Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu—better known as RedNote—has been scrambling to improve its ability to moderate English-language content after hundreds of thousands of American users suddenly joined the platform in anticipation of TikTok’s potential ban in the United States on Sunday. WIRED identified several job listings posted to recruitment platforms by tech outsourcing companies in China this week for content moderators who can help manage the unwanted. Sign up for videos and English posts uploaded to Xiaohongshu. (There are also some recent recruitment notices posted looking for content moderators who can work in Chinese, the platform’s standard language.)VXI Global Solutions, an American customer service company that has been working in China since the early 2000s, posted a job opening for recruitment . Zhilian Zhaopin and BOSS Zhipin’s website, which specifies that the candidates will “moderate videos with foreign friends’ accounts in Xiaohongshu.” The recruiter even labeled one of the listings “Xiaohongshu overnight quick recruitment – TikTok refugee moderation, short term [contracts] accepted.” Jinhui Rongzhi Technology, an IT service outsourcing company, and Transn, an AI-powered translation service provider, also posted similar recruitment notices this week seeking English-speaking content moderators to work with Xiaohongshu. WIRED contacted the three companies to confirm the validity of the listing. None responded in time for publication. Xiaohongshu also did not immediately return a request for comment. Salaries for these jobs range from 4,500 RMB to 8,000 RMB per month (about $600 to $1,100). Applicants must demonstrate English language skills and prove that they passed a proficiency test. One of the listings notes that the position must be filled within three days, and candidates should not apply if they cannot start immediately. China’s Cyberspace Administration, the country’s top internet watchdog, has reportedly raised concerns about content shared by foreigners on Xiaohongshu. CAC warned the platform earlier this week to “ensure China-based users cannot see posts from US users,” according to The Information. , but especially information that the government considers politically sensitive. Platforms like Xiaohongshu rely on large teams of contractors managed by outsourcing companies to carry out routine enforcement and also respond to emergencies. Funk, director of technology and democracy research at the nonprofit human rights organization Freedom House, in an email to WIRED. “Independent researchers have noted how keywords deemed sensitive to those in power, such as discussions of labor strikes or criticism of Xi Jinping, can be removed from the platform.” , according to Reuters—may be stretching Xiaohongshu’s content moderation abilities thin, said Eric Liu, an editor at China Digital Times, a California-based publication that documents censorship in China, who also works as his own content moderator for China’s social media platform Weibo.
