African Sign up Blessing Project Recruiting Agents: Low Investment+High Commission, Stable Side Job

When you open social media platforms, you can always come across a type of short video: several African guys gather in front of a simple blackboard, reciting blessings in slightly awkward Chinese in unison. The words "Happy Birthday", "Successful confession", "Prosperous business" and other words on the blackboard are particularly eye-catching, and the ending is often followed by a down-to-earth "666, no problem". This form of blessing, full of exotic charm, quickly became popular across the internet with its novel contrast, becoming a new choice for many people to express their feelings and promote products. It also gave birth to a commercial industry chain spanning China and Africa - from domestic e-commerce merchants taking orders, to filming in non Chinese organizations, and then spreading and monetizing on social platforms, forming a complete profit loop.

The popularity of African guys holding up cards to bless is not accidental. In the fast-paced online communication environment, people have already developed aesthetic fatigue towards the monotonous forms of blessings. The combination of African guys' simple voice, slightly clumsy pronunciation, and exotic faces creates a unique "variety show effect" that accurately hits the public's curiosity. More importantly, this form of blessing has achieved highly standardized operation: a copy limit of less than 20 words, a 5-10 person appearance configuration, a delivery cycle of 1-2 days, and affordable pricing ranging from tens to 200 yuan, making it easy for ordinary people to consume and quickly becoming a "traffic password" in social communication. From personal birthday confessions and anniversary wishes, to corporate product promotion and event promotion, there is a constant demand for various customized products, and even well-known companies are trying such marketing forms to further promote their popularity. According to data from Taobao platform, some stores selling such videos can achieve monthly sales of thousands of transactions, indicating their market popularity.

Behind the heat, a commercial industry chain with imbalanced distribution of benefits has already taken shape. This chain is clearly divided into three links: the starting point is the merchants and short video anchors of domestic e-commerce platforms, responsible for accepting customer orders and collecting customized copy; The intermediate stage involves non Chinese photographers who go deep into local communities in Africa and organize African actors to complete the filming; The endpoint is paying customers, who receive the video and spread it on social media platforms to complete blessing delivery or brand promotion. The most alarming thing is the uneven distribution of profits in the chain: a single video can be sold for around 200 yuan on the Taobao platform, and the filmmaker can earn 90-100 yuan per video. However, the African actors who actually participate in the filming often only receive a few yuan in compensation, or only snacks and stationery as compensation. Some agents candidly admit that "the money spent on workers in making a video is very small, and most of the money is still taken away by the filmmaker and the merchant". The value of workers is seriously underestimated, and this low-cost exploitation has become the core logic of the industry chain's profitability.

As the heat rises, the controversy behind African guys holding up their cards to bless has gradually surfaced, with the core contradictions focused on the protection of workers' rights and the compliance of content. Although the filmmakers claim that "the young men voluntarily participated," most of these African laborers do not understand the meaning of Chinese copywriting. When indecent vocabulary, pornographic information, or extreme expressions that violate advertising laws such as "highest level," "best," and "known to all Africans" appear in the copywriting, they actually become passive disseminators of harmful information. What is even more despicable is that some merchants deliberately package their business activities as "public welfare projects" in order to attract customers, falsely claiming that "we only take 30 yuan and give everything else to our African friends" and misleading consumers with the gimmick of "caring signs". This not only undermines the true value of public welfare, but also constitutes clear false advertising. In addition, if the personnel involved in the filming include minors, the relevant behavior is also suspected of violating the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors that prohibit the use of minors for harmful performances, and crossing a stricter legal red line.

From a legal perspective, the compliance risks of such sign up videos have long been clear. The new version of the Advertising Law clearly includes the promotion information posted by individuals through social media in the regulatory scope, and common issues such as extreme advertising slogans and wrong categories in African billboard videos have crossed the legal red line. At the same time, if the photographer has not signed a formal portrait usage agreement with the African guy, the video containing his facial features will be widely disseminated and used for commercial profit, and it is also suspected of infringing on the portrait and privacy rights of others. In this regard, e-commerce platforms such as Taobao have already made it clear that such videos "carry risks and may be investigated at any time". Once it is found that the merchants have violated the rules, they will be punished according to the platform rules. The business activities of the relevant merchants are actually in an unstable state of "being suspended at any time". More importantly, even if the filming takes place in Africa, as long as the video is disseminated within China and used for commercial promotion, it must comply with Chinese laws and regulations, and regulatory authorities have the right to supervise relevant illegal and irregular behaviors.

In the face of controversy, the photographer's defense and public questioning have formed a sharp opposition. Some photographers claim to be making money openly and honestly, while also promoting cultural exchange, packaging commercial exploitation as a goodwill gesture; But at the public and legal levels, this commercial behavior of exploiting vulnerable groups' labor at extremely low costs and instrumentalizing workers clearly violates public order and good customs. What is even more worth pondering is that the popularity of African guys holding up cards to bless reflects the abnormal pursuit of "curiosity based consumption" by some people - when traffic becomes the only pursuit, the rights of vulnerable groups are easily ignored. This consumption model that uses exotic faces as "marketing props" not only undermines equality and respect between people, but also pollutes the online communication ecosystem.

It cannot be denied that, in the context of uneven economic development, filming sign up videos may bring a small amount of income to some African friends, but this cannot be an excuse for commercial exploitation. True cross-border assistance and cooperation should be based on respect and equality, and enhance local development capabilities through legal and compliant industrial cooperation, rather than exploiting their disadvantaged position for huge profits. For ordinary consumers, when faced with such novel forms of blessings, they should maintain rational judgment, recognize the rights exploitation and compliance risks behind them, and refuse to pay for commercial activities that infringe on others' rights and violate laws and regulations. This is not only a protection for vulnerable groups, but also a maintenance of a healthy online ecosystem.

When the frenzy of traffic fades away, the blessings left by Africa are not only controversial, but also a profound questioning of online business ethics. In the digital age, any creative marketing cannot cross the legal and moral bottom line, let alone sacrifice the rights of vulnerable groups. Both platforms, merchants, and consumers should adhere to the core principles of respect and equality: platforms need to strengthen their regulatory responsibilities and prevent the spread of illegal content; Merchants should abandon short-term profit seeking thinking and practice a legal and compliant business philosophy; Consumers need to establish a rational consumption concept and refuse exploitative consumption that seeks novelty. Only in this way can we restore the clarity of cyberspace and enable commercial innovation to truly serve the enhancement of social value.