The plot has been reversed— the video was staged! The account has been suspended, and the blogger has been detained by the police.

There is high attention in the anti-fraud field. Some people fabricate and shoot false videos to gain traffic. Recently, several videos were widely shared online and quickly went viral. In the videos, a host claims that while traveling at the Yunnan border, he was scammed abroad and was later rescued and brought back by local police. Many netizens expressed sympathy for this host’s unfortunate experience, but it was actually staged for attention.

These videos were posted on a short video platform by a user named Zhonglin, whose real name is Xu. Since February 26 of this year, he has released multiple videos and livestreamed on the platform, claiming that he had a conflict in Guiyang and went to the Yunnan border to relax, only to be tricked by overseas telecom fraud gangs and then rescued by local police. The content attracted widespread online attention.

Feng Gongliang, a cyber police officer from the Nanming Branch of Guiyang Public Security Bureau: The series of videos he made are quite logical, and their credibility is very high for us. Ordinary people find it hard to distinguish.

Jiang Junfeng, head of the Cyber Security Brigade at the Nanming Branch of Guiyang Public Security Bureau: After seeing his videos, many netizens are highly concerned about his safety. We also received numerous online reports requiring us to investigate this matter.

After receiving the reports, Nanming police immediately launched an investigation. They used methods such as tracking the source, comparing entry and exit records, and conducting on-site visits to verify the truth of the incident.

Jiang Junfeng: We also contacted Yunnan police. After about a week of investigation, the two police departments finally clarified the situation.

The investigation revealed that the so-called incident of being scammed abroad was entirely fabricated by Xu himself. Police found that since February this year, Xu, a network host with 170,000 followers, deliberately created false short videos in the anti-fraud field, exaggerating the tense atmosphere and amplifying the anxiety of being lured abroad to attract many unsuspecting viewers.

Feng Gongliang: Because the online content is now highly homogenized, he noticed that his usual livestreams and videos weren’t gaining as many followers as before. So he thought to himself, as an “anti-fraud host,” to invent a persona of someone rescued from abroad, to produce content in the anti-fraud niche and attract more followers.

The police stated that Xu’s attempt to establish a “anti-fraud host” persona through false experiences to quickly increase followers not only consumed public goodwill but also damaged the online environment, encouraged falsehoods for profit, severely disrupted online communication order, and occupied resources and police efforts that should be used for urgent public assistance, causing negative social impacts.

Jiang Junfeng: Using a fake script to attract public attention not only wastes public resources but also causes misunderstandings among the public about our society.

Currently, Xu has been administratively detained for five days by the Nanming Branch of Guiyang Public Security Bureau for fabricating facts that disturbed public order. His online account used for posting false videos has been shut down by the platform, and all related illegal content has been removed.

Police reminder: Anti-fraud publicity concerns the safety of people’s property and social stability. It cannot tolerate false hype or rumors to attract attention. Online content creators should take social responsibility, adhere to legal and moral standards, and earn attention through high-quality, positive content. Do not risk breaking the law just for traffic.

Source | CCTV News Client

Reviewed by | Zhou Yang

Edited by | Xu Luming