50 cent party

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The English term 50 Cent Party , also 50 Cent Army ( Chinese  五毛 党 wǔmáo dǎng, literally five-penny party ) is used to describe internet commentators who are paid for by the State Council of the People's Republic of China and who use propaganda- controlled comments to target opinion in internet forums and manipulate social networks .

It is estimated that it employs around two million Chinese government employees and posts around 450 million comments on Chinese social media annually. They are primarily on the Twitter - clone Sina Weibo and Google clone Baidu active. According to a study published by three Harvard scientists, the goal is primarily to distract from politically controversial issues. For example, the propagandists would praise the government, spread symbols of the party or refer to the history of the Communist Party. The Internet commentators did not allow themselves to be drawn into discussions and did not respond to the arguments of other commentators.

The name derives from the claim that commentators should be paid 50 cents (in renminbi) for each contribution, although some speculate that they are likely not to be paid for contributions but will be required to do so as part of their official party duties. They are designed to create positive comments or articles on popular Chinese social media networks to derail discussions that are not helpful to the Communist Party and encourage narration that serves the interests of the government along with derogatory comments and misinformation about political issues Opponents and critics of the Chinese government at home and abroad. This is also used as a derogatory term against people with perceived pro- CCP or Chinese nationalist views.

A 2016 paper by Harvard University found that contrary to popular belief, Chinese internet commentators are mostly paid government officials who respond to government policies in times of crisis and flood Chinese social media with pro-government comments. They also rarely use direct arguments, and around 80% of the analyzed passages are cheerleaders for China with inspirational slogans , and 13% contain general praise and suggestions on government policy.

As of 2016, this practice seems to have largely ceased, and propaganda participation in internet discussions has become part of the normal work of communist party officials. The type of participation has also become more nuanced and less aggressive. Research found that a "massive clandestine operation" to fill China's Internet with propaganda resulted in approximately 488 million posts from fake social media accounts, out of the 80 billion posts generated on Chinese social media. In order to maximize their influence, their pro-government comments are carried out especially during times of intense online debate and when online protests have the opportunity to turn into real action.

Origin of name

The name 50 cent party is derived from the rumor that the manipulators are supposed to receive 50 cents of the renminbi per contribution. This would correspond to about 5 euro cents .

According to the Harvard study, nearly all posts are written by government officials. These include employees of tax authorities and courts. This activity is obviously not remunerated separately, but is part of the duties of civil servants.

history

In October 2004, Changsha's advertising division began hiring Internet commentators in one of the first known applications of professional Internet commentators.

In March 2005, has the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China a systematic censorship of Chinese College - Bulletin Board Systems introduced (BBS). The popular “Little Lily” BBS operated by Nanjing University had to close. When a new system was to be introduced, school officials hired students as part-time web commentators, paid from university funds for their studies, to search the forum for unwanted information and actively counterparty-friendly positions. In the months that followed, the Jiangsu party leaders began hiring their own teams . In mid-2007, teams of web commentators recruited by schools and party organizations were widespread across China. The East China Normal University students employed who should pay attention not only in political discussions, but also in general discussions and contributions in higher education forums for signs of disagreement. After that, some schools and local governments began setting up similar teams.

On January 23, 2007, the then Chinese party leader Hu Jintao called for the 38th collective study of the Politburo to “strengthen ideological and public opinion-forming and positive publicity .” Major Chinese websites and local governments were urged to publish Hu's sayings and “Comrades with good political quality ”to set up“ teams of Internet commentators ”through the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共中央 办公厅) and the General Office of the State Council (国务院 办公厅).

Since then, the negative has coverage of local authorities in the Internet increased. In a case described in the China Digital Times , the Jiaozuo, Henan Provincial Public Security Bureau established a public opinion analysis mechanism after criticism of the police handling of a traffic accident surfaced online. The office responded with 120 staff, demanding that the truth be revealed in accordance with public opinion, which gradually changed, eventually supporting the police position and denouncing the original poster. After the 2008 Guizhou uprising , the internet forums were filled with critical contributions to local authorities; the China News Weekly later reported that "the main task of propaganda group is Commentators past [sic] articles on websites to organize, to direct public opinion on the Internet. ׅ"

In 2010, the official website published the Communist Youth League of China in Shanghai , a summary of their own activities of this kind. This mentioned that Internet reporters from the Shanghai city government had published more than 200 issues on various websites and forums. These were the websites of the Chinese people's daily People's Daily , the Chinese news agency Xinhua , Sina Corporation and the Internet forum Tianya . The Internet reporters had reported there on incidents that happened in 2009. This included the collapse of a 13-story apartment building; the forced installation of the Green Dam Youth Escort program ; the brutality of officials from the Putuo City city government and law enforcement agency; the control of the influenza A virus H1N1 ; the self-immolation of Pan Rong, and so on. This information received praise from the Shanghai Internet Public Relations Office.

In December 2014, a Chinese hacking blogger the email - Archive of Internet propaganda department of the district Zhang Gong in Ganzhou and published them. These included over 2,700 emails from Internet commentators for the 50 Cent Party. For example, it revealed that Shi Wenqing, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's Ganzhou Branch , conducted an "Internet Exchange" on TV on January 16, 2014, answering questions from a local news website forum. Fifty cent party commentators were instructed to bring up seven points for discussion, such as, "I really admire Party Secretary Shi, what a capable and effective Party Secretary! I hope he can be Ganzhou's father for the next few years. "

Working method

The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China regularly conducts training courses that require participants to pass an exam to obtain a certificate of employment . In 2008, the total number of 50 cent employees was estimated at tens of thousands, and possibly as high as 280,000 to 300,000. Every major Chinese website is hired by the information bureau to train a trained team of Internet commentators.

According to opinions of Chinese communists on the recruitment of the university working committee ( provisional ), the university's internet commentators are mainly made up of cadres or student cadres from the advertising department at universities of the Communist Party , the Youth League, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Network Center, the Admissions Office of the Labor Office, Political Theory Department, Training Department, and other units.

Qinghe District Court, Huai'an organized a working group of 12 commentators. Gansu Province hired 650 commentators based on their writing skills. The first 26 commentators for the Suqian communal advertising department were published in April 2005 by the Yangtze Evening Post newspaper. According to senior independent Chinese blogger Li Ming, pro-Chinese government web commentators must number "at least tens of thousands."

Wen Yunchao, a former Internet commentator, said there were about 20 full-time commentators for the local news websites in Guangdong . The county -level discipline-level internet commentator estimated there were more than 100 recreational internet commentators in his circle, a population of around 1 million. Hu Yong, an Internet expert from Beijing University , said that "opinion leaders have already penetrated different layers of Chinese society," he found observers of public opinion who viewed negative information about the forums at the tourist city airport and middle school deal at the district level. A 2016 Harvard study estimated the group posts about 488 million social media comments per year.

In an article by Xiao Qiang on the China Digital Times website , leaked instructions to the Chinese Internet commentators are described as follows:

To paraphrase the influence of Taiwanese democracy, to further advance the work of public opinion leadership and to be "strategic and skilled" in accordance with the requirements of the higher authorities, we hope that internet commentators will conscientiously understand the mindset of netizens, grasp international developments and perform the work of an internet commentator better. For this purpose, the following notice is issued:

  1. America should be the target of criticism as far as possible. Downplay the existence of Taiwan.
  2. Do not attack the (idea of) democracy directly, but use the argument "which system can actually implement democracy".
  3. As far as possible, use acts of violence and unreasonable conditions in Western countries as examples of the fact that democracy is not suitable for capitalism.
  4. Use the interference of America and other countries in international affairs to explain that Western democracy is, in fact, an invasion of other countries and how the West is imposing Western values ​​on other countries.
  5. Use the bloody and painful history of the (once) weak people (in China) to provoke party-friendly and patriotic emotions.
  6. Give the impression that the positive development within China supports (social) stability.

salary

The English version, the China-based Global Times reported that Internet commentators at the Changsha advertising department were paid 0.5 yuan per post, which is believed to be the origin of the term "50 Cent Party". However, according to the local party formation website, the base salary for these commentators in 2006 was 600 yuan per month.

In 2010, Internet commentators from the Hengyang Municipal Committee Party School received 0.1 yuan per entry and less than 100 yuan per month in bonuses.

An Internet commentator for a county-level discipline-level committee in Hunan Province told the Global Times that a 500-word article said 40 yuan on local websites and 200 yuan on national websites worth it.

Those who have made excellent suggestions are honored by the government as excellent critics.

Designations

There are alternative official as well as some unofficial internet commentator terms that netizens have coined for them:

  • Internet commentator (official)
  • Internet reviewer and commentator (official)
  • 50 Cent Party or 50 Cent Army (unofficial)
  • Monkey speaking on the internet (unofficial)
  • Red vest; Red guard; Red avant-garde

Among these names, "50 Cent Party" (五毛 党) was the most common and degrading unofficial term. It was created as a satire by Chinese netizens . Many detail the origin of the name "50 Cent" on the salaries of the advertising department of Changsha back, which, according to the English version of the Global Times , the basic income of Internet commentators since October 2004 with 50 Cent note [1] has for each entry added.

The term is disparagingly used by cynical Chinese netizens to refer to anyone who openly expresses pro- communist party thoughts online. However, there is another word “5 US cents” (五 美分) that is used by some netizens to denigrate anti-partisan comments, with the result that these commentators are from the governments of the United States , Taiwan and other western countries to be hired. Zhang Shengjun, professor of international politics at Beijing University , published an article titled Who Would Be Afraid of the 50 Cent Party Hat? in the Chinese version of the Global Times, in which he said the term is being promoted by Western media, "it has become a baton waving to all Chinese patriots" to make the Chinese government a constant target of criticism.

Chinese cyberspace is also known for its ideological competitions between “ far-right ” reformists who advocate Western-style democratic reforms versus “left- wing ” conservatives and neo-Confucianists who advocate Chinese nationalism and restructured socialism . Against this background, right-wing extremists sometimes disparagingly refer to the left as “50 Centers”, regardless of their actual professional background.

The Hong Kong- based Apple Daily reported that although a search for “五毛 党” (50 Cent Party in Chinese) on a search engine produced results, most were inaccessible and had been deleted.

Effects and opinions

The activities of the Internet Commentators / 50 Cent Party have been described as "a new pattern of public opinion" by Chinese Communist Party's General Secretary Hu Jintao . They represent a shift from simply erasing dissenting opinions to leading the dialogue so that "the truth does not harm social stability" In 2010, a contributor to The Huffington Post stated that some comments she received on one of her posts from the 50 Cent Party. She also stated that the 50 Cent Party monitors popular US websites, news sites, and blogs, and publishes comments promoting Chinese government interests.

Foreign Policy magazine's David Wertime argued that the narrative of a large army of paid internet commentators behind China's poor public dialogue with its critics was "Orwellian but strangely comforting." In fact, many of the Chinese netizens who instill nationalist sentiments online are not paid, but are often convinced of what they say.

In Australia , the term was used pejoratively in the ongoing debate about Chinese influence in the country.

See also

literature

  • Gary King, Jennifer Pan, Margaret E. Roberts: How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument. (PDF) August 26, 2016
  • Gary King, Jennifer Pan, Margaret E Roberts: How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression. In: American Political Science Review. Volume 107, 2013, pp. 1-18.
  • Gary King, Jennifer Pan, Margaret E. Roberts: Reverse-engineering censorship in China: Randomized experimentation and participant observation. In: Science . Number 6199, Volume 345, 2014, pp. 1-10.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Henry Farrell: The Chinese government fakes nearly 450 million social media comments a year. This is why. In: washingtonpost.com. May 19, 2016, accessed December 12, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Annika von Taube: From the comments: Russian Embassy. In: zeit.de . February 7, 2014, accessed December 12, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b Michael Bristow, China's internet 'spin doctors' , BBC News, December 16, 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  4. ^ Sophie Beach, Internet Spin for Stability Enforcers , China Digital Times, May 25, 2010, accessed August 21, 2018
  5. ↑ a b c d Stephan Dörner: China produces 488 million social media postings a year. In: welt.de . May 20, 2016, accessed December 12, 2016 .
  6. ↑ China employs army of piece-rate 'netizens' for online thought control ( memento July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Tibetan Review, January 2, 2009, accessed August 21, 2018
  7. ↑ a b Venkatesan Vembu, Big Brother 2.0 is here , Daily News and Analysis, India, January 2nd 2009, accessed on August 21, 2018
  8. ↑ Sarah Cook; Maggie Shum, China's growing army of paid internet commentators ( Memento from October 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Freedom House, October 11, 2011, accessed on August 21, 2018
  9. ↑ Sean Gallagher, Red astroturf: Chinese government makes millions of fake social media posts , Ars Technica, June 13, 2016, accessed August 21, 2018
  10. ^ Ai WeiWei, China's Paid Trolls: Meet the 50-Cent Party , NewStatesman, October 17, 2012, accessed August 21, 2018
  11. ↑ Alex Linder, Chinese trolls write 488 million fake social media posts a year and don't even earn 50 cents for it , Shanghaiist, May 5, 2018, accessed on August 21, 2018
  12. ↑ Christina Sterbenz, China Banned The Term '50 Cents' To Stop Discussion Of An Orwellian Propaganda Progra m, Business Insider, October 17, 2014, accessed August 21, 2018
  13. ↑ a b c d e David Wertime, Meet the Chinese Trolls Pumping Out 488 Million Fake Social Media Posts , Foreign Policy, May 19, 2016, accessed August 21, 2018
  14. ↑ Gary King, Jennifer Pan, Margaret E. Roberts, How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument (PDF) Harvard University, April 9, 2017, accessed August 21, 2018
  15. ^ John Naughton, The secret army of cheerleaders policing China's internet , The Guardian, May 29, 2016, accessed August 21, 2018
  16. ^ Henry Farrell, The Chinese government fakes nearly 450 million social media comments a year. This is why , The Washington Post, May 19, 2016, accessed August 21, 2018
  17. ↑ Haley Usha, China's Fifty Cent Party for Internet Propaganda , Huffington Post, October 4, 2010, accessed August 21, 2018
  18. ↑ Michael Bristow: China's internet 'spin doctors'. In: news.bbc.co.uk. December 16, 2008, accessed December 12, 2016 .
  19. ↑ a b c d e f g Zhang Lei, Invisible footprints of online commentators ( Memento from February 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Global Times German version, February 5, 2010, accessed on August 21, 2018
  20. ↑ a b Wu Nan, An Investigative Report Regarding Cultural Propaganda Work in Nanchang, Changsha, and Zhengzhou , screenshot , China Digital Times, May 15, 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  21. ↑ a b c d e f David Bandurski, China's Guerrilla War for the Web ( January 22, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive ), Far Eastern Economic Review, July 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  22. ^ Howard W. French, A s Chinese Students Go Online, Little Sister Is Watching , The New York Times, May 9, 2006, accessed August 21, 2018
  23. ↑ 宿迁 26 名 网 评 员 今 上岗 (Suqian 26 online reviewers are on duty today, in Chinese), sohu, April 29, 2005, accessed August 21, 2018
  24. ↑ 关于 进一步 加强 互联网 管理 工作 的 实施 意见 ( Memento of July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Implementation comments on further strengthening Internet management, in Chinese), Government of Golog, Qinghai, February 28, 2005, accessed August 21 2018
  25. ↑ 巴中市 人事局 采取 四大 措施 加强 网络 舆情 监控 (in Chinese) ( Bazhong City Personnel Bureau takes four major measures to strengthen network public opinion monitoring , in English), Sichuan Provincial People's Government, July 29, 2009, accessed on August 21, 2018
  26. ↑ 胡锦涛 ： 以 创新 的 精神 加强 网络 文化 建设 和 管理 ( Memento from August 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Hu Jintao: Strengthening the Construction and Management of Network Culture with the Spirit of Innovation, in Chinese), Xinhua, 24. January 2007, accessed August 21, 2018
  27. ↑ 特稿 ： 党 布阵 网络 人民 战争 ( Memento of July 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Feature article: Party Array Network People's War, in Chinese), dwnews.com, July 19, 2008, accessed on August 21, 2018
  28. ^ A b Wu Nan, Chinese Bloggers on the History and Influence of the “Fifty Cent Party,” China Digital Times, May 15, 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  29. ↑ a b c Wu Zhong, China's Internet awash with state spies , Asia Times Online, August 14, 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  30. ↑ 市级 机关 团 工委 2009 年度 工作 总结 (2009 summary of works of the Municipal Authorities Youth League Working Committee) ( Memento from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (in Chinese), Shanghai Communist Youth League official site, 20. January 2010, Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. 2009 年 ， 市级 机关 网 评 员 在 市 网 宣 办 的 业务 指导 下 ， 先后 参与 了 莲花 莲花 河畔 景苑 倒 楼 事件 、 强制 安装 "绿 坝" 网络 屏蔽软件 、 普陀 区 城管 打人 事件 、 甲型 H1N1 流感 防控 、 "倒钩" 执法 事件 、 闵行区 潘 蓉 自焚 事件 、 、 地铁 事故 频 发 等 以 以 涉 沪 舆情 为 重点 的 网上 舆论 引导 工作 ， 在 人民网、 新华网 、 东方网 及 新浪 、 天涯 社区 等 国内 重点 网站 、 主要 商业 网站 、 大型 网络 社区。 发帖 、 跟帖 、 转帖 200 余 篇 ， 东方网 评论 频道 录用 各类 网 评 文章 20 余 篇 ， 工作得到 市 网 宣 办 的 肯定。 (Under the guidance of the business of the city network, the city-level agency network appraisers participated in the incident of the collapse of the Lotus Riverside Garden, the mandatory installation of the “Green Dam” network shielding software, the Putuo District urban management hitting event, and the H1N1 influenza prevention and control. "Barb" law enforcement incidents, Panrong self-immolation incidents in Minhang District, frequent subway accidents, etc., and online public opinion guidance foc using on Shanghai sensation, in China's key websites such as People's Daily, Xinhuanet, Dongfang.com and Sina, Tianya Community, major commercial websites, large online communities. More than 200 posts and reposts were posted. The Oriental Network commentary channel hired more than 20 articles on various online reviews, and the work was confirmed by the city network.), Accessed August 21, 2018
  31. ↑ Anne Henochowicz, Thousands of Local Internet Propaganda Emails Leaked , China Digital Times, December 3, 2014, accessed August 21, 2018
  32. ↑ Josh Rudolph, Zhanggong Leaks: History is the Best Judge , China Digital Times, December 10, 2014, accessed August 21, 2018
  33. ↑ Nikhil Sonnad, Hacked emails reveal China's elaborate and absurd internet propaganda machine , Quartz , December 18, 2014, accessed August 21, 2018
  34. ↑ Malik Fareed, China joins a turf war , The Guardian, September 22, 2008, accessed August 21, 2018
  35. ↑ 为 认真 贯彻 落实 《中共中央 、 国务院 关于 进一步 加强 和 改进 大学生 思想 政治 教育 的 意见》 （中 发 〔2004〕 16 号） 和 《教育部 教育部 、 共青团 中央 关于 进一步 加强 高等学校 校园 网络 管理 工作 的 意见》 (教 社 政 〔2004〕 17 号) 精神 ， 牢牢 把握 网上 舆论 主导权 ， 为 我省 高等教育 改革 发展 稳定 提供 良好 的 舆论 环境 ， 努力 构建 社会主义 和谐 校园 ， 现 就 加强 高校 网络 评论员 队伍 建设提出 以下 意见。 (In German: For the conscientious implementation of the "Statements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on the Further Strengthening and Improvement of the Ideological and Political Education of Students" (Zhong Fa [2004] No. 16)) and the " Statements of the Ministry of Education and the Communist Youth League on the further strengthening of the campus network management of colleges and universities ”(The spirit of teaching social affairs [2004] No. 17).
  36. ↑ 清河 法院 组建 互联网 网 评 工作 队 ( Memento of April 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Qinghe Court formed Internet Review Task Force) (in Chinese), Huai'an Intermediate People's Court, April 14, 2010, retrieved on April 21, 2010. August 2018
  37. ↑ 甘肅 將建 650 人 網絡 評論員 隊伍 引導 輿論 ( Memento from January 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Gansu will build a team of 650 online commentators to guide public opinion) (Gansu will build a team of 650 online commentators, to guide public opinion), Sina, January 20, 2010, accessed August 21, 2018
  38. ↑ a b Michelle Yu, How the '50 Cent Army 'manipulates online opinion ( Memento from August 31, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) The Epoch Times, July 25 - 31, 2012, accessed on August 21, 2018
  39. ↑ Pascale Trouillaud, China's web spin doctors spread Beijing's message ( September 19, 2011 memento in the Internet Archive ), Sydney Morning Herald, May 12, 2011, accessed August 21, 2018
  40. ↑ China 'flooding' social media with fake posts , BBC News, May 20, 2016, accessed August 21, 2018
  41. ↑ a b Leaked propaganda Directives and Banned "Future" - China Digital Times (CDT) . In: China Digital Times (CDT) . June 24, 2011 ( chinadigitaltimes.net [accessed January 27, 2017]).
  42. ↑ a b 【真理 部】 网 评 员 《上级 通知》 - 中国 数字 时代 . In: 中国 数字 时代 . June 24, 2011 ( chinadigitaltimes.net [accessed January 27, 2017]).
  43. ↑ 《党校 阵地》 网 评 员 管理 办法 ("Party School Position" Network Appraisers Management Measures) ("Party School Position" network appraiser management measures) [Party school front Internet commentators Regulations] (in Chinese), 中国 衡阳 党建 网 ( China Hengyang Party Construction Network) (China Hengyang Party-building website) January 8, 2010, screenshot, accessed August 21, 2018
  44. ↑ 中共 衡阳 市委 党校 《党校 阵地》 网 评 员 管理 办法 ( Memento from January 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Administrative Measures for the Network Appraisers of the Party School Position. The Party School of the CPC Hengyang Municipal Committee), Cenews , January 21, 2010, accessed August 21, 2018
  45. ↑ a b 新华网 2007 年度 优秀 网 评 人 评选 揭晓 ( Memento of January 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Xinhuanet 2007 Excellent Online Critics Awards Announced), Xinhua, January 9, 2008, accessed on August 21, 2018
  46. ↑ Mike Elgan, How China's '50 Cent Army 'Could Wreck Web 2.0 ( Memento January 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Datamation, JupiterOnlineMedia, January 8, 2009, accessed August 21, 2018
  47. ↑ John Garnaut, China's plan to use internet for propaganda , The Age, Australia, July 14, 2010, accessed August 21, 2018
  48. ↑ Zhang Shengjun, 五毛 党 "帽子 能 吓住 谁？ ( February 26, 2011 memento in the Internet Archive ) [Who can scare the" 50 Cent Party "?] (In Chinese), Global Times, January 20, 2010, accessed on August 21, 2018
  49. ^ Communist Party and Government Officials Manipulate "Public Opinion" on the Internet , Congressional-Executive Commission on China, June 27, 2005, accessed August 21, 2018
  50. ↑ Corrinne Podger, China marshalls army of bloggers ( Memento of 1 December 2008 at the Internet Archive ), ABC Radio Australia, August 21st 2008, accessed on August 21, 2018
  51. ↑ a b David Bandurksi, propaganda leaders scurry off to carry out the "spirit" of Hu Jintao's "important" media speech , China Media Project, June 25th 2008, accessed on August 21, 2018
  52. ↑ Trevor Marshallsea, Is racism worsening Australia's China influence row? , BBC, June 22, 2018, accessed August 21, 2018