Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu – known internationally as Rednote – is struggling to boost its ability to moderate English-language content after hundreds of thousands of US users. suddenly joined the platform Possibly in anticipation of TikTok being banned Sunday in the United States.
WIRED this week identified a handful of job listings posted on recruiting platforms by tech outsourcing companies in China, looking for content moderators who could help manage the unexpected influx of English videos and posts being uploaded to Xiaohongshu. Are. Several new recruitment notices were also posted, urgently looking for content moderators who could work in Chinese, the platform's default language.
VXI Global Solutions, an American customer service company operating in China since the early 2000s, posted job vacancies on recruitment websites zilian zhaopin And boss zippinspecifying that candidates would “moderate videos by foreign friends' accounts on Xiaohongshu.” The recruiter also labeled one of the listings “Xiaohongshu overnight urgent recruitment-TikTok refugee moderation, short-term [contracts] Accepted.”
Jinhui Rongzi Technologyan IT services outsourcing company, and transThe AI-powered translation service provider, also posted similar recruitment notices this week, looking for English-language content moderators to work for Xiaohongshu. WIRED contacted three companies to confirm the validity of the listings. None of them responded in time for publication. Xiaohongshu also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Salaries for the jobs range from 4,500 RMB to 8,000 RMB per month (about $600 to $1,100). Applicants must demonstrate their English language skills and prove that they have passed a proficiency test. a list noted This post must be filled within three days, and candidates need not apply if they cannot start immediately.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's top internet watchdog, has reportedly already become concerned about content being shared by foreigners on Xiaohongshu. The CAC warned the platform earlier this week to “ensure that China-based users cannot see posts from US users.” Information,
Social media platforms in China are legally required to remove a wide range of content, including nudity and graphic violence, but especially information the government considers politically sensitive. Platforms like Xiaohongshu rely on large teams of contractors managed by outsourcing companies to perform routine enforcement as well as respond to emergency situations.
“Rednote—like all platforms owned by Chinese companies—is subject to the repressive laws of the Chinese Communist Party,” Eli Funk, research director of technology and democracy at the nonprofit human rights organization Freedom House, wrote in an email to WIRED. “Independent researchers have documented how keywords deemed sensitive to those in power, such as discussion of labor strikes or criticism of Xi Jinping, can be removed from the platform.”
But the number of US TikTok users reached 700,000 in just two days, According to Reuters– Eric Liu, editor of China Digital Times, a California-based publication that documents censorship in China, says this could diminish the content moderation abilities of Xiaohongshu, who himself also works as a content moderator for the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Used to do.