The heavy rainfall in central China’s Henan province has inflicted huge loss of life and property. Fortunately, the government and other members of society mobilised to provide disaster relief on a war footing. China’s online influencers also jumped in to help. As the disaster unfolded, a number of these internet short-video celebrities, or wang hong (red-hot on the web) in Chinese, who can leverage their popularity to get their fans to purchase goods or services that they endorse, wielded that power to help flood-affected people and raise funds for relief aid. I’d call it wang hong social mobilisation. China’s short-video...