Wang Zhixin, an influencer with over 16 million followers on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), found herself embroiled in controversy in late May. Wang is best known for her role as a maid who stands up against workplace injustice in a popular short video series, but the entertainment company she works for was accused of paying employees low wages while demanding long overtime hours.

Many netizens confessed feeling betrayed upon learning about the alleged poor labor practices of Wuhan Huangye Culture and Media Co. Ltd. (Huangye Culture). Scandals involving Wang and her company quickly became one of the hottest topics online, garnering millions of views as the public grappled with the discrepancy between Wang's on-screen persona and the reported off-screen realities.

On cloud nine?

Born in 2001, Wang began making short videos roommates when she was a college student. In 2021, during her sophomore year, a video she created about students checking exam scores went viral, attracting over 100 million views and rapidly growing her fanbase to over 1 million followers.

In March, Wang and her team began releasing a short drama series in which she plays the character of Wang Ma—a feisty, outspoken maid serving as a voice for the common working person. Wang Ma courageously argued against any unfairness or injustice, which resonated strongly with working-class viewers, who hailed her as the "online spokesperson" for workers' rights. This breakout role propelled Wang to meteoric Internet celebrity status, amassing millions of new fans.

Recently, however, some netizens have exposed on social media that Huangye Culture actually has issues like requiring employees to work overtime and use their own laptops for work, and paying them monthly salaries of just around 4,000 yuan ($552). This has caused public outrage.

What has angered many even further is the realization that Wang Zhixin, though playing a character speaking up for workers, does not seem to have actually empathized with or intended to fight for labor rights in any genuine way. It seems that she plays the character simply to garner attention and traffic from working-class fans. With online traffic, come fame and financial success.

A few days after the controversy erupted, Huangye Culture issued a statement to address netizens' concerns. In the statement, the company apologized for some of the management problems exposed by netizens, while arguing that some other netizens allegations were ungrounded. The company also said it had decided to raise the minimum payment to 6,000 yuan ($828) per month, offer extra holidays to its workers and provide them with office supplies such as computers.

Netizens' dissatisfaction with the labor practices of Huangye Culture has resulted in a decline of Wang Zhixin's fanbase and reputation, and a discontinuation of her video publishing. By the time of writing, her usually frequently updated Douyin account had not released any new content related to the popular Wang Ma mini-drama series since the online controversy erupted.

Hiding behind the boom

The rapid development of Internet technologies has fueled a thriving influencer economy ecosystem in China, giving rise to a large number of short video, livestreaming and other content platforms, as well as MCN (Multi-Channel Network) service agencies. This has directly and indirectly created diverse employment opportunities across the industry value chain, including influencers, and planning and operation staff.

A report co-released by iiMedia Research and Thinkingdom Media Group last year forecast that by 2025, the market size of industries related to China's influencer economy would exceed 8 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion).

An MCN company is a type of media and entertainment company that specializes in managing and supporting the growth of digital content creators and influencers across multiple online platforms.

The number of registered MCN companies in China exceeded 25,400 in 2023, according to business consultancy Topklout.com.

The industry has experienced rapid development, but the lack of adequate protection for employee rights is a phenomenon that is not uncommon within the industry.

"Overtime work prevails in this industry," Xiao Wen, a market coordinator who has worked at several MCN companies, told Beijing Review. "During peak periods, you are expected to be available around the clock. The competition is fierce, not just between rival firms, but also among colleagues within the same company. Yet, the salaries we earn are largely comparable to those of regular nine-to-five office workers."

The Labor Law of China stipulates that, on average, the daily working hours of workers shall not exceed eight hours and the weekly working hours shall not exceed 44 hours. If the employer needs its employees to work extra time due to production or operational needs, they can do so after consultation with the trade union and workers, but generally this should not exceed one additional hour per day. If more extra hours are needed for special reasons, under the condition that the health of laborers is guaranteed, the extended hours shall not exceed three hours per day. However, the total extension in a month shall not exceed 36 hours.

To address the issue of excessive overtime imposed by some employers and to help improve the overall social climate, in August 2021, the Supreme People's Court, China's highest judicial authoritiy and other departments jointly issued 10 typical cases involving violations of the overtime stipulation. This was done to improve the handling of labor dispute cases, address illegal actions by employers and safeguard workers' rights to rest and fair compensation.

Zhou Guangsu, an associate professor of labor economy at the School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin University of China, said as the digital economy continues to develop, the emergence of new occupations requires the relevant laws and regulations to be refined promptly to improve the protection of labor rights and interests for workers in these emerging fields.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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