To those that are unfamiliar, the "50 cent army" is China's version of America's "Operation Earnest Voice."

It's basically "an astroturfing campaign by the US government.[1] The aim of the initiative is to use sockpuppets to spread pro-American propaganda on social networking sites based outside of the US. [1]"

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Voice