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→Harvard study
==Harvard study==
==Harvard study==
Researchers from [[Harvard University]] and the [[University of California]] [[San Diego]] published a study in 2017 entitled ''How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument'' based on an archive of 43,757 emails [[leak]]ed from the Internet Propaganda Office of Zhanggong,
Researchers from [[Harvard University]] and the [[University of California]] [[San Diego]] published a study in 2017 entitled ''How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument'' based on an archive of 43,757 emails [[leak]]ed from the Internet Propaganda Office of Zhanggong,<ref>https://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/50c.pdf</ref> a district of Ganzhou City in Jiangxi province. The emails were copies of 50c army member posts to the Zhanggong Internet Propaganda Office claiming credit for completing their assignments. The study received funding from [[DARPA]] and the [[National Science Foundation]].
a district of Ganzhou City in Jiangxi province. The emails were copies of 50c army member posts to the Zhanggong Internet Propaganda Office claiming credit for completing their
assignments. The study received funding from [[DARPA]] and the [[National Science Foundation]].
The study found 99.3% of the 50c army are government employees posting from government websites and not, as is commonly believed, ordinary citizens paid piecemeal for their work. Of the 43,757 posts, only 281 were made by individuals or groups that could not be identified. The content of these posts was very similar to those that could be identified. The remaining were contributed from servers of over 200 government agencies throughout the district. This included 9,159 posts or 20.9% made directly by the Zhanggong Internet Propaganda Office and 2,343 (5.4%) by the Zhanggong district Bureau of Commerce. Others come from bureaus in the district (e.g., Sports Bureau, Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, Bureau of Taxation, Zhanggong district court, and government offices of Zhanggong’s sub-districts and townships. The researchers hypothesize that the activity is a requirement of the government workers' existing job or possibly rewarded in performance reviews.
The study found 99.3% of the 50c army are government employees posting from government websites and not, as is commonly believed, ordinary citizens paid piecemeal for their work. Of the 43,757 posts, only 281 were made by individuals or groups that could not be identified. The content of these posts was very similar to those that could be identified. The remaining were contributed from servers of over 200 government agencies throughout the district. This included 9,159 posts or 20.9% made directly by the Zhanggong Internet Propaganda Office and 2,343 (5.4%) by the Zhanggong district Bureau of Commerce. Others come from bureaus in the district (e.g., Sports Bureau, Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, Bureau of Taxation, Zhanggong district court, and government offices of Zhanggong’s sub-districts and townships. The researchers hypothesize that the activity is a requirement of the government workers' existing job or possibly rewarded in performance reviews.