Xiaohongshu was interviewed and punished by the Cyberspace Administration of China for "damaging the Internet ecology". Chinese villagers applauded: It should have been punished long ago!

The Chinese social platform Xiaohongshu has recently been criticized by an official notice, which has attracted repeated applause from Chinese villagers. Why has Xiaohongshu become the target of public criticism?
(Preliminary summary: American TikTok refugees flocked to Xiaohongshu, and the popularity of concept meme coins momo and REDnote soared)
(Background supplement: 985 academic qualifications are not as good as 10,000 fans, and Xiaohongshu is becoming a new hunting ground for cryptocurrency exchanges)

Contents of this article

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced on September 11 On the same day, through its WeChat public account "Network China", a "Network Information Department Investigated and Handled Cases of Xiaohongshu Platform Destroying the Internet Ecosystem in accordance with the Law" was issued, which severely punished Xiaohongshu/RedBook, a well-known Chinese social platform. The announcement pointed out that Xiaohongshu failed to fulfill its main responsibility for information content management. Bad information such as hyping celebrities' personal updates and trivial entries frequently appeared in hot search lists, which damaged the Internet ecology.

The State Cyberspace Administration of China directed the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration of China to take measures such as interviewing Xiaohongshu, ordering rectification within a time limit, warning and sternly dealing with those responsible in accordance with the "Regulations on Ecological Governance of Internet Consulting Content". The announcement emphasized that cyberspace should have "clear skies, clean air, and a good ecology." The cyberspace department will continue to focus on violations, play the role of a "sharp sword" in law enforcement, urge platforms to fulfill their main responsibilities, and maintain a clean cyber environment.

Hot searches have become a business, and the gray industrial chain has emerged

The core issue of Xiaohongshu being interviewed this time is that its hot search list has become a "traffic business." According to the Internet Information Department, more than 60% of the hotly searched topics on the platform are pure entertainment hype without substantive content. For example, gossip items such as "Celebrity Divorce Insider" have dominated the list for a long time and squeezed the space for public issues. According to media reports, some MCN organizations operate hot search topics by registering accounts in batches, and the commercial quotations are as high as hundreds of thousands of yuan per item, forming a gray industry chain of "charting - diversion - monetization". This move not only misleads users, but also triggers a vicious cycle of "traffic first", which is why the official will personally end it and impose severe penalties on Xiaohongshu.

Chinese villagers applauded: Xiaohongshu should have been punished long ago

In fact, Xiaohongshu’s official punishment this time has nothing to do with users who usually use the platform to eat melons and grass and kill boring time. However, it is worth noting that Chinese villagers continued to applaud Xiaohongshu after Xiaohongshu was punished by the official notification, saying that Xiaohongshu should have been punished long ago.

As a social platform currently favored by young people, Xiaohongshu was well received earlier this year due to the U.S. ban on TikTok, which led to an influx of foreign users. How come it has now become the target of online public opinion? A closer look at the comments from Chinese villagers revealed that they are surprisingly consistent: Xiaohongshu has long been trying to create antagonism between men and women, anxiety about appearance, and anxiety about body shape!

For example, Chinese villagers said that when comparing Xiaohongshu and Douyin, when users enter the keyword "How to let" in the search bar, Douyin usually gives suggestions on home life and work, such as "How to make hair grow quickly", "How to make cats learn to shake hands", etc.; while the recommendations given by Xiaohongshu turned out to be a series of "How to get your boyfriend to give you money", "How to make a man afraid of losing you", "How to make your husband believe that the child is his"... It is said that in Little Red Book, the relationship between men and women is like the relationship between China and Japan.

Cryptocurrency is also a disaster?

It is also worth mentioning that there are Some analysts analyzed that there is another major reason why Xiaohongshu was punished, that is, allowing a large amount of content related to cryptocurrency and blockchain to be published on the platform, which is contrary to China’s official will to ban cryptocurrency and related activities.

Analysts pointed out that it is related to pornography, piracy, folk remedies, etc. Different from gray industries, these industries have some people trying to attract traffic on major social media. However, when it comes to cryptocurrency-related content, Xiaohongshu is particularly indulgent compared to other platforms. In the context of China’s official prohibition and lack of public knowledge and education, many young people will be introduced to cryptocurrency speculation, fund-raising, If you go up the money laundering and other related industry chain, you will end up committing a crime, being deceived, or losing money, which will lead to misfortune.

Further reading: 985 academic qualifications are not as good as 10,000 fans, Xiaohongshu is becoming a new hunting ground for cryptocurrency exchanges