> China's astroturfing for example has gotten so bad, that the "50 cent army" meme has become pervasive and well-known to mostly anyone that spends time online

> China's astroturfing for example has gotten so bad, that the "50 cent army" meme has become pervasive and well-known to mostly anyone that spends time online Just because a meme got popular on the internet doesn't make it true. In the case of 50 cent army, it got popular because it's the easiest way to shut down pro-China argument without refuting their points.