Several internet celebrities with over 1 million followers along with their teams, in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, have been arrested for deceptive advertising and raking money through videos and live-streaming. Photo: Screenshot of Weibo Video

Several internet celebrities with over 1 million followers along with their teams, in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, have been arrested for deceptive advertising and raking money through videos and live-streaming. Local police have so far detained 54 suspects, destroyed five Multi-Channel Networks (MCN) agencies and shut down 14 companies involved. The case marks the first instance in Sichuan where law enforcement has successfully cracked down on a series of irregularities within the "internet celebrity economy."

Internet influencers represented by "Liangshan Qubu," "Zhao Ling'er" and "Liangshan Mengyang" have attracted widespread attention from the society for creating a tragical character by posting a series of photos and videos and carrying out fraudulent activities.

Liangshan Mengyang, one of the celebrities, portrayed a poor life, illness and family conflicts in a series of photos and videos posted on the internet in order to seek public sympathy and attention for his "unfortunate experience."

However, investigation launched by local police revealed that most of these so-called "tragic experiences" were fabricated by Liangshan Mengyang, who used this method to attract the attention of fans and then carry out fraudulent activities.

A girl from Liangshan, claiming to be 19 years old, appeared in videos and live streams with a slovenly appearance, resembling a mountain dweller. She had unkempt hair, a dirty face, and wore tattered clothes. However, when her private life was exposed, she was nothing like what she portrayed on camera.

Local authorities' investigation revealed that these internet celebrities were packaged by their company, who also hired people online to post comments to boost the engagement of fans and netizens, manipulated viewership statistics, and artificially inflated comments.

They continuously inflated the popularity of live streams by promoting counterfeit or misrepresenting authentic agricultural and specialty products during live broadcasts, all with the aim of achieving high sales volumes and reaping substantial profits, police said in the statement.

Data from Chinese consultancy iiMedia Research showed that China's live online users would have hit 660 million by 2022. The country's live e-commerce market that amounted to 1.2 trillion yuan in 2021 was expected to reach 2.14 trillion yuan by 2025, the consultancy estimated.

Livestreaming e-commerce has blossomed in China, bringing benefits to both merchants and consumers. As a result, the regulators have stepped up efforts to rectify wrongdoing through livestreaming.

"The actions of these internet celebrities undoubtedly have had a significant negative impact on poverty alleviation efforts in Liangshan. They have exploited the goodwill of the general public who were trying to support agricultural communities," said a netizen on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, adding that it is necessary to subject them to severe penalties.

The proliferation of staged or deceptive videos does indeed have a detrimental impact on the proper and effective dissemination of information. It distorts societal values and greatly influences internet users who are unaware of the truth, said another internet user, suggesting the importance of enacting legislation to regulate such behavior.

As of now, a total of 54 suspects, including 11 internet celebrities involved in the case have been detained by the police, and 18 of them have been approved for arrest. Additionally, they have dismantled five MCN agencies and sealed off 14 related companies. The authorities have also taken actions to clear a cumulative total of 14,157 pieces of illegal online content and dealt with 346 non-compliant accounts.

Global Times