Today is Qingming: A Fitting Day to Mourn the Voices Lost to 404

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Qingming Festival is a time for ancestral worship and tomb-sweeping. This year it falls on4 April, which just happens to be404. This naturally brings to mind articles that have been marked404 not found.

Last year, Foodthink saw several of its articles ‘disappear’ on its WeChat Official Account—the highest number to date. Like restless spirits, they linger on, scattered across the far corners of the internet. Readers sometimes reach out to ask where they might still be found. Inspired by this, Foodthink wishes to use the occasion of Qingming Festival to lay a resting place for these ‘disappeared’ pieces, providing a final ground where their essence may return.

The removal of an article is not always a tragic sacrifice. The reasons vary with each case. For some, the limited lifespan was always understood; every extra minute it remains, and every additional reader it reaches, serves to extend its mission. Others never expected to be taken down. Only once processed do they realise that even this… had inadvertently touched the interests of certain companies, organisations, or even larger institutions—and so they vanish all the more thoroughly.

Once an article is gone, there is virtually no way to recover it. This is also a defining feature of WeChat Official Accounts at present: the chance of a successful appeal or dialogue is almost non-existent, and one is never sure who is shooting arrows from the shadows.

Though the shell of the article is gone, its spirit endures. Below each entry, you will find a way to access that ‘spirit’.

We dedicate this piece to the ‘disappeared’ articles of Foodthink.

  – Articles listed in the order they were taken down –  

404 not found NO.1

This piece features an interview with a former Bianlifeng store manager. She recounts how, during her tenure, she had to constantly outmanoeuvre an algorithm that was widely regarded as “painfully clunky,” yet was paradoxically championed as the chain’s core advantage. This dynamic underscores Bianlifeng’s underlying corporate ethos: a mindset that treats human judgement as inherently inefficient, prioritises rigid compliance with automated systems, and overlooks the hard-won insights of frontline staff. This is evident in practices such as replacing store managers with algorithmic oversight, labelling staff-customer conversations as a waste of time, and operating on the assumption that strict adherence to system directives is the surest route to a positive consumer experience.

Following publication, numerous readers remarked on the deeply “cyberpunk” atmosphere depicted in the article, while some Bianlifeng customers shared that the in-store robots were indeed more of a hindrance than a help. As algorithms increasingly permeate every facet of commerce and daily life, the question of how to harness technology for genuine innovation rather than allowing it to become an instrument of worker oppression and alienation is a theme Foodthink has long sought to explore.

A camera-equipped patrol robot inside a Bianlifeng branch, tasked with monitoring shelf displays. Staff are largely prevented from arranging products according to the specific habits of their local customer base; should the robot capture an image and flag items as deviating from their prescribed positions, they must be immediately rearranged.
This article was published in July 2024 and, following a complaint in September citing potential litigation or arbitration, became temporarily inaccessible. Our verification confirmed that the interviewee was not party to any legal or arbitration proceedings. The only plausible explanation is that a franchisee featured in a media report from a secondary source cited in the piece is entangled in a legal dispute with Bianlifeng. Yet the content quoted by Foodthink does not appear to carry any legal risk. Setting aside whether that original media report was genuinely unlawful, when companies leverage their extensive legal teams and financial resources to wield litigation as a weapon to silence the press—and even subject uninvolved organisations to “guilt by association”—they undermine not only the interests of the media and the public, but the authority of the law itself.

Reason for unavailability: This content is temporarily inaccessible due to litigation or arbitration disputes.

Reply ‘Little Bee’ to the WeChat Official Account ‘Foodthink’ to recover its soul 🙏

404 Not Found No. 2

This article was published in October 2024 and taken down two days later. It outlined Singapore’s Platform Workers Act. Starting 1 January 2025, Singapore will expand social security for platform workers in the food delivery, courier, and ride-hailing sectors, covering work-related injuries, pensions, healthcare, and housing. It will also establish a ‘Platform Work Association’ to strengthen their collective bargaining power. At the time of publication, Foodthink regarded Singapore’s Platform Workers Act as a landmark development that would offer valuable reference for China and other countries addressing labour protections in the platform economy.

In February this year, Meituan and JD.com announced plans to make social security contributions for a portion of their riders this year, sparking widespread discussion across the country.

We cannot say whether Meituan had already begun internal discussions on rider social security when this article was removed. If so, why was the article deleted? If not, when did Meituan actually decide to provide social security for its riders? — Presumably, only after JD.com made its own announcement.

Meituan announced that it plans to begin implementation in the second quarter of 2025, gradually making social security contributions for full-time and stable part-time riders.
Reason for removal: This content is unavailable due to a violation. Following relevant complaints, it was found to breach the Provisions on the Administration of Information Services for Internet User Public Accounts.

Reply with 【丑团】 in the comments of the WeChat Official Account “Foodthink” to recover its spirit 🙏

404 not found NO.3

In June 2024, Foodthink interviewed Benedikt Haerlin, a pioneer in the international anti-GM movement. He has led campaigns shaping legislation around GM crops across various organisations, consistently working at the forefront of sustainable agriculture. In 2024, the cultivation of GM crops began to be promoted across China. Through food industry processing, GM technology has already become a daily reality we all face. Yet the controversy surrounding it has never faded. Foodthink believes that discussions on GM issues should not remain superficial; they must delve into technical details and regulatory processes while fostering broad public engagement. Benedikt Haerlin has witnessed both the rise of GM technology and the dismantling of the myths surrounding it. Through this interview, we hope his insights will open up new avenues for discussing GM crops in China.

“Save Our Seeds” advocates a zero-tolerance approach to GM contamination in seeds, supporting organic farming, biodiversity, and food sovereignty. The image shows the 2022 SOS campaign lobbying the EU to advance international legislation regulating gene editing, with Benedikt Haerlin pictured on the far right. Image source: Save Our Seeds
The article was published on 23 December 2024. Following restrictions by the WeChat Official Accounts platform, many readers failed to receive the push notification. It subsequently circulated on Moments and in group chats. On 31 December, it was deleted. It was republished on 2 January, only to be swiftly removed again the same day.

Reason for removal: This content is unavailable due to a violation. Following relevant complaints, this content has been found to breach the Provisions on the Management of Internet Users’ Public Account Information Services.

Reply 【反转】 to the WeChat Official Account “Foodthink” to recover its spirit 🙏

404 not found NO.4

This article collated memorable 2024 events and media works concerning delivery riders. It covers a Hangzhou rider forced to kneel, a ‘top-earning rider’ who suffered a sudden fatal collapse on his e-bike, two films with divergent perspectives—Another Hopeful Day and Upside Down Life, and two scholarly works: Digital Dash: Delivery Riders and the Labour Order in the Platform Economy and Transitional Labour: Delivery Riders Under the Platform Economy. Foodthink remains committed to tracking the digital technologies and capital forces driving food production and consumption, alongside their impact on both people and nature within the food system. Published on 6 January, the article became inaccessible on the WeChat Official Accounts platform ten days later, citing a ‘violation’.

Reason for removal: This content is unavailable due to a violation. Following relevant complaints, this content has been found to breach the Provisions on the Management of Internet Users’ Public Account Information Services.

Reply 【丑团】 to the WeChat Official Account “Foodthink” to recover its spirit 🙏

404 not found NO.5

Published in March 2025, this piece documents a farmer’s plight: his fields were contaminated by fragmented plastic mulch film drifting from a nearby facility processing corn stalks. Yet, the local ecological environment bureau and the department of agriculture and rural affairs passed the buck, each refusing to take action. A day after publication, the article was repeatedly flagged by the relevant government departments. Although our appeal to WeChat initially saved it, two days later WeChat still removed it, citing “receipt of a complaint and a breach of the Provisions on the Management of Internet Users’ Public Account Information Services.” Subsequently, Foodthink’s articles on other platforms were also systematically taken down.

To date, the local environmental and agricultural authorities have still failed to sanction the implicated enterprise, citing unclear jurisdictional boundaries. Perhaps because clearing plastic film is labour-intensive and time-consuming, and soil remediation is a protracted process, whereas a few keypresses and phone calls can erase an article with quick, effortless efficiency. Thus, in the eyes of some, is it not simpler to silence those who raise the issues than to tackle the problems themselves?

Reason for removal: This content is unavailable due to a violation. Following relevant complaints, this content has been found to breach the Provisions on the Management of Internet Users’ Public Account Information Services.

A certain official agency lodged a complaint with Zhihu, alleging “suspected infringement of the enterprise’s rights,” after which the article was promptly removed.

Reply 【地膜】 to the WeChat Official Account “Foodthink” to recover its spirit 🙏

May fewer articles be erased with each passing day. May all silenced voices refuse to rest, continuing to be heard and resonate.

May you all be found. May none of you rest in peace. May all voices be heard.

We also welcome you to follow Foodthink across Douban, Xiaohongshu, and Tencent News. There will always be a way to reach us.

Feel free to leave a comment and share which of these pieces resonated most with you. Do you suppose this tribute, too, will eventually fade into a spirit?

*Cover image generated using AI tools

Planner: Kairui

Editor: Tianle

Published by Foodthink