Pudong District Court ruled a post-2000s employee's WeChat rant calling her ex-boss 'laodeng' with unfounded harassment claims as defamation. Privacy settings don't shield liability; mediation required a public apology.
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This Trendy Slang on WeChat Moments Got a Chinese Employee Sued, but What Did It Mean?
The Pudong District Court recently handled a defamation case where a young worker’s angry post about his ex‑boss – laced with the trendy internet slang “laodeng” (老登) – crossed the line from joke to legal liability.
What Exactly Does “Laodeng” Mean?
For those unfamiliar, laodeng (老登) is a piece of Chinese online slang – originally from northern dialects. Literally, “lao” means “old,” while “deng” is a crude, dismissive term for a man – together, it roughly translates to “old geezer,” “old fart,” or “doddering old man.” In everyday usage, it's often used to poke fun at older authority figures – especially those who tend to lecture or talk down to younger people.
The word carries a distinctly age‑stereotyped, contemptuous tone, though it can be tossed around jokingly among close friends.
The catch is that this word can be either a joke or an insult, depending entirely on context. But when aimed at a specific person in a semi‑public post, it stops being playful and becomes an insult.
The court took particular note of this. Internet slang may be trendy, but when it targets a real individual with age‑based mockery, it can easily qualify as personal humiliation under the law.
The Post That Started It All
The trouble began when Xiao Liu, a post‑2000s employee, quit her job and took to her WeChat Moments feed. He called his former boss “a forty‑year‑old laodeng” and “reeking of old‑people smell.” She also threw in unverified accusations of workplace harassment and unpaid wages.
Liu thought she was safe. She set the post to “visible only to former colleagues” and enabled the “three‑day visibility” feature – hoping to keep the rant within a small circle and let it disappear quickly.
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“Private” Settings Don’t Make It Private
In court, Liu argued that her privacy controls made her rant a private outlet, not a public attack. The judges didn’t buy it. They ruled that a restricted audience is still an audience – the post still circulated within the workplace circle, and the three‑day timer only hides it later; it doesn’t erase the harm already done.
More importantly, Liu had zero evidence for his claims of misconduct or wage theft. Fabricating negative facts without proof is considered defamation under China’s Civil Code, regardless of the platform. Combining untrue accusations with offensive slang made the case even stronger against her.
The case ended in mediation: Liu was ordered to post a public apology on her own Moments feed. No heavy fine, but a clear legal wake‑up call.
Source: 话匣子
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