[marmight]

The authors are overstating their case when they assume that why the 50 cent party posters are not engaging in discussion must be a result of an intentional Chinese government strategy. The moniker "50 cent party" comes from the idea that the members make 50 cents for each post they make. They aren't really making 50 cents per post, but if they are operating in a system which incentivizes them to make more posts, then they are not going to engage in discussion because that takes too much time. To get a higher post count it is easier to spam cheerleading posts that would be appropriate in any discussion context. The more simple explanation for the observed behavior is human nature rather than an intentional Chinese government strategy.

[simonh]

The 50. Ent strategy has evolved though. It’s named that way because originally government porpaganda farms paid 50 cents per post, but the Chinese government isn’t a bunch of idiots. They have adapted and evolved their astroturfing strategies. There almost certainly are simple 50 cent style post farms operating, but they are also operating taste-maker and influencer programmes as well. It’s a spectrum from the original 50 cent guys at one end, right up to the presenters on state television talk shows at the other. The 50 cent moniker is used just for convenience.

[pulisse]

I think your comment misses the paper's point. You're talking about the motivations of individual posters working within an incentive system created by the Chinese government. The paper isn't concerned with such individual motivations, but instead with the motivations of the Chinese government in creating that system.