On March 18, Meituan's official account released a statement addressing a viral video circulating on social media that claimed a Peking University graduate was working as a food delivery rider. The company said it had promptly verified the situation with the Wanliu delivery station in Beijing's Haidian District. According to the station manager, a crowd-sourced rider named Tao Moujun did register in early December 2025 but only completed five delivery orders on December 9, with no further records after that date. Meituan clarified that its rider registration process is simple and does not require applicants to submit academic credentials, so neither the station nor the platform holds educational background information or can verify individuals' claimed qualifications. Last year, Meituan also responded to similar claims involving a rider named Ding Mouzhao, who alleged he was a Tsinghua University graduate. An investigation revealed that Ding completed only 34 deliveries over more than four months on the platform, far fewer than the "thousands of orders" he claimed to have fulfilled. In Ding’s video channel, 49 posts were published, 19 of which featured him wearing a Meituan delivery uniform—seven of these were behind a paywall. Many videos prominently displayed titles such as "39-year-old male PhD, graduate of Tsinghua, Peking University, and Oxford." After Meituan disclosed the facts, Ding removed the videos showing him in delivery attire. The company also refuted earlier rumors, including claims that "Meituan in Guangzhou is fully staffed, with nearly 30% of riders holding bachelor’s degrees" and "70,000 master’s degree holders and 300,000 undergraduates work as Meituan delivery riders." Meituan emphasized that educational backgrounds can only be verified if riders voluntarily submit certificates through official channels, and any statistics regarding riders' education levels are unfounded and spread to attract attention. While acknowledging public concern over employment issues, Meituan urged the public to remain rational and cautious about content that uses elite academic labels to generate online traffic.
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