Chinese social media platform “Xiaohongshu” (better known internationally as “RedNote”) suddenly lost hundreds of thousands of U.S. users to the platform in anticipation of a possible ban on TikTok in the U.S. on Sunday. As a result of the company's participation in the event, the company is working hard to strengthen its ability to moderate English content.
WIRED this week identified several job listings posted by a Chinese tech outsourcing company on its recruitment platform for content moderators to help manage unexpected English-language videos and posts uploaded to Xiaohongshu. (We also posted several new job announcements seeking content moderators who can work in Chinese, the platform's default language.)
VXI Global Solutions, an American customer service company that has been operating in China since the early 2000s, posts job openings on recruitment sites Zhilian Zhaopin and BOSS Zhipin, and candidates are asked to “I will be hosting a video from a friend's account.” The recruiter even labeled one of the listings as “Xiaohongshu Overnight Emergency Recruitment – TikTok Refugee Relief, Short-term.” [contracts] I accepted. ”
Jinhui Rongzhi Technology, an IT services outsourcing company, and Transn, an AI-powered translation service provider, also posted similar recruitment notices this week seeking English-speaking content moderators to work at Xiaohongshu. WIRED contacted the three companies to confirm the legitimacy of the listing. Neither responded in time for publication. Xiaohongshu also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The salary for this job is 4,500 to 8,000 yuan (approximately $600 to $1,100) per month. Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency and demonstrate passing a proficiency test. A public company says the position must be filled within three days and there's no need to apply if you can't start right away.
China's top internet watchdog, the China Cyberspace Administration, is reportedly already concerned about content being shared by foreigners on Xiaohongshu. According to The Information, CAC warned the platform earlier this week to “prevent China-based users from seeing posts from U.S. users.”
Chinese social media platforms are legally required to remove a wide range of content, including nudity and graphic violence, but especially information the government deems politically sensitive. Platforms like Xiaohonshu rely on large teams of contractors managed by outsourcing companies for both day-to-day enforcement and emergency response.
“Red Note, like other platforms owned by Chinese companies, is subject to the Chinese Communist Party's repressive laws,” said Allie Funk, research director for technology and democracy at the nonprofit rights organization Freedom House. he wrote in an email to WIRED. “Independent researchers have documented how keywords considered sensitive to those in power, such as discussion of labor strikes or criticism of Xi Jinping, are removed from the platform.”
However, according to Reuters, the influx of 700,000 American TikTok users in just two days may have pushed Xiaohongshu's ability to manage content to its limits, documenting Chinese censorship. said Eric Liu, editor of the California-based publication China Digital Times. , he himself also worked as a content moderator on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
