凌乱的离婚，在过去一周已经霸占网络头条，并成功让吃瓜群众们变身成为狂热的侦探。
因为吃瓜群众多聚集在社交媒体上，所以用 ordinary social media fans 来表达吃瓜群众也是一种译法。
当然，根据吃瓜群众在不同语境中强调的不同意思，备选的译法还有：
4. 【the people who are kept in the dark / unaware of the truth】 - 不明真相的群众
强调被蒙在鼓里，搞不清楚状况。
* to be kept in the dark: to deliberately not be informed about something.
* 释义：被刻意隐瞒某些事情
5. 【netizens / Internet users】 - 网民
强调吃瓜群众的网民身份，是一种泛称。
6. 【audiences】 - 观众，看戏的
强调一群人聚在一起围观（人在做，吃瓜群众在看）。
7. 【rubberneckers / gawkers】 看客
强调吃瓜群众的看客心态，常含贬义。
* rubbernecker: a driver who drivers more slowly to look at an accident, or a person who looks at something in a stupid way
* 释义：<美俚> 故意放慢车速围观交通事故的司机，或以愚蠢的方式看待事情的人。常指那些好奇的伸长脖子围观的人。
* gawker: a spectator who stares stupidly without intelligent awareness.
* 释义：一个呆看而不自知的旁观者
