Global Information50 Cent Party information
| 50 Cent Party | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 五毛党 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 五毛黨 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | five-dime party | ||||||||||||||
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| Ziganwu | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 自干五 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 自乾五 | ||||||||||||||
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| Internet commentator(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 网络评论员 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 網絡評論員 | ||||||||||||||
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The 50 Cent Party, also known as the 50 Cent Army or wumao (/ˈwuːmaʊ/; from Chinese: 五毛; lit. 'five dimes'), are Internet commenters who are paid by the authorities of the People's Republic of China to spread the propaganda of the governing Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[1][2][3][4][5] It was created during the early phases of the Internet's rollout to the wider public in China.
The name is derived from the fact that such commenters are reportedly paid RMB¥0.50 for every post.[6][7][8] These commenters create comments or articles on popular Chinese social media networks that are intended to derail discussions which are critical of the CCP, promoting narratives that serve the government's interests and insulting or spreading misinformation about political opponents of the Chinese government, both domestic and abroad.[9][10][11] Some of these commenters have labeled themselves ziganwu (Chinese: 自干五, short for 自带干粮的五毛, zì dài gānliáng de wǔmáo, lit. 'wumao who bring their own dry rations'), claiming they are not paid by authorities and express their support for the Chinese government out of their own volition.[12]
Authors of a paper published in 2017 in the American Political Science Review estimate that the Chinese government fabricates 488 million social media posts per year. In contrast to common assumptions, the 50 Cent Party consists mostly of paid bureaucrats who respond to government directives and rarely defend their government from criticism or engage in direct arguments because "... the goal of this massive secretive operation is instead to distract the public and change the subject."[13] Around 80 percent of the analysed posts involve pro-China cheerleading with inspirational slogans, and 13 percent involve general praise and suggestions on governmental policies.[14] Despite the common allegation of the commenters getting paid for their posts, the paper suggested there was "no evidence" that they are paid anything for their posts, instead being required to do so as a part of their official party duties.[15]
Research by professors at Harvard, Stanford, and UC San Diego indicated a "massive secretive operation" to fill China's Internet with propaganda, and has resulted in some 488 million posts written by fake social media accounts, representing about 0.6 percent of the 80 billion posts generated on Chinese social media. To maximize their influence, such pro-government comments are made largely during times of intense online debate, and when online protests have a possibility of transforming into real life actions.[14] The colloquial term wumao has also been used by some English speakers outside of China as an insult against people with perceived pro-CCP bias.[16][17]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BBC1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
chinadigitaltimeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Meiu, George Paul; Comaroff, Jean; Comaroff, John L. (25 September 2020). Ethnicity, Commodity, In/Corporation. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253047960 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Penny for Your Thoughts: Searching for the 50 Cent Party on Sina Weibo" (PDF). Northeastern University.
- ^ Steinfeld, Jemimah (17 December 2018). "The new "civil service" trolls who aim to distract: The government in China is using its civil servants to act as internet trolls. It's a hard management task generating 450 million social media posts a year". Index on Censorship. 47 (4): 102–104. doi:10.1177/0306422018819361. ISSN 0306-4220.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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freedomhousewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "China's Paid Trolls: Meet the 50-Cent Party". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ Alex Linder (20 May 2016). "Chinese trolls write 488 million fake social media posts a year and don't even earn 50 cents for it". Shanghaiist. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ "China Banned The Term '50 Cents' To Stop Discussion Of An Orwellian Propaganda Program". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ Wong, Tessa (20 October 2021). "China: The patriotic 'ziganwu' bloggers who attack the West". BBC News. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ King, Gary; Pan, Jennifer; Roberts, Margaret E. (2017). "How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument" (PDF). American Political Science Review. 111 (3): 484–501. doi:10.1017/S0003055417000144. ISSN 0003-0554.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Wertimewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gallagher, Sean (13 June 2016). "Red astroturf: Chinese government makes millions of fake social media posts". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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