Influencer punished after fabricating harassment incident

An influencer on Douyin, a video-sharing platform, who fabricated an incident of harassment while dining with her friend in Changsha, Hunan province, was punished with an account suspension and administrative detention according to the Changsha Public Security Bureau on Tuesday.

The video shared by the influencer surnamed Sheng on Douyin depicted Sheng and her friend dining at a local restaurant when a stranger approached them, insisting the girls join him for drinks. Despite their polite refusal, the man continued to harass them. Furthermore, he attempted to obtain their contact information. Feeling uncomfortable and threatened, the women expressed their loss of appetite and left the restaurant, Sheng said in the video.

After being posted on July 28, the video soon garnered great attention and sparked fury among netizens, with a related topic trending on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. Many called for severe punishment to be levied on the men.

After the video was published, the local police department and cyberspace administration intervened to launch an investigation. As the influencer refused to cooperate with local police departments, law enforcement officers discovered Sheng conspired with her friends to fabricate the video. Their intention was to boost their views and attract more followers to get resultant financial benefits.

On July 31, the Kaifu branch of the Changsha Public Security Bureau detained Sheng and her three accomplices and ordered the platform suspend their account for spreading false information.

Sheng expressed remorse for her behavior and promised she would not do it again.

Law enforcement will continue to work hard to tackle the fabrication of content and spreading of rumors for views to create a healthy cyber environment.