五毛

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The 50 Cent Party, also known as the 50 Cent Army or wumao (; from Chinese: 五毛; lit. 'five dimes'), are Chinese government employees posting online comments to divert public attention or promote positive sentiment. The program was created during the early phases of the Internet's rollout to the wider public in China. Government workers produced about 448 million out of 80.4 billion (or 1 out of 178) posts on the Chinese internet every year, concentrated heavily on official government websites and during major events. The name "50 Cent Party" is derived from claims that government hired commentators are reportedly paid RMB¥0.50 (5 jiao) for every post in order to shape public opinion in ways favorable towards Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policies. Some Internet commentators describe themselves as 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'), stating that they express voluntary support for China and are not paid by authorities. A study published in 2017 points out that almost everything known about the 50 Cent Party in the past had been wrong. Most combative posts and commentators attributed to the 50 Cent Party were instead linked to private nationalistic individuals. Actual 50 Cent Party content largely avoids heated discussions, controversial or sensitive topics, and focuses instead on cheerleading unrelated valence issues. This is likely meant to distract, change the subject, or promote positive sentiment. These posts are made by government employees contributing part time outside their regular jobs and not paid for extra, which would cost an enormous sum every year. Approximately half of these are posted on the government's own websites.