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50 Cent Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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50 Cent Party (Chinese: 五毛党; pinyin: Wǔmáo Dǎng), also called 50 Cent Army, refers to paid astroturfing internet commentators operating working for the People's Republic of China, whose role is posting comments favorable towards the government policies to skew the public opinion on various Internet message boards.[1] They are named after the 50 Chinese cents, or 5 mao, they are paid per such post, other names are red vests, red vanguard and the Five Mao Party.[2][3] Conservative estimates[1] put the strength of the 50 Cents Army at tens of thousands while other estimates as of Bandurski state put their numbers as high as 280,000300,000.[4][5] Their activities were described by Chinese President Hu Jintao as "a new pattern of public-opinion guidance".[6]
They operate primarily in Chinese, but English language posts appear as well. Their effect is most felt at the domestic Chinese-language websites, bulletin board systems, and chatrooms. Their role is to steer the discussion away from anti-party articulations, politically sensitive or "unacceptable" content[7] and advance the party line of the Communist Party of China.[8] It has been argued that it is not so much censorship but a public relations tactic.[9]
According to the Indian Daily News and Analysis, "to this day, anyone who posts a blatantly propagandist pro-Communist Party message online is dismissed by increasingly cynical Chinese Netizens as belonging to the Wu Mao Dang (50 Cents Party)."[8]
Contents
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* 1 History
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links
[edit] History
Negative reporting of the authorities has increased on the internet in recent years.[10] In one instance described on the China Digital Times, the Jiaozuo City Public Security Bureau established a mechanism to analyse public opinion after criticism of the police by netizens appeared on the internet regarding a traffic incident. The Bureau responded with 120 staff calling for the truth to be revealed in line with the public opinion, which gradually shifted and eventually supported the police position, denouncing the original poster.[10][3] In the aftermath of the 2008 Guizhou riot, internet forums were filled with posts critical of the local authorites; the China News Weekly later reported that "the major task of the propaganda group was to organize commentators to past posts on websites to guide online public opinions."[3] Some Chinese internet users are critical of the 50 Cent Party.[3]
In March 2005, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China did a purge of Chinese college bulletin board systems. The popular "Little Lily" BBS, ran by Nanjing University, was forced to close. As a new system was prepared to be launched, school officials hired students as part-time web commentators, paid from the university's work-study funds, to search the forum for undesirable information and actively counter it with Party-friendly viewpoints. The project was a success. In following months, party leaders from the Jiangsu province began hiring their own teams.[4] By mid-2007, web commentator teams recruited by schools, and party organizations were common across China. Shanghai Normal University employed undergraduates to monitor for signs of dissent and post on university forums.[11] However, they not only operate solely within political discussion, but also general discussions in which arguments are often alleviated.[11]
The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China now holds regular training sessions, whose participants are required to pass an exam after which they are issued a job certification.[4]
The "50 Cent Party" is considered a sensitive term in China the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily reported that although searches for "Wu Mao Dang" revealed searches, most were inaccessible and had been deleted.[12]
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