I produced this with @KarenYeReports for @VICENews in 2018:
We went to a town in Shandong where a social credit system was being piloted and met an information collector who was paid ~USD50/month to write down information on her neighbors. There was a big sign in the town square explaining the social credit system.
We went with a man to get a print-out of his social credit record from a machine. He had not been able to buy plane or first-class train tickets because of his low score.
We watched as he stood in line to donate to the local community fund in a building where an LED panel displayed everyone's scores. A govt worker recorded the donation amounts so that people's scores could reflect their good deeds. He had also given blood to increase his score.
Has this been rolled out nationally? No. Is this system widespread? No. But there are pilots and experiments, and the implications are certainly worrying and worth scrutiny. Like, you know, what it says in the article you linked to.
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