水军

水軍

shuǐjūn

noun #41,753

Meanings

1 paid internet trolls
2 astroturfing army
3 fake commenters hired to manipulate opinion

Characters

water; to flood (with posts)

Literally 'water army' — historically meant a navy, but now refers to armies of paid fake commenters who flood the internet.

Examples

这些好评一看就是水军写的。

Zhèxiē hǎopíng yī kàn jiùshì shuǐjūn xiě de.

These positive reviews are obviously written by paid shills.

那个品牌雇了大量水军刷评论。

Nàge pǐnpái gù le dàliàng shuǐjūn shuā pínglùn.

That brand hired a ton of fake commenters to flood the reviews.

Tips

culture

A massive industry in China. Companies hire 水军 to post fake reviews, boost movies' ratings on Douban, defend brands during PR crises, or attack competitors. '水军' operations are technically illegal but widespread.

memory

An army that floods (水) the internet with fake posts — like a tidal wave of manufactured opinion washing over comment sections.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ

军 jūn