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China Digital

Twitter Is Trending: Elon Musk’s ‘Extremely Hardcore’ Work Schedule Is ‘Soft Version’ of China’s 996 Work Culture

Some on Weibo joke that Elon Musk is “promoting Chinese culture” through his new approach to Twitter.

Manya Koetse

Published

4 years ago

on

Twitter is a hot topic on Weibo this week, with many Chinese commenters thinking Musk’s new strategy for Twitter must have been inspired by China’s strenuous 996 work culture.

The future of Twitter is a big topic of discussion all around global social media platforms. Although Twitter is officially blocked in mainland China, recent Twitter developments have also become a topic of interest on Weibo.

Twitter, an American social media platform founded in 2006,…

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

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China AI

AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei

Published

5 days ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.

 

 

🗞️ QUICK SCROLLS

 

📈 Is China’s AI price war over?After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week,…

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China Digital

How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains

How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.
Manya Koetse

Published

2 weeks ago

on

August 3, 2026

By

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 30–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

 

Over the past few weeks, a noteworthy amount of AI-related news has been trending on Chinese social media, which is reflected in this week’s edition.

Now that AI has entered every corner of media consumption and online life, related discussions seem…

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