RedNote Scrambles to Hire English-Speaking Content Moderators (wired.com) 73
ABC News reported that the official newspaper of China's communist party is claiming TikTok refugees on RedNote found a "new home," and "openness, communication, and mutual learning are... the heartfelt desires of people from all countries."
But in fact, Wired reports, "China's Cyberspace Administration, the country's top internet watchdog, has reportedly already grown concerned about content being shared by foreigners on Xiaohongshu," and "warned the platform earlier this week to 'ensure China-based users can't see posts from U.S. users,' according to The Information."
And that's just the beginning. Wired reports that RedNote is now also "scrambling to hire English-speaking moderators." Social media platforms in China are legally required to remove a wide range of content, including nudity and graphic violence, but especially information that the government deems politically sensitive... "RedNote — like all platforms owned by Chinese companies — is subject to the Chinese Communist Party's repressive laws," wrote Allie Funk, research director for technology and democracy at the nonprofit human rights organization Freedom House, 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 scrubbed from the platform."
But the influx of American TikTok users — as many as 700,000 in merely two days, according to Reuters — could be stretching Xiaohongshu's content moderation abilities thin, says Eric Liu, an editor at China Digital Times, a California-based publication documenting censorship in China, who also used to work as a content moderator himself for the Chinese social media platform Weibo... Liu reposted a screenshot on Bluesky showing that some people who recently joined Xiaohongshu have received notifications that their posts can only be shown to other users after 48 hours, seemingly giving the company time to determine whether they may be violating any of the platform's rules. This is a sign that Xiaohongshu's moderation teams are unable to react swiftly, Liu says...
While the majority of the new TikTok refugees still appear to be enjoying their time on Xiaohongshu, some have already had their posts censored. Christine Lu, a Taiwanese-American tech entrepreneur who created a Xiaohongshu account on Wednesday, says she was suspended after uploading three provocative posts about Tiananmen, Tibet, and Taiwan. "I support more [Chinese and American] people engaging directly. But also, knowing China, I knew it wouldn't last for long," Lu tells WIRED.
Despite the 700,000 signups in two days, "It's also worth nothing that the migration to RedNote is still very small, and only a fraction of the 170 million people in the US who use TikTok," notes The Conversation. (And they add that "The US government also has the authority to pressure Apple to remove RedNote from the US App Store if it thinks the migration poses a national security threat.")
One nurse told the Los Angeles Times Americans signed up for the app because they "just don't want to give in" to "bullying" by the U.S. government. (The Times notes she later recorded a video acknowledging that on the Chinese-language app, "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm reading, I'm just pressing buttons.") On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials had discussed the possibility of selling TikTok to a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk, who already owns social media platform X. However, analysts said that Bytedance is unlikely to agree to a sale of the underlying algorithm that powers the app, meaning the platform under a new owner could still look drastically different.
But in fact, Wired reports, "China's Cyberspace Administration, the country's top internet watchdog, has reportedly already grown concerned about content being shared by foreigners on Xiaohongshu," and "warned the platform earlier this week to 'ensure China-based users can't see posts from U.S. users,' according to The Information."
And that's just the beginning. Wired reports that RedNote is now also "scrambling to hire English-speaking moderators." Social media platforms in China are legally required to remove a wide range of content, including nudity and graphic violence, but especially information that the government deems politically sensitive... "RedNote — like all platforms owned by Chinese companies — is subject to the Chinese Communist Party's repressive laws," wrote Allie Funk, research director for technology and democracy at the nonprofit human rights organization Freedom House, 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 scrubbed from the platform."
But the influx of American TikTok users — as many as 700,000 in merely two days, according to Reuters — could be stretching Xiaohongshu's content moderation abilities thin, says Eric Liu, an editor at China Digital Times, a California-based publication documenting censorship in China, who also used to work as a content moderator himself for the Chinese social media platform Weibo... Liu reposted a screenshot on Bluesky showing that some people who recently joined Xiaohongshu have received notifications that their posts can only be shown to other users after 48 hours, seemingly giving the company time to determine whether they may be violating any of the platform's rules. This is a sign that Xiaohongshu's moderation teams are unable to react swiftly, Liu says...
While the majority of the new TikTok refugees still appear to be enjoying their time on Xiaohongshu, some have already had their posts censored. Christine Lu, a Taiwanese-American tech entrepreneur who created a Xiaohongshu account on Wednesday, says she was suspended after uploading three provocative posts about Tiananmen, Tibet, and Taiwan. "I support more [Chinese and American] people engaging directly. But also, knowing China, I knew it wouldn't last for long," Lu tells WIRED.
Despite the 700,000 signups in two days, "It's also worth nothing that the migration to RedNote is still very small, and only a fraction of the 170 million people in the US who use TikTok," notes The Conversation. (And they add that "The US government also has the authority to pressure Apple to remove RedNote from the US App Store if it thinks the migration poses a national security threat.")
One nurse told the Los Angeles Times Americans signed up for the app because they "just don't want to give in" to "bullying" by the U.S. government. (The Times notes she later recorded a video acknowledging that on the Chinese-language app, "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm reading, I'm just pressing buttons.") On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials had discussed the possibility of selling TikTok to a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk, who already owns social media platform X. However, analysts said that Bytedance is unlikely to agree to a sale of the underlying algorithm that powers the app, meaning the platform under a new owner could still look drastically different.
all you have to do is give up your US citizenship! (Score:4, Funny)
all you have to do is give up your US citizenship!
Re:all you have to do is give up your US citizensh (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure there are other TicToc clones out there but they go pick the one inspired by Mao? This is like the cows complaining the farmer took away their oats so they run away to the butcher's feed lot!
They already skipped voting or picked the Man who began the ban in the 1st place. Why wouldn't they make more foolish decisions?
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I've been posting a lot of "tank man" pictures
The "tank man" photo is from 35 years ago.
To Gen-Z, it's ancient history.
they were unfamiliar with Mao's cultural revolution.
Even fewer are aware that the leaders who suppressed the Tiananmen Square protest had opposed the Cultural Revolution.
In 1967, a student mob tried to take over China. They succeeded, and three million people died.
In 1989, a student mob tried to take over China. They failed, and three hundred people died.
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Even fewer are aware that the leaders who suppressed the Tiananmen Square protest had opposed the Cultural Revolution.
You appear to be unaware that the Cultural Revolution was lead by Chairman Mao to regain power after the Disaster of The Great Leap Forward.
The Great Leap Forward was Mao's idea to Industrialise China by turning China's Rural Villages and Farms into Factory's.
Farmers not growing food lead to the second largest famine in History with estimates of the death toll of between 15 and 50 million people.
In 1967, a student mob tried to take over China. They succeeded, and three million people died.
Unfortunately Chairman Mao and his Student revolutionary's the Red Guards succeeded.
In 1989, a student mob tried to take over China. They failed, and three hundred people died.
The number of dead is more
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You appear to be unaware that the Cultural Revolution was lead by Chairman Mao to regain power after the Disaster of The Great Leap Forward.
You seem to be unaware that the people leading China today are the political heirs of those who tried to remove Mao from power and were targeted by the Cultural Revolution.
The number of dead is more like 30 000.
Citation needed. Even the estimates by those opposed to the CCP's actions have estimated a death toll far smaller than that.
Tiananman Square - Death toll [wikipedia.org]
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Citation needed. Even the estimates by those opposed to the CCP's actions have estimated a death toll far smaller than that.
What a silly thing to ask for, macabre even, The answer is no one except the very high up in the CCP knows.
We know it was at least 10000 as the British Ambassador Alan Donald was on record saying that he had been told that at least 10 000 people had died.
From the pictures I have seen , actual physical photos from people who were at the protests, There were thousands of people in the square when the tanks crushed the crowd.
Re: all you have to do is give up your US citizens (Score:1)
That's quite contrary to reports by westerners in and around the square at the time.
My research tells me that the main fighting and killing was not all one sided and occurred not in the square but in muxidi, quite far away. It was also not primarily between the army and students, but against farmers who were also there. The vast majority of the students had left the square and gone home, quite peacefully. Some were agitaters and attacking the soldiers, who were unarmed at the beginning, and those that were
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Then those photos have been doctored and wrong. There's plenty of Western reporters' testimonies that state that basically no one was shot, nor did the tanks run over anyone at the square. There were some occasional gunfire being heard outside of the square, but not at the square itself. And if you actually read any of the actual history it states that the leaders were given an opportunity to leave through one of the corners of the square, which they did, basically also telling everyone else to do so when the tanks arrived.
Huh? What have you been smoking ???
I spoke to Students who were at the Tiananmen Square massacre in Brisbane in 1990's. Brisbane is where a large group of these Students came to and settled in a Chinese community / Suburb called SunnyBank.
I saw the tears in their eyes when they showed me the photos of the before , The excitement when they were getting on the Train to Beijing and then the sorrow when they were arriving home after they had been smuggled , couldn't go back to Uni as the Police were are at
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You do realize dissidents don't always speak the truth right? And that they have a reason to misrepresent or outright lie. That's one of biggest reason US ended up spending several trillion in Iraq, etc.
dissidents ?
These were hard working people who were trying to get on with their lives after a traumatic event.
They had no reason to lie and were meeting at a memorial for loved ones lost at the Tiananmen Square Protests / Massacre.
The Iraq war/wars are irrelevant.
It was even stupider than that (Score:1)
Stalin did the same thing and for the same dumb reasons: it fit in with the hyper nationalism both men were using to control their population.
So anyway both men did the same stupid thing: double plant. They thought if they planted twice as much they'd get twice as food
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Think "if I lift a lot of weights my kids will get stronger".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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But the tankman photos show the exact OPPOSITE of what people have been claiming. If tanks were just running over people or shooting people, why did the tank try to avoid the guy three times, with the guy trying to get ran over instead?
So according to your logic, or the Chinese Police perhaps ?, The fact that One Tank driver didn't want to drive over a protestor, means the rest of the Tank drivers didn't.
There are photo's of bodies crushed by Tanks in Tiananmen Square on the Net that disprove this misinformation.
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No idiot. It shows exactly opposite of what many here and in general in the west have been suggesting. That everyone was pretty much either ran over or shot pretty much indiscriminately, etc. That simply did NOT happen, and anyone can simply just read the wikipedia articles about it and know that's not exactly what happened either, with actual western reporters backing up that that. The fact is the army personnel operating these tanks didn't know anyone was filming. They could have simply shot the guy when he was trying to freaking climb on their tank, but they didn't. They could of just kept going as well, but they didn't. So what propaganda is suggesting is to at least some degree bullshit.
And to use the tankman photos/videos to suggest something bad is happening is also ridiculous, because it shows EXACTLY the opposite and that the army was refraining from out right violence.
My suggestion is you read up on the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.
The Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank exists largely because of the Protests of that time. This is where a large group of Students run to from the Chinese Goverenment and settled down.
Are you saying the people who live here are a mirage ?
I imagine these Chinese students were not expecting to live out their lives in a little City called Brisbane when the Protest started in 1989.
Re: all you have to do is give up your US citizens (Score:1)
Link?
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What's "disgusting" is that people in the US such as yourself are so propagandized that you think Tank Man was killed. That was such a successful lie foisted on you, that the Tank Man clip was featured in an ad for the army's psychological division. They're laughing in your face about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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The fact that he wasn't killed is perhaps what makes the Chinese censorship about the incident so ridiculous.
BTW he then spent 18 years in jail. This is already way way over the top as repression.
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In July 2017, it was reported by Apple Daily that the Tank Man's real name may be Zhang Weimin ([Chinese characters]), a native of Shijingshan, Beijing, who was 24 years old in 1989.[27] The man who gave the story claimed that he was in the same cell with Zhang in Beijing Yanqing Prison. The verdict stated that he smashed a tank with a brick and was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, which was later reduced to 20 years. After winning an award in Yanqing Prison, he was released on parole in 2007. However, after being released from prison, he had no relatives or housing, and developed a gambling habit. A few years later, he was imprisoned in Kenhua Prison (located in Tianjin and managed by Beijing), and his sentence was increased by 2 years. Zhang Weimin was being held in the 11th division of Kenhua Prison, and at the time of the article was expected to be released shortly.[28]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: all you have to do is give up your US citizens (Score:1)
It was reported...may be... ...and you continue to treat the rest as fact.
Do you not listen to yourself?
Apple Daily? Seriously?
Sheesh.
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Though this is something you should reply to Rujiel, not me. Rujiel claims we are indoctrinated because we think he died. This is not true, we think he died because this was the only reasonable interpretation for 28 years as China kept him and his story in secret.
Then a cell mate told us he was alive; except of course that his life being entirely ruined and was left homeless and jobless.
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Which is yet another way China is evil. When famous criminals are released in my place, we get a news release from the jail administration, and journalists are there. Prisoners are also given opportunity to find accommodation and work, such that they can redeem and restart anew. In China, he did get an early release by 2 years, and was released to the street homeless, to the point he turned to crime. Which makes it both evil and a failure for the justice system of China.
Ha! (Score:3, Funny)
That's the exact same approach I take with Slashdot!
Of course (Score:3)
Wouldn't want Chinese people to hear about the massacre in Tiananmen Square or the concentration camps of the Uhyghrs or the kids stabbing and killing students. Because facts are dangerous in China.
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Now talk about the USA.
Re: Of course (Score:1)
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I'm free to talk about the USA all I want, and that's the point. I could write a 10,000 word rant saying Trump should be executed and so should Biden, and hell put both cabinets against the wall too. As long as I'm not actually threatening them or advocating the use of violence to force that as opposed to judicial measures, the worst thing that's going to happen to me is a harsh moderation. Try that in China.
I'm pretty sure China would be fine with you saying you want to execute Trump and Biden and their cabinets. Though why anybody wants to execute cupboards is beyond me, but China can sell you more, so go to town, buddy!
Re:Of course (Score:4, Informative)
China's response to Uyghur has been called a genocide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] This already the worst possible crime on the book . There is no need for executions for a genocide to occur; mass sterilizations and forced abortions were the means in use. I don't see the purpose of comparing with Israel. China's current reaction is evil in absolute on its own worth, not by comparison to any other situation past or present.
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Whataboutism. I don't question your point of view on Israel/Gaza and I have not expressed mine. You're trying to distract from the main problem.
The repression of Uyghurs was already called a genocide already in 2021, two years previous to your argument "all we got was". Even if it is unclear if it fits with the definition of a genocide, the reaction of China is definitely evil.
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For historical comparison there's a reason that Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps whereas German-Americans were not.
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Yeah try starting a campaign in the US for an independent Republic of Texas, or Kingdom of Hawaii, and see how far you can go before you land in a camp or worse.
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Both of those examples have Wikipedia pages:
Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement [wikipedia.org] lists several active organizations pushing for Hawaiian independence
Texas Succession Movements [wikipedia.org] lists many efforts over the years
There was a failed bill in 2023 in the Texas legislature to have a state wide referendum on secession: Texas Independence Referendum Act [wikipedia.org]. It wasn't popular enough to even get a hearing, and it's not clear a state can legally secede from the US (there was a whole war over that sort of thing), but it's not lik
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> it's not clear a state can legally secede from the US (there was a whole war over that sort of thing)
> We don't jail them unless they appear violent or dangerous, such as advocating hurting or killing people.
You nailed the whole situation in Xingjiang without even realizing it.
First of all, it's illegal to advocate independence for any province in China, similar to advocating Nazi ideology in many European countries. You may disagree, but there're background historical and cultural reasons. It's the
Re: Of course (Score:1)
You don't know what you're talking about. Fortunately, the Chinese do and know you're talking nonsense.
The quote to highlight here (Score:1)
"I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm reading, I'm just pressing buttons."
This TikTok protest in a nutshell.
Force them to moderate, and enjoy the result (Score:2)
But remember P. J. O'Rourke: "Once you've built the big machinery of political power, remember you won't always be the one to run it."
Wholesome while it lasted (Score:2)
The whole episode was actually quite wholesome while it lasted, reminiscent of the pre-social, pre-walled-garden days of the Internet, when random strangers from around the globe interacted with each other on random topics in life, with much less hate and/or politics.
But you won’t hear any of it from the mainstream media, including Slashdot. Most westerners aren’t aware of the massive anti-China psyop led and funded by the US gov. It’s not exactly secret. Look up the $1.6 billion anti-chin
RedNote is actually quite good (Score:1)
RedNote is actually a pretty good social media app. I like it a lot more than Twitter/X/Threads/Bluesky/Mastodon etc. It's interesting to see the all-Mandarin content.
Interesting ... (Score:3)
"Americans signed up for the app because they "just don't want to give in" to "bullying" by the U.S. government." --> Yet, these Americans have no problems with bullying by the Chinese government (as the lady who posted about Tiananmen, Tibet, and Taiwan experienced).
"a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk" --> What does that say about American national security when a high-level government advisor is a "a trusted non-Chinese party"?
Re: Interesting ... (Score:1)
You really can't see a difference? Really?
For a start, "causing trouble", or pretending to, is a part of the US political system. Not so in China - it is just causing trouble and no one has any interest in that. If you want things to improve, you provide constructive criticism of real problems, not just subversive nonsense just because you can...you can't. Peaceful society has a real value.
that's funny (Score:1)
Re: that's funny (Score:1)
That's crap.
Even if it wasn't, that no reason for the US government do likewise - that's just an idiotic attitude.
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"Soo How many Western Apps are BANNED in China?"
So in response we should try harder to resemble them? Winning strategy there. You are 100% onboard with the overlords' plan to isolate you, and you don't even know it yet.
When people say they have a gluten allergy ... (Score:2)
"RedNote" is a mistranslation. The correct translation is "Little Red Book" after the Communist leader's book of quotations. That is, in turn, a reference to the founder's name who is an ex-MBB consultant, Stanford GSB alum, and Chinese citizen.
Re: When people say they have a gluten allergy ... (Score:1)
There's no real link between the app and the book. It's just a well known term, that's all.
I Hear That People in Other Countries (Score:1)
Talk about how the police in America are pirates, and they will steal your cash if they find you in possession of more than a very small amount. They say that a lawyer will cost more than the amount you can recover, so the police just steal and accuse you of selling drugs while never actually charging you with a crime, and they say the American courts uphold the practice. It is fairly common practice in Banana Republics.
We are supposedly these freedom-loving badasses who will put a boot in your ass beca
Re: I Hear That People in Other Countries (Score:1)
Lol.
Civil asset forfeiture - I didn't believe it was a thing when I heard about it. I shudder when I think of the times I physically moved £10k from the UK to the USA and count myself lucky I got away with it. (not to mention that the limit is $10k not £ so I exceeded the limited without realising it, and my deposit into the bank (of America) meant it had to be reported - doh).
Fortunately, I hear the practice is being stamped out.