年產4億5千萬條捏造貼文
Anyone who followed the 2016 US election will remember the massive role that social media played in getting Donald Trump into the White House.
曾關心2016年美國總統選舉的人都記得，社交媒體當時扮演了關鍵角色，讓川普得以入主白宮。
All Taiwanese can vividly recall the role that xiangmin played in the Sunflower Movement.
所有台灣人都還清楚地記得，鄉民在太陽花運動中扮演的角色。
Yes, unless you’ve been living off the grid for the past few years, you’ll know that netizens can move mountains.
是的，除非過去幾年來你都過著與世隔絕的生活，你當然知道網友的力量是足以移動一座山的。
off the grid不和(電、水等)公共設施接通
This hasn’t escaped China’s political elite. For almost a decade, the government has been using a prolific cadre of netizens to promote the Communist Party online.
中國的統治階層當然也知道這一點。近十年來，中國政府利用一群生產力旺盛的網軍，在網路上替共產黨宣傳。
elite(n.)(社會)上層集團;掌權人物; 精英prolific(adj.)多產的;生產力旺盛的=productivecadre(n.)(軍隊、政治)幹部
The 50 Cent Army is a network of professional netizens tasked with the job of disrupting any exchange online that might make the government look bad.
「五毛大軍」是由專業網民構成的網路，他們的任務是打斷網路上任何可能破壞政府形象的言論。
(be) tasked with…接到…任務disrupt(v.)打斷、中斷、擾亂
They got their nickname because it was initially believed that members were paid 50 cents RMB per pro-China post.
「五毛」的稱號來自於傳稱其每發一條親中國政府的評論，當局就會付給他們五毛人民幣。
it is believed that…一般相信
Very little information was available about this virtual force of pro-party trolls until researchers released a study based on nearly 44,000 fake social media posts and leaked emails from a propaganda office in southwestern China.
關於這群親共網路特工的相關資訊很少，直到研究者公布了一項研究，這項研究根據4.4萬條社群媒體貼文，及中國西南某政宣辦公室外洩的電郵加以分析，藉此描繪出這個「五毛大軍」的模樣。
troll(n.)(v.)故意張貼和主題亳無關聯的留言(的人)leaked(adj.)外洩的
Professor Gary King, who headed the study, estimates that over 450 million fake posts are uploaded to social media every year, although surprisingly very few of them argue with party critics.
主持該研究的傑瑞金教授估算每年有超過4億5千萬捏造的貼文被上傳至社交媒體，雖然令人驚訝地，當中很少有與共產黨批評者辯論的內容。
estimate(v.)估計
“They are not arguing with anybody at all,” King explains. When other users complain about the regime’s repressions or corruption among local officials, they don’t jump into fights.
金教授解釋道：「五毛黨不跟任何人爭論」。當其他用戶抱怨共產黨政權的壓迫或地方官員的貪腐時，他們不會跟別人吵架。
regime(n.) 政府;政權;政體repression(n.)(尤指透過武力進行的)鎮壓，壓制
Instead, “50 Centers” flood the posts with positive comments to distract readers from genuine criticism.
五毛大軍們反而會用正面的評論在貼文下面灌水，轉移讀者的注意力，讓他們看不見真正的批評。
flood(n.)洪水(v.)使淹沒;使充斥distract sb. from sth.使某人分心不注意到=divert attention (away) from sth.
The comments can range from glorifying the party to simply breaking the flow of conversation by commenting on what a nice day it is.
五毛們的評論有的是歌頌共產黨，有的只是留言說「今天多麼美好啊」來打斷討論串。
range from…to…範圍從…到…glorify(v.)讚美;頌揚; 吹捧;美化
What is more, some are turning trolling into a full-time job. Earlier this year, Toutiao, one of the country’s largest online news platforms, began recruiting full-time “editors” to filter through and remove content that could be perceived as “inappropriate” by the Communist Party.
更有甚者，有些人開始把網軍當全職工作。今年初，中國最大的線上新聞平台「今日頭條」開始招募全職「編輯」，工作內容是過濾並移除共產黨認為「不恰當的」內容。
troll(n.)(v.)故意張貼和主題亳無關聯的留言(的人)filter through~過濾be perceived as~被視作是…=be regarded as~=be seen as~inappropriate(adj.)不恰當的
The site particularly encourages members of the Communist Party to apply for the job, which offers a salary of up to 6,000 RMB a month, full health coverage, pension benefits and paid leave.
該網站特別鼓勵共產黨黨員應徵，每月月薪高達6千人民幣，有完善的健康保險、退休金和特休待遇。
apply for 申請;應徵
In Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, inhabitants of a dystopian future use virtual reality to escape the harsh realities of life, until what is real and what is artificial seamlessly blur into one.
在史蒂芬史匹柏的電影《一級玩家》裡，反烏托邦未來世界的居民利用虛擬實境來逃脫殘酷的生活現實，直到真實與虛擬的界線徹底消失為止。
dystopian(adj.)反烏托邦的utopian(adj.)烏托邦的artificial(adj.)人工的;人造的seamlessly(adv.)無縫地
In 2018, we are escaping through the Internet, but as China’s content control steadily grows smarter, subtler, and more sophisticated, we’d be wise to remember that you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
2018年，我們透過網路逃離現實，但中國的內容監控卻愈來愈迅速有力、更令人察覺不到，且手段愈來愈高明，聰明人切記：別輕易相信你在網路上讀到的每一字一句。
escape(v.)逃離;逃脫smart(adj.)迅速有力的;迅猛的subtle(adj.)隱約的;不易察覺的;不明顯的sophisticated(adj.)複雜的、精密的、高度發展的