Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — better known internationally as RedNote — is seeking to enhance its ability to moderate English-language content after hundreds of thousands of American users suddenly joined the platform in anticipation of a potential ban of TikTok in the United States on Sunday.
WIRED this week identified several job postings posted on recruiting platforms by technology outsourcing companies in China for content moderators who can assist manage the unexpected influx of English videos and posts uploaded to Xiaohongshu. (Several up-to-date hiring notices have also been posted looking for content moderators who can 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 offers on recruitment websites Zhilian Zhaopin AND BOSS Zhipinspecifying that candidates will “moderate videos based on foreign friends’ accounts on Xiaohongshu.” The recruiter was even marked one of the lists “Xiaohongshu Urgent Recruitment Overnight – Moderation for TikTok Refugees, Short-Term [contracts] adopted.”
Jinhui Rongzhi Technologya company dealing in outsourcing of IT services and TranceThe AI translation services provider also posted similar recruitment ads this week, looking for English-speaking content moderators to work for Xiaohongshu. WIRED contacted three companies to confirm the validity of the entries. None of them responded in time for publication. Xiaohongshu also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The salary for this position ranges from RMB 4,500 to 8,000 per month (approximately $600 to $1,100). Applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency and prove that they have passed a proficiency test. One statement excellent that the position must be filled within three days and candidates do not need to apply if they cannot start working immediately.
According to reports, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s top internet regulator, has already become concerned about foreigners sharing content in Xiaohongshu. According to the CAC earlier this week, the platform was to “ensure that users in China do not see posts from users in the US.” Information.
Social media platforms in China are legally obliged to remove a wide range of content, including nudity and graphic violence, but especially information that the government considers politically sensitive. Platforms like Xiaohongshu rely on large teams of contractors managed by outsourcing companies for both routine law enforcement and emergency response.
“RedNote – like all platforms owned by Chinese companies – is subject to the repressive regulations of the Chinese Communist Party,” Allie Funk, research director for technology and democracy at the human rights nonprofit Freedom House, 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, can be removed from the platform.”
However, the influx of American TikTok users – as many as 700,000 in just two days, according to Reuters— this could undermine Xiaohongshu’s content moderation capabilities, says Eric Liu, editor of China Digital Times, a California-based publication documenting censorship in China, who himself has also worked as a content moderator on China’s social media platform Weibo.