Changes

The '''Chinese 50 cent army''' ('''五毛''') also '''50 cent party''' or '''50c party''' is the nickname given to Chinese [[internet]] trolls who post [[disinformation]] on various [[social media]] platforms in Chinese. [[English]], and other languages. A 2021 report from the Jamestown Foundation claims the CCP holds 2 million paid internet commentators. It also has a network of 20 million part-time volunteers to carry out online trolling.<ref>https://jamestown.org/program/a-different-kind-of-army-the-militarization-of-chinas-internet-trolls/</ref>  ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported in 2016 that the Chinese 50 cent Army makes about 450 million social media postings per year.<ref>http://archive.is/d32pI</ref> After the [[CCP global pandemic]] outbreak, the 50 cent Army was particularly active on [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]], promoting the [[CCP propaganda war]] and attacking critics of [[socialism]], [[communism]], and [[totalitarianism]].  

The '''Chinese 50 cent army''' ('''五毛''') also '''50 cent party''' or '''50c party''' is the nickname given to Chinese [[internet]] trolls who post [[disinformation]] on various [[social media]] platforms in Chinese. [[English]], and other languages. A 2021 report from the Jamestown Foundation claims the CCP holds 2 million paid internet commentators. It also has a network of 20 million part-time volunteers to carry out online trolling.<ref>https://jamestown.org/program/a-different-kind-of-army-the-militarization-of-chinas-internet-trolls/</ref>  ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported in 2016 that the Chinese 50 cent Army makes about 450 million social media postings per year.<ref>http://archive.is/d32pI</ref> After the [[CCP global pandemic]] outbreak, the 50 cent Army was particularly active on [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]], promoting the [[CCP propaganda war]] and attacking critics of [[socialism]], [[communism]], and [[totalitarianism]].  

==2018 Taiwan election interference==

==2018 Taiwan election interference==

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, from Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told ''[[Al Jazeera]]'' in 2018<ref>https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/23/fake-news-rattles-taiwan-ahead-of-elections/</ref>,

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, from Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told ''[[Al Jazeera]]'' in 2018,<ref>https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/23/fake-news-rattles-taiwan-ahead-of-elections/</ref>

{{quotebox-float|"We received propaganda warfare coming from China for years, but this is taking a very different form,.  It’s coming in not from newspapers or their propaganda machine but through our social media, online chat groups, [[Facebook]], the zombie accounts set up, somewhere, by the Chinese government....It’s a more serious problem because China is so close to Taiwan, language-wise. They don’t have the cultural or language barrier and can easily fabricate news and they know the mentality of Chinese thinking, so it’s easier for them to orchestrate this misinformation.”}}

{{quotebox-float|"We received propaganda warfare coming from China for years, but this is taking a very different form,.  It’s coming in not from newspapers or their propaganda machine but through our social media, online chat groups, [[Facebook]], the zombie accounts set up, somewhere, by the Chinese government....It’s a more serious problem because China is so close to Taiwan, language-wise. They don’t have the cultural or language barrier and can easily fabricate news and they know the mentality of Chinese thinking, so it’s easier for them to orchestrate this misinformation.”}}

False stories were traced to servers in the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party and it’s 50 Cent Army.  Beijing has reached deep into Taiwan, sowing division and confusion through online disinformation, recruiting business figures, and funneling cash to pro-Beijing politicians.

False stories were traced to servers in the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party and it’s 50 Cent Army.  Beijing has reached deep into Taiwan, sowing division and confusion through online disinformation, recruiting business figures, and funneling cash to pro-Beijing politicians.