Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. Chinese App WeChat Requires Disclosure Of AI-Generated Content
WeChat now requires all creators on the platform to disclose whether a published post was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, months after China’s internet regulator cracked down on such “unlabelled and likely misleading” content.
The super app, marketed as Weixin on the mainland, will help identify AI-generated content (AIGC) on the platform by displaying the relevant tag at the bottom of a published post. WeChat users are also required to describe whether any posted content is a work of fiction, and disclose sources – including authoritative media or professional entities – when the information is related to “domestic and international current affairs, public policies and social events”. The platform said it disapproves of all unethical practices to generate online traffic.
2. TikTok Says Hackers Targeted Brands And Celebrity Accounts, Including CNN
Short video app TikTok has taken measures to stop a cyberattack targeting several well-known brands and celebrity accounts, including news network CNN.
Hackers had launched the cyberattack by sending a malicious link through private messages to hijack prominent accounts. The social media service owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance said it is taking steps to mitigate the incident and stop it from happening again. TikTok said that the number of accounts compromised is “very small” and it is working with affected account owners to restore access if needed. A source at TikTok said the account of reality television star Paris Hilton was targeted but had not been compromised.
3. Alibaba’s Pro Tip to CEOs: Live-Stream on Taobao to Engage Consumers
Alibaba Group Holding is pushing CEOs to live-stream on its domestic e-commerce platform Taobao, as the tech giant ramps up efforts to win back consumers from rising rival Pinduoduo and other budget-focused platforms during China’s midyear shopping festival.
Taobao launched a new live-streaming service that features business executives looking to promote their companies through a format that has become a staple of online shopping in China. Taobao Live is providing CEOs with a “one-stop service” that covers all stages of production during a live stream – from product management to operations.
Taobao first launched similar services catering to celebrities and social media influencers in February. It underscores efforts in recent months from Alibaba to find new growth opportunities in a domestic market where it faces heightened competition from PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok that has been pushing into e-commerce.
4. Alibaba’s B2B Ecommerce Platform Eyes 20% Growth In 2024, Promotes AI Tools
Alibaba.com, a business-to-business (B2B) cross-border e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding, is projecting US$60 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) for 2024, which would be a 20 percent increase over the US$50 billion last year, the platform’s president Zhang Kuo said.
The sourcing platform’s turnover growth slowed after a sevenfold increase in GMV over the previous five years. Chinese merchants on the platform saw the combined value of their exports reach US$350 billion last year, or roughly 10 percent of the value of all Chinese exports, which increased 7 percent in 2023 to US$3.6 trillion.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.
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