Even Russian human rights body finds Crimean referendum falsified

[EX500rider]

70. The 50 Ruble Army Strikes again!

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20120220.aspx

Russia has apparently quietly adopted the Chinese tactics of paying Internet users a small fee to post pro-government responses on message boards where the government is being criticized or maligned. For some members of the original Chinese "50 Cent Party" it was a full time job, receiving up to 50 cents (two yuan) each for up to a hundred pro-government messages posted a day, using several dozen different accounts. But most of the posters are volunteers or just do it to earn a little extra money. If you can post in foreign languages, especially colloquial English, you make more. Very few members of the "50 Cent Army" (as the mercenary posters were also known) made lots of money.
The practice began eight years ago, when Chinese propaganda officials sought ways to deal with growing anti-government activity on Internet message boards. One idea was to organize the pro-government posters already out there. The propaganda bureaucracy (which is huge in China) did so and got so many volunteers that they soon developed a test to select the most capable posters and also set up training classes to improve the skills of volunteers. Cash bonuses were offered for the most effective work. At one point, the government had nearly 100,000 volunteers and paid posters operating. This quickly evolved into the 50 Cent Army, and now the 50 Ruble Army in Russia.

The Chinese eventually realized that quality was better than quantity because the less articulate posters were easily spotted, and ridiculed, as members of the "50 Cent Army" or "Internet Apes." This was especially the case outside China. Inside China people just learned to ignore the government posters. But the more skilled Internet Apes appeared convincing to many people following Internet based discussions. The 50 Cent Army was often a very worthwhile investment.