From May, recommended content posts containing shopping links must be clearly labeled as advertising, according to new Internet Advertising Management Measures issued by China’s market regulator. Known as “zhongcao” (“planting grass”) notes, such content is typically posted on social media platforms such as the lifestyle-sharing app Xiaohongshu and Twitter-like Weibo. The posts are intended to introduce products or services to potential customers through personal experiences or reviews, with the aim of converting them into actual users, thus reaping what has been sown by the “zhongcao.” This new regulation aims to help consumers more easily differentiate between normal information and commercial advertisements. [The Paper, in Chinese]
