Fifty cents

五毛 (wǔ máo): fifty cents

Grass-mud horse shown on the fifty-cent bill.

Netizens first coined the term “Fifty Cent Party” to refer to undercover Internet commentators who were paid by the government to sway public opinion (“fifty cents” is a reference to the alleged pay received per post). Now the term is used to describe anyone who actively and publicly posts opinions online that defend or support government policy. As such, the so-called Fifty Cent Party has become the object of much scorn. See this post by Han Han, this comical account of the birth of a fifty center, and this satirical “training manual” for Fifty Cent Party members.

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Made-up character combing the characters for fifty cents. This new character is pronounced wao.

Wu Hao (伍皓), deputy director of the Yunnan Province Propaganda Department showered with fifty-cent bills during a speech.

“Love to hide, do not love the truth / Love to be first, love to stand out / Love to guide public opinion, and love even more to pretend to be a netizen / My ten fingers are black / I do not have eyes / Who am I? / You cannot see me. / I am an Internet commentator / I am Fifty Cents.”