A 31-year-old American has the perfect arsenal to become a celebrity in China: native-level Mandarin skills, credentials from a Confucius Institute language center and the prestigious Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, and an extroverted, fun personality.
That is, if only he could commit to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and be one of the “yang wumao,” or “foreign 50-cent army,” a term Chinese use to describe Westerners who do the CCP’s bidding in the media and online.
The 50-cent army is the CCP’s notorious network of online trolls who steer discussion in favor of Beijing’s propaganda points. The name is derived from the half a Chinese yuan they’re reportedly paid for each online post….