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490 million social media posts as Chinese propaganda

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Riddhi Sharma
New Update
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The Chinese government has hired the ‘Fifty Cent Party’ to bombard the Chinese internet with pro-regime posts in order to avoid criticism to the ruling Communist Party. Previously, it was believed that the group- who allegedly earn 50 cents per post- were ordinary citizens.

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But, according to a study by Harvard University researchers, the people behind 490 million posts per year of propaganda are uploaded by civil servants themselves.

Government employees from over 200 agencies, including the tax and social security bureaus, are said to have created 99.3% of the 43,800 posts analysed by researchers.

It is believed that public holidays, politically crucial periods, Communist party meetings and outbreaks of unrest are specifically targeted by the trolls.

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In June 2013, hundreds of pro-Beijing messages were posted after the occurrence of ethnic rioting. The same November, a flood of pro-Government messages appeared on the Chinese internet as a major political summit was being held in Beijing.

Half of the 488 million posts are uploaded on government websites, whereas the rest are posted on social media, with 700 million internet users. Leaked documents form the government propaganda office in eastern China led to this revelation.

Previously, it was thought that the online propaganda would defend the government against attacks, but the researchers found out that the trolls are not expected to evoke a vocal reaction from these posts at all.

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Commenting on a large number of government officials involved in online propaganda, a researcher said, “They do not step up to defend the government, its leaders, and their policies from criticism, no matter how vitriolic; indeed, they seem to avoid controversial issues entirely.”

Alternatively, the majority of these posts involve “cheer-leading and positive discussions … which, we infer, is a strategy designed is to actively distract and redirect public attention from ongoing criticism, other grievances, or collective action. Distraction is a clever strategy in information control”.

In, a conclusion the study states, “An argument in almost any human discussion is rarely an effective way to put an end to an opposing argument. Letting an argument die, or changing the subject, usually works much better than picking an argument and getting someone’s back up (as new parents recognise fast).”