This Chinese Carmaker Announces $1.5M Reward Program To Combat Online Trolling — But It Backfires

Great Wall Motor Co. GWLLF, on Friday, reportedly announced a 10 million yuan or $1.5 million program to reward those for alerting internet trolling against Chinese automakers.

What Happened: Great Wall Motor Co on Friday announced cash reward to people for flagging internet trolls against Chinese automakers as a response to an allegedly unhealthy social media discourse about the industry, reported Bloomberg.

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The "10 Million Reward Plan" announcement was made by Fu Xiaokang, a vice president at Great Wall, during the company’s New Energy Conference.

Fu Xiaokang is said to have recounted an incident where paid trolls allegedly claimed that a manufacturing defect was caused an EV-battery fire when instead the driver himself had set the vehicle alight.

"We welcome everyone to destroy rumors and restore the truth with us," Fu Xiaokang said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

The reward will be paid if the tip-off is verified by the company and a law enforcement agency, the report added.

However, the troll-fighting plan allegedly went through when the company itself started getting trolled for its strategy. Internet users mocked the company saying it should instead invest the money for improving its cars, the report said.

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