From Internet Fame to Scandal: The Fall of China’s Live Influencers

For a while, a 5-kilogram bag of 27.9 yuan (US$4.30) handmade “100 percent sweet potato” noodles sold out quickly during Northeast Chinese influencer Sister Yu’s live broadcast (东旭雨姐).

Nearly 10,000 bags were sold, generating nearly 250,000 yuan in sales after just four live broadcasts in a single month, according to data from Chanmama.

But the momentum didn’t last. On September 23, two anti-fraud bloggers publicly accused Sister Yu of false advertising, claiming that the noodles, marketed as containing only sweet potato starch, water and alum, were actually mixed with cassava starch and contained no sweet potato at all

The bloggers also reported being assaulted when they visited their hometown in Benxi County, Liaoning Province to confront her on September 20.

The allegations quickly caught fire on social media, prompting local regulators to investigate.

On October 12, the local market watchdog confirmed the allegations, fining the Yu sister’s company 1.65 million yuan and ordering them to suspend operations for compliance checks.

Crisis of credibility

Northeast Sister’s real name is Chang Xiaoyu. It comes from Benxi County, a rugged part of northeastern China.

True to the spirit of his hometown, he embodies a sense of toughness and resilience.

In her videos, a typical day sees her feeding chickens, ducks, pigs and rabbits, shoveling snow, chopping wood, stoking the fire and chatting with her husband Lao Kuai and his crew before cooking a big meal.

At nearly 6 feet tall, she is known for her strength: swinging heavy pots, lifting iron kettles on her shoulder, and carrying half a pig with ease. Buy cabbage by the ton and cook steaming pots of hearty meals.

Fans say that “she’s like a warrior from an ancient tribe: you’d never go hungry with her” and “if there was a zombie apocalypse, Sister Yu would make sure you were well fed.”

People love her boundless energy, saying she burns in a day what they couldn’t manage in a month.

He has become a motivational figure for many young viewers who struggle with morning routines, tuning in to hear his shouted commands like “Let’s go to work!” hoping to rekindle some of their drive in their own lives.

Between late 2022 and early 2023, his following exploded. His Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, gained more than 2.2 million followers in just 52 days.

With his popularity came business opportunities, he quickly moved on to selling products through live streams.

According to the data, since 2024, its 28 live broadcasts have generated more than 100 million yuan in sales, mainly focusing on food and beverage.

However, from late 2023, trouble seemed to follow her. Just weeks before the sweet potato noodle scandal, he faced backlash over a video about a crab harvest in Panjin, where the crabs appeared unusually large and clean.

Local viewers pointed out that Panjin’s rice crabs are usually smaller, often caught at night, and often covered in mud that is difficult to wash off, unlike the pristine specimens in his video.

Sister Yu defended the video, explaining that it was filmed during a harvest festival at the invitation of the organizers and that the daytime shooting was chosen for convenience.

In a follow-up live broadcast on September 7, he admitted that they used crabs from another area because the crabs in the paddy fields were not yet in season. Many saw this as an indirect admission of staging, fueling accusations of deception.

And this was not his first controversy. In late 2023, it came under fire for selling what it advertised as Northeast geese but were actually African geese, with many complaints about the quality. Goose products quietly disappeared from their online store after the scandal.

A wave of scandals

Sister Yu’s fall from grace is one of many. Several of China’s top live-streaming influencers have recently faced similar “crises of credibility.”

During this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Douyin influencer Crazy Little Young Brothers, with 100 million followers, faced backlash for selling Hong Kong-made Meicheng mooncakes, which weren’t even produced in Hong Kong nor were they ever sold there.

Meanwhile, rumors of infidelity began to circulate in his personal life, further damaging his public image.

In just six weeks, he lost 5 million followers.

On September 26, he was fined 68.94 million yuan by the Hefei authorities for “deceiving consumers”.

Likewise, another influencer, Xiaoying, found herself at the center of another kind of scandal.

Like Northeast Sister Yu, she was tracked by showing her rural life: working endlessly on the farm, dealing with a difficult husband, and taking care of children and livestock.

Viewers saw her as a symbol of perseverance and she quickly amassed 5.67 million followers on Douyin.

But as his popularity grew, so did the scrutiny. Investigations revealed that Xiaoying’s lifestyle was much more comfortable than her videos suggested. It turned out that he had several companies and his finances were much more secure than he had led his followers to believe.

He also faced accusations of using videos of “starving cows” to curry favor with his audience, with some even claiming he had “abandoned his daughters”. These claims shattered her carefully crafted image as a practical farm wife almost overnight.

In just two days, he lost nearly 100,000 followers.

Many viewers commented that her content seemed less about “sharing a beautiful life” and more about “staging a beautiful life.”

Meanwhile, Douyin influencer Tingquanjianbao (听泉鉴宝), with 25 million followers, announced a one-week hiatus amid accusations that he faked his degree from Peking University, prompting speculation about the real reason of his break.

Another rising star on Douyin, K Zong (K总), abruptly ended his broadcast after being mysteriously banned three times during his October 13 live stream, leaving fans wondering what really happened .

Watch out for the collapse

As the old saying goes, “I’ve seen him build his big mansion, I’ve seen him throw lavish parties, and I’ve seen it all come crashing down.”

This year, more than 10 of China’s top influencers have faced serious setbacks, each in their own way. Beyond the ones already mentioned, others with millions of followers, such as “Thurman, the cat with a cup (Thurman猫猫生),” “Luo Wangyu (無王宇)” and “Seven stars (七闪猩猩猩)” – have also seen the his reputation untangle

Yao Suxin, founder of PR firm AHEAD, told the Chongqing Morning Post that many influencers rise to fame so quickly that they begin to believe that the only thing that matters is maintaining their popularity. As a result, they often overlook the need for risk management.

“In our experience, most influencers and celebrities don’t like to take advice,” Yao said. “When we raise risks, they tend to say, ‘Last time it was fine, and others have done it without a problem.’

An important factor behind these scandals is the over construction of the person.

Many influencers gain followers by crafting a specific image, but when the reality doesn’t match their online persona, it creates a sense of betrayal among their fans. Those who once encouraged them can quickly become their harshest critics.

Beyond losing followers, creating a false image of sympathy or attention can also have legal consequences.

Fu Jian, head of Henan Zejin Law Firm, was quoted by the paper as saying that influencers like Xiaoying, who create “pity personas” to attract followers, risk sanctions from social media platforms. Using a false backstory for sympathy and sales could be considered false advertising or fraud, which will result in civil penalties or fines. If the fraud involves large sums, it could even result in criminal charges.

The recent spate of scandals has also drawn attention to broader issues in the live streaming sales industry, including unclear accountability for product quality, outdated regulations and challenges in effectively monitoring digital markets

Yao suggests that regulators focus on high-profile influencers, introduce stricter penalties and introduce third-party agencies to verify the quality of products before they are promoted on live streams. Tightening the legal responsibilities of influencers, platforms and marketers could help prevent future controversies.

With the upcoming Singles Day shopping festival, China’s equivalent of Black Friday, it remains to be seen which influencers will thrive and which could face their own downfall.