Talk:Pinduoduo

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 4 October 2021 and 9 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): RaymondZqiu.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 17:59, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 4 October 2021 and 9 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Sleep by 11.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 17:59, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 16:36, 9 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Pinduoduologo.png

Suggestions for article improvements to resolve NPOV and Advertising issues
Hi, I have a proposal to resolve the issues pointed out in the flags on this page, including that some of it is “written like an advertisement”, promotional content and has neutral point of view problems. Forgive me in advance but there is a long list of content to be deleted or fixed. I am proposing to add any new content. Since I am an employee of Pinduoduo’s sister company Temu, I have a conflict of interest. I am leaving this proposal on the Talk page as is suggested at Wikipedia’s Contact Us for article subjects. and WP:COI, which I have reviewed. I am also adding a “connected contributor” template to the top of this page. I believe the changes below solve all the major policy violations, so the flags can be removed, but if you see anything else I can help with, please let me know. Thank you for your time!

1. In the second paragraph in the Pinduoduo section (which begins “In 2019, Pinduoduo invested in…”), the first three sentences contain various WP:NPOV violations. The first sentence is also unsourced. I have condensed the information that is supported by sources in a neutral manner. I’ve also fixed the third sentence so it reflects what the source actually says and no more. Please delete the first three sentences of that paragraph and replace them with:

During the initial Chinese COVID lockdown in 2020, Pinduoduo started a “Help the Farmers” program to assist rural Chinese farmers with selling their produce to customers through the PinDuoDuo app instead of relying on traditional in-person marketplaces. In August 2020, Pinduoduo launched Duo Duo Maicai, a service which speeds up the process of getting produce to consumers by enabling them to preorder groceries for pickup at designated locations. Following the severe floods in Henan in July 2021, Pinduoduo donated RMB 100 million to assist with recovery and relief efforts.

2. The the first paragraph of the Pinduoduo section (which begins “As a platform connecting…”) has no reliable sourcing, reads like a promotion, and as such it should be removed from the article:

As a platform connecting millions of farmers and consumers, Pinduoduo sees the potential for technology to bring positive changes to the millennia-old activity of agriculture. The company's Tech for Agri approach is centered on increasing market accessibility, improving digital inclusion and literacy, and fostering innovation as key enablers for agricultural modernization.

3. The second paragraph of the Pinduoduo section (which begins “Pinduoduo's digital platform improves…”) includes WP:PROMOTIONAL language and unreliable sourcing. Here is the current version:

Pinduoduo's digital platform improves the matching of buyers and sellers in agriculture, giving millions of farmers the opportunity to boost their incomes through direct access to a wider consumer market, from which they had largely been excluded.

Here is a suggested replacement:

In April 2019, Pinduoduo launched a digital product called Duoduo Nongyuan (Duoduo Farms) which assists farmers in impoverished regions of China with online sales and distribution for their produce.

4. The third paragraph of the Pinduoduo section (which begins “To ensure that farmers are equipped…”) should be removed. The language in the paragraph WP:PROMOTIONAL and is sourced entirely to a press release. I propose deleting it.

5. The fourth paragraph of the Pinduoduo section (which begins with “Pinduoduo works with top universities…”) violates WP:NPOV and contains statements not found in the sources. I propose replacing it with the new version below:

In 2020, the company and China Agricultural University jointly organized an annual international Smart Agriculture Competition to promote new agricultural technologies for sustainable growth.

6. Please remove the entire Pinduoduo section, except for the last sentence of the second paragraph (beginning “According to MIT Technology Review...) The first sentence of the first paragraph is sourced only to a piece written by a senior Pinduoduo executive. The rest of the paragraph is about C2M, and not Pinduoduo The first sentence of the second paragraph in the section is unsourced and provides no specific details. The remaining sentence can be moved into History in chronological order at the end of the first paragraph of that section:

According to MIT Technology Review, in 2019, 106 manufacturer-owned brands were launched on Pinduoduo.

7. In the Pinduoduo section, the second sentence is a speculative statement that violates WP:CRYSTAL. It should be removed.

This investment is expected to strengthen Pinduoduo's position in the household appliances and electronics sector and also accelerate its push into C2M, with more tailor-made appliances made available to its users.

8. In the Pinduoduo section, the second paragraph is not written with a neutral point of view and one of the sources is unreliable (I added a second source.) Here is the new language I propose:

In August 2021, Pinduoduo initiated what it called a “10 Billion Agriculture Initiative” to invest 10 billion RMB to support agritech research and rural farming development.

9. Please remove the second and fourth sentences from the Pinduoduo section. The cited article in Retail Asia for the second sentence is a rewritten press release and therefore is not a reliable source, while the article cited for the fourth one is a WP:PRIMARY source because the award was actually given by Retail Asia itself.

Here are the sentences in question:

In 2021, Pinduoduo won the Domestic E-Tailer of the Year — China award at the Retail Asia Awards for its work in transforming manufacturing with its consumer-to-manufacturer (C2M) innovation.

In 2022, Pinduoduo was awarded the ESG Initiative of the Year - China award at the 17th Retail Asia Awards for its efforts in creating more sustainable streams of income for small-scale farmers through online commerce.

10. The current Lead of this article needs substantial revision. The current version contains numerous statements that are WP:PROMOTIONAL or are not significant enough about the company to belong in a WP:LEAD. Here’s my proposal for a new version:

Pinduoduo Inc. (Pinyin: Pīn duōduō) is a Chinese e-commerce company. The company is best known for its Pinduoduo app, a platform that operates a “social shopping” model of agricultural e-commerce.

Pinduoduo, along with its sister company Temu, is a subsidiary of PDD Holdings Inc. The company has been publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange since July 2018. Fortune reported in August 2022 that the company was one of the largest e-commerce companies in China, comparable to Chinese e-commerce competitors Alibaba and JD.com.

The story in Fortune is paywalled. Here is the relevant passage:

11. With the above changes, the neutral point of view and major content policy violations should be addressed. With this review, there should no longer be any need for the flags. I don't know if there has been undisclosed paid editing, but if so, I believe the major content problems are fixed with the above requests. I’d ask that the flags be removed.

Thanks very much for considering these ideas to improve this article. Snowy2000 (talk) 16:35, 10 March 2023 (UTC) Snowy2000 (talk) 16:35, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

NOTE: I am closing this request edit because someone has addressed almost all of the problem areas I highlighted in my proposal. Snowy2000 (talk) 06:24, 26 March 2023 (UTC)

Request to remove flag
Hi, I noticed that this article has been substantially cut down over the past few days, and most of the problems I mentioned in my previous proposal above have been resolved. With this being the case, the warning label at the top should also be removed, since it’s no longer needed According to WP:TC, labels are meant to “are meant to be temporary notices that lead to an effort to fix the problem, not a permanent badge of shame.” As I said above, I have a conflict of interest as an employee of Temu, Pinduoduo’s sister company, so this is not something I can do myself. Will someone please remove this warning label now that it is no longer needed? Thank you for your time. Snowy2000 (talk) 06:25, 26 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Article reads like an advert eg. " leverages technology to promote and enable the traditional agriculture industry" and "transitioning to a third-party platform model connecting merchants and consumers across multiple product categories" and "Pinduoduo worked with rural communities to sell unsold produce directly to consumers" and "The logistics system laid the foundations for a next-day, click-and-collect grocery service". Theroadislong (talk) 16:35, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Are these new allegations
Report here [] that it can also bypass users’ cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings. would an editor familiar with the topic have a look please? I don’t want to add it as it may be old news. Regards, Springnuts (talk) 18:59, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

Fixing problems with NPOV and PROMOTIONAL language
Hi, I have a proposal to resolve issues pointed out in the flags on this page, including that some of it is “written like an advertisement”, or is promotional content, or has neutral point of view problems. I am an employee of Pinduoduo’s sister company Temu so I have a conflict of interest. I believe the changes below solve all the major policy violations, so the flags can be removed, but if you see anything else I can help with, please let me know. Thank you for your time!

1. The current Lead of this article needs substantial revision. The current version contains numerous statements that are WP:PROMOTIONAL or are not significant enough about the company to belong in a WP:LEAD. Here’s my proposal for a new version that is nuetral:

Pinduoduo Inc. (Pinyin: Pīn duōduō) is a Chinese e-commerce company. The company is best known for its Pinduoduo app, a platform that operates a “social shopping” model of agricultural e-commerce.

Pinduoduo, along with its sister company Temu, is a subsidiary of PDD Holdings Inc. The company has been publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange since July 2018. Fortune reported in August 2022 that the company was comparable to Chinese e-commerce competitors Alibaba and JD.com. The company’s gross annual revenue for 2022 was approximately 130 billion renminbi.

The story in Fortune is paywalled. Here is the relevant passage:

2. In the first paragraph in the Pinduoduo section (which begins “Initially, it operated as an…”), the second sentence needs to be revised to remove language that is WP:PROMOTIONAL in tone:

Initially, it operated as an agriculture online retailer, but later became a platform allowing merchants to directly sell many different types of products to customers.

With the above changes, the neutral point of view and major content policy violations should be addressed. With this review, there should no longer be any need for the flags. I don't know if there has been undisclosed paid editing, but if so, I believe the major content problems are fixed with the above requests. I’d ask that the flags be removed.

3. In the second paragraph in the Pinduoduo section (which begins “In 2019, Pinduoduo invested in…”), the first three sentences contain various WP:NPOV violations. The first sentence is also unsourced. I have condensed the information that is supported by sources in a neutral manner. I’ve also fixed the third sentence so it reflects what the source actually says and no more. Please delete the first three sentences of that paragraph and replace them with:

During the initial Chinese COVID lockdown in 2020, Pinduoduo started a “Help the Farmers” program to assist rural Chinese farmers with selling their produce to customers through the PinDuoDuo app instead of relying on traditional in-person marketplaces. In August 2020, Pinduoduo launched Duo Duo Maicai, a service which speeds up the process of getting produce to consumers by enabling them to preorder groceries for pickup at designated locations. Following the severe floods in Henan in July 2021, Pinduoduo donated RMB 100 million to assist with recovery and relief efforts.

Assuming all problems are addressed, and since I have disclosed conflict of interest, the possibility that another editor may have received undisclosed payments is no longer relevant - the flags are intended to point out problems with the article, not to be punitive if there are no problems. WP:TC

This addresses each of the items you point out as problematic (one was already removed by another editor.) Snowy2000 (talk) 21:48, 1 May 2023 (UTC) Snowy2000 (talk) 21:48, 1 May 2023 (UTC)

Reply 27-JUN-2023

 * To expedite your request, it would help if you could provide the following information:
 * 1) Please state each specific desired change and accompanying reference in the form of verbatim statements which can then be added to the article (if approved) by the reviewer.
 * 2) The exact location where the desired claims are to be placed should be given.
 * 3) Exact, verbatim descriptions of any text and/or references to be removed should also be given.
 * 4) Reasons should be provided for each change.
 * In the section of text below titled Sample edit request, the four required items are shown as an example:

 1. Please remove the third sentence from the second paragraph of the Sun section:
 * "The Sun's diameter is estimated to be approximately 25 miles in length."

2. Please add the following claim as the third sentence of the second paragraph of the Sun section:
 * "The Sun's diameter is estimated to be approximately 864,337 miles in length."

3. Using as the reference:

4. Reason for change being made:
 * "The previously given diameter was incorrect."

Regards, Spintendo  22:48, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Kindly open a new edit request at your earliest convenience when ready to proceed with all four items from your request. Thank you!


 * User:Spintendo Thank you for looking at this. I have done as you requested and posted a re-formatted version of my original proposals below. Since I submitted this on May 1, there have been numerous changes to the page, which is why when you first looked at the requests they may not have all lined up with the page as it is now.
 * By the way, I wrote the original proposal based on the format used in the example in Sample edit requests. That example has the explanation for the change given first, before the actual suggestion for revision is made.
 * Here’s the revised version of my post above in the format you asked for:
 * What I think should be changed:
 * Please replace the first sentence in the second paragraph of the Lead section:
 * The company is the flagship product of PDD Holdings, which also owns Temu.
 * Please replace it with this new version:
 * The business is the largest product of PDD Holdings, which also owns Temu.
 * Why it should be changed: The word “flagship” might be read to imply a subjective value judgment.
 * What I think should be changed:
 * Please replace the second sentence in the first paragraph in the Pinduoduo section. Here’s how it is now:
 * Initially, it operated as an online agricultural retailer but later transformed into a third-party platform that connects merchants and consumers across various product categories.
 * Please replace it with:
 * Initially, it operated as an agriculture online retailer, but later also became a platform allowing merchants to directly sell many different types of products to customers.
 * Why it should be changed: I have removed the word “transformed” as it may be subjective. I also changed “third-party platform” just to “platform” to remove jargon. I also removed “connects” and “across various product categories” in case these might be read as subjective.
 * What I think should be changed:
 * Please change the first three sentences in the second paragraph in the Pinduoduo section. Here’s what’s there now:
 * In 2019, Pinduoduo invested in developing an agriculture-focused logistics system that uses algorithms to optimize transportation routes. This logistics system was the basis for the launch of a next-day grocery shipping service, Duo Duo Grocery, in August 2020. The service was created in response to the changes in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 * Please replace them with:
 * During the initial Chinese COVID lockdown in 2020, Pinduoduo started a program to assist rural Chinese farmers with selling their produce to customers online instead of relying on traditional in-person marketplaces. In August 2020, Pinduoduo launched Duo Duo Maicai, a service which enables consumers to preorder groceries for pickup at designated locations.
 * Why it should be changed: The existing first three sentences are full of jargon. The first two sentences are also unsourced. I have condensed the information that is supported by sources in a neutral manner. I’ve also fixed the third sentence so it reflects what the source actually says and no more.
 * What I think should be changed:
 * The warning flag atop the articles should be removed.
 * Why it should be changed: I believe the changes above address all the subjective or non-neutral language. I have also disclosed conflict of interest. Please note that after the flag was placed in December 2022, another editor also did a massive edit and cut substantial amounts of problematic content. Here is the biggest edit they did: . Flags are intended to point out problems with the article, not to be punitive (see: WP:TC). Snowy2000 (talk) 18:09, 7 July 2023 (UTC) Snowy2000 (talk) 18:09, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Reply 11-AUG-2023
Regards, Spintendo  07:10, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) ✅ The requested minor changes to a portion of the text's phrasing were implemented.
 * 2) ❌ The requested removal of the maintenance templates is declined. It is recommended that, as a courtesy, you first try asking the editor who assigned the template — in this case  — in order to find out from them if it can be removed. Since they placed the template, they are in the best position to know whether or not the issues which caused its placement have been corrected. You may contact them directly by placing a new message on their talk page.

Pinduoduo Inc. vs PDD Holdings Inc.
It seems like the infobox on this page is referring more to PDD Holdings Inc. rather than what the article is about, Pinduoduo Inc. This could cause some confusion for readers who are reading for the first time. They could think that Pinduoduo Inc. is the public company and that PDD Holdings holds majority in this company. It might be beneficial to create another article names PDD Holdings to avoid confusion. WiinterU (talk) 01:07, 19 February 2024 (UTC)