Scholars, social media users, and government officials have previously suspected that Chinese authorities hire people to fabricate social media posts to control online discourse. In this article, researchers conduct an empirical analysis of this operation using an archive of emails leaked from the Internet Propaganda Office of Zhanggong. Their analysis considers the content, authors, and governmental objectives of the posts. Their findings suggest that the Chinese government fabricates about 448 million social media comments per year. Contrary to common belief, the researchers find that the Chinese government does not use these social media posts to promote pro-government stances or spread propaganda. Instead, they find that the main goal of these posts is to perform “reverse censorship” by distracting the public with uncontroversial positive messages. This helps to advance the regime’s objectives for discouraging engagement with controversial issues and preventing discussions that have potential for collective action or uprisings.