According to Red Star News, "Both of my parents are dead, so I can only drop out of school to take care of my younger siblings at home, and eat potatoes every day..." Since 2018, a young girl named "Liangshan Mengyang" has quickly become popular on the Internet. The "tragic experience" once moved many netizens. After
became popular, "Liangshan Mengyang" began to frequently live broadcast to sell goods, and in just a few years he became an Internet celebrity with 3.86 million fans. At the same time, some netizens questioned that the videos she posted were staged and were packaged and produced by a special team. She usually visited high-end places, wore famous watches and expensive clothes. In this regard, she once responded, "There is no team and no money."
However, some netizens visited the hometown of "Liangshan Mengyang" and found that her parents are still alive, and the adobe house in the video was also staged. It was not until May 2023 that the Liangshan Public Security Bureau investigated the false propaganda of Internet celebrities such as "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze", and the truth behind it and the gray industrial chain emerged...
Internet celebrity "Liangshan Mengyang"
became popular
sold hard to create a "poor girl" character
moved netizens and gained 3.8 million fans, and once responded that there was no team behind it
"Liangshan Mengyang", who is only in his 20s, is one of the earliest internet celebrities to become popular in Daliangshan, Sichuan. In a certain video The video platform once had 3.86 million fans and once became a popular Internet celebrity anchor.
looks back at the popularity of "Liangshan Mengyang", which started around 2018. In the early days of her popularity, she relied on "selling misery" to create a tragic character, and won the sympathy of netizens with "visual poverty". In more than 500 videos released, she lives in a dilapidated adobe house, has dark skin, is thin, wears tattered clothes, and either goes up the mountain to cut firewood or works in the fields...
A reporter from Red Star News noticed that in one video, "Liangshan Mengyang" once said that both his parents died, and he had to drop out of school to take care of his younger brothers and sisters at home. They lived on potatoes. Due to financial constraints, she earned some extra income by shooting short videos... She cried and complained about her "tragic life experience" in the live broadcast room more than once, which moved countless netizens.
Relying on the image of "a lonely girl in the mountains", "Liangshan Mengyang" touched many netizens and quickly became popular and attracted a large number of fans. Later, she embarked on the road of live streaming.
Internet celebrity "Liangshan Mengyang" carried goods live in ice and snow weather
Red Star News reporters saw that in a live video, "Liangshan Mengyang" introduced to the majority of netizens with the ice and snow as the background, "The skin of walnuts is very thin and the flesh is very soft." It’s thick and tastes very fragrant and crispy. The money you gave me as a gift to buy walnuts is equivalent to supporting many uncles, aunts and ordinary people here, you know?” Such a “bitter feeling” live broadcast touched many netizens, and also The results were very good, and the so-called "Daliangshan specialty agricultural products" such as walnuts, snow swallows, and Fritillaria were quickly sold out by netizens in the live broadcast room.
However, after it became popular, some netizens also exposed that the video of "Liangshan Mengyang" was staged for selling out. After being broadcast, he went to high-end places, wore famous watches, and expensive clothes, etc., which aroused doubts. In response to this, "Liangshan Mengyang" once responded in the video: "I have never been miserable. The live broadcast is my real self, and there is no team. How can I, a little girl, have money..."
Questioned:
Netizens said on the spot The visit revealed that her parents are still alive.
The so-called adobe house was fabricated and was completely staged. At the end of 2019, a netizen named "Sanbao" paid attention to "Liangshan Mengyang" and deeply sympathized with her story. and donated to her.
In 2020, "Sambo" visited Jiqu Village, Bier Town, Zhaojue County, the hometown of "Liangshan Mengyang" and found that her parents are still alive and her family lives in a government-built resettlement house. The so-called adobe house is completely staged. . "The place where the video was shot is actually a place where local farmers raise cattle and sheep."
Local villagers said that "Liangshan Mengyang"'s parents are farmers and her family situation is not bad. "Her family has a new house in the village and in the county. There is also a house, but I don’t know if it was bought by her parents or by herself.”
Another villager told reporters that “Liangshan Mengyang” did not study much and had gone to other provinces to work, and later came back to the village to shoot short videos."In the beginning, I mainly took pictures of scenery or cattle and sheep, which was not that popular, until I met a boss and became a big Internet celebrity."
After the interview, "Sambo" felt cheated. She said that she had reported the misfortune of "Liangshan Mengyang"'s auction and the false persona created by the team, but was surrounded by "Liangshan Mengyang" and others. Later, she exposed her scam online and was attacked by some Internet trolls. "Liangshan Mengyang" even asked her to apologize during a live broadcast.
Internet celebrity “Liangshan Mengyang”
Although many netizens have questioned, “Liangshan Mengyang” still has not stopped selling goods through live broadcasts. In front of the camera, this girl from a "poor family" could not even guarantee food and clothing, but she did not take it passively. She claimed that she was busy picking local products every day, and the live broadcast was to help local villagers.
In the live broadcast room of "Liangshan Mengyang", she excitedly introduced to the majority of netizens that the agricultural products sold came from Daliang Mountain and were original ecological products, using the mountains or dilapidated houses in her hometown as the background. However, some netizens discovered that the delivery address of the agricultural products such as snow swallows and walnuts she sold was not in Liangshan. A netizen told reporters that he once questioned him in the "Liangshan Mengyang" live broadcast room about selling fake Daliangshan agricultural specialties, and was quickly kicked out of the live broadcast room.
The truth:
Her family’s financial situation is good and her life has already improved.
Law enforcement officials have interviewed her many times and she was investigated for suspected false propaganda.
As time goes by, the story of "Liangshan Mengyang" has attracted more and more attention from netizens. Questioned, "With so much hard work every day, how is it possible that family conditions have not improved at all? If they are really so poor? How could the local government departments just sit back and do nothing? Could this be a character specially created for selling goods?"
So, What is the truth?
A reporter from Red Star News learned from the interview that the living conditions of "Liangshan Mengyang" presented in short videos and live broadcasts have long attracted great attention from the local government departments in Zhaojue. Investigation by law enforcement officers from relevant departments found that her family had enjoyed various preferential treatment policies provided by government departments many years ago, and their living conditions had been greatly improved.
Internet celebrity "Liangshan Mengyang"
"In fact, all the protections that their family should receive are guaranteed, and their family's economic conditions are good." After on-site investigation, law enforcement officers discovered that the cabin where "Liangshan Mengyang" lived in the short video , is actually a long-abandoned farmhouse in the village. During every live broadcast, Meng Yang would put on shabby clothes and deliberately make herself unkempt, mainly to make consumers believe that she has a heavy burden in life.
In response, law enforcement officers from the relevant departments in Liangshan Prefecture interviewed "Liangshan Mengyang" many times and asked him to stop posing for photos, but with poor results. "She expressed her willingness to make changes at the time, but over the long term, her shooting style has been this way, and she gradually accumulated a large number of fans, causing many netizens to mistakenly believe that Liangshan is what she showed in her video."
In addition to deliberately selling out , Law enforcement officers also investigated and found that there were also big problems with the snow swallows, safflower and other products sold by "Liangshan Mengyang" in the live broadcast room. Snow swallows are mainly produced in Yunnan and Myanmar, safflowers are mainly produced in Iran, and Liangshan is not the place of origin. However, she claimed that these products were special agricultural products from Daliang Mountain, which she had purchased from the villagers through hard work.
In May 2023, the Liangshan market supervision department launched an investigation into the behavior of Internet celebrities such as "Liangshan Mengyang" selling foreign goods under the Liangshan banner. Because it was suspected of falsely promoting the place of origin and constituting a crime, the case was transferred to the public security organs for further investigation.
After receiving the clues, the Liangshan Public Security Bureau attached great importance to it and quickly set up a task force to conduct an investigation. It was discovered that the Internet celebrities "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze" made false propaganda during the live broadcast process. The amount involved was huge and they were suspected of crimes. As of the time of the incident, the "Liangshan Mengyang" video account had more than 3.86 million fans, and the "Liangshan Aze" video account had more than 500,000 fans.
"Liangshan Mengyang" has more than 3.86 million fans on a short video platform.
According to police investigations, the products sold by "Liangshan Mengyang" in the live broadcast room were actually bought at low prices from a wholesale market in Chengdu, Sichuan. Some even It's a counterfeit.On June 12, 2023, after obtaining conclusive evidence, Liangshan police took coercive measures against "Liangshan Mengyang" in accordance with the law.
Revealed: The mcn company behind
staged photos and incubated internet celebrities
hired trolls to create the illusion of hot sales and illegally made profits of over 10 million
With the in-depth investigation of the local police, a line was created from the front-end to create personalities, incubate internet celebrities, to the mid-end From content compilation, plot filming, e-commerce operations, to back-end agricultural product supply, the gray industrial chain of counterfeiting and counterfeiting monetization has emerged.
The police handling the case further investigated and found that in March 2021, "Liangshan Mengyang" signed a contract to become an online anchor under a media company in Chengdu. The person in charge of the company is Tang from Pujiang County, Sichuan Province. Immediately, the police conducted verification on the company’s operating personnel.
On June 24, 2023, Tang was arrested by the police. The police found a large number of unsold agricultural products and packaging boxes in the warehouse he rented. Many of the packaging boxes had words such as "Meng Yang Selection" written on them.
Liangshan police arrested the suspect
The Zhaojue County Public Security Bureau filed a case and found out: Since 2021, Tang Mou, the head of a Chengdu Cultural Media Co., Ltd. (mcn organization), and others used scripts, staged shots, etc. to post on short video platforms Incubate "Internet celebrities" with millions of fans, Asxi (Liangshan Mengyang, female, 21 years old) and Ah De (Liangshan Aze, male, 21 years old).
The police handling the case told the Red Star News reporter that Tang and others registered a company, hired Guo and others, opened and operated stores online, and reached cooperation with "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze". Since March 2021, the gang has purchased agricultural products such as snow swallows, safflowers, fritillaries, and morels at low prices from Chengdu, Kunming and other places, under the banners of "Liangshan local specialties", "helping farmers" and "original ecology" Sales via live webcast.
During this period, Tang, together with Li, Guo and others, hired Internet trolls to increase fans and attract traffic on social platforms, brush up the volume and control reviews, create the illusion of hot sales and grab orders in the live broadcast room, and live broadcast the original ecology of Daliang Mountain with fake goods. Agricultural special products were used to induce consumers to buy, with sales exceeding 30 million yuan and illegal profits exceeding 10 million yuan.
According to Tang’s account, in early 2021, when he was watching short videos, he accidentally paid attention to “Liangshan Mengyang” and felt that she had great potential and was worth packaging. Later, he got in touch with "Liangshan Mengyang" and persuaded her to join his company. After the two parties successfully signed the contract, Tang spent a huge amount of money to hire Internet trolls to promote "Liangshan Mengyang" frequently, eventually making him an "Internet celebrity".
So, how to divide the profits earned between the two parties? "If you earn 10 million, Tang will get 5 million and Meng Yang will get 5 million. The share ratio is about 50%." The policeman handling the case told the Red Star News reporter.
Trial:
8 people were sentenced for false advertising
Based on Tang’s confession, the police launched a follow-up investigation, and a gang specializing in providing Internet troll services also surfaced. "Each troll gang controls hundreds or even thousands of mobile phones. They use group control software to control which Internet celebrity anchor and which live broadcast to watch on each mobile phone, and then use the written script to communicate in the live broadcast room. Go and brush the comments." The police officer handling the case introduced to the Red Star News reporter.
On September 20, 2023, Liangshan held a press conference to report a "series of false propaganda cases" involving "Liangshan Qubu", "Zhao Ling'er" and "Liangshan Mengyang" as the main representative teams. According to reports, this is also the first series of "Internet celebrity economy" chaos projects in Sichuan that the Liangshan Prefecture Public Security Bureau has cracked. A total of 54 suspects were arrested in this series of cases (including 11 Internet celebrity anchors involved), 5 online media companies suspected of false propaganda and 3 "Internet troll" companies were destroyed, and more than 1,500 virtual accounts involved in the case were seized... 2023 In December, the People's Court of Zhaojue County, Liangshan Prefecture pronounced the first instance verdict on the "Qu Bu" and "Zhao Ling'er" cases. Nine people including Zhang, Zhao (Zhao Ling'er), and Ari (Qu Bu), the legal representatives of the company involved, were sentenced respectively. Fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 8 months to 3 years and 2 months.
Liangshan police arrested the suspect in the "series of false propaganda cases of Internet celebrity live broadcasts"
Now, 8 people including "Liangshan Mengyang" have also been sentenced respectively.On March 18, a Red Star News reporter learned from an interview that the Zhaojue County People's Court recently pronounced the first instance verdict on the "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze" cases. A total of 8 people were sentenced for false advertising. Among them, company leader Tang Mou was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison and fined 100,000 yuan; Internet celebrity Asi (Liangshan Mengyang) was sentenced to 11 months in prison and fined 80,000 yuan; Internet celebrity Axi was sentenced to 80,000 yuan in prison; (Liangshan Aze) was sentenced to 9 months in prison and fined 40,000 yuan; Li, Guo, and Lin were sentenced to 9 months to 1 year and fined 20,000 to 80,000 yuan. . All illegal gains of the above persons will be confiscated.
According to the relevant departments of Liangshan Prefecture, in 2023, Liangshan launched a special campaign to strictly rectify self-media chaos and disposed of 457 illegal accounts, including 75 accounts related to "false aid to farmers", and permanently closed "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Zhao Ling'er" There are 15 accounts such as "Qubu", including 5 accounts with more than 2 million fans.
Liangshan police said that the next step will be to cooperate with relevant departments to continue to strictly crack down on illegal and criminal crimes on the Internet, and actively explore the establishment of a long-term mechanism for the management of Internet chaos. In view of prominent problems such as "visual poverty" and "disastrous auctions", we will discover and combat them together, and make every effort to purify the network environment.
Red Star News reporter noticed that currently, the short video accounts of "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze" have been banned.
Red Star News reporter Jianglong
