A Chinese influencer with 44 million followers was banned after live-streaming a pool party with inappropriate content, leading to criticism over the platform’s tolerance for such material. -- Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
BEIJING (SCMP): A Chinese influencer with 44 million online followers has been banned for live-streaming a “vulgar” pool party at a hot spring.
The influencer, who uses the handle Liu Ergou, live-streamed the party involving about 20 people for nearly three hours.
It reportedly attracted more than a million viewers on a short video platform where Liu had 44 million followers.
The live-stream features many close-ups of scantily clad women’s breasts and hips.
Liu and other male participants are also seen playing with the women and throwing them into the pool.
Liu also applies body lotion to one woman to sell the product.
Some viewers are understood to have reported the event to the platform for having vulgar content.
However, clips of the live-stream continued to circulate.
More than 10 days later, the short video platform told the mainland media outlet Jimu News that it had banned Liu’s account for “violating rules”.
Some people said they were shocked by the platform’s slow reaction and suspected that it indulges such content to attract traffic.
Liu, from southwestern China’s Sichuan province, is infamous for featuring vulgarity in his videos. He reportedly swore and bragged about his history of gambling during live-streams.
He also incited other live-streamers to fight each other and take part in extreme challenges, such as eating spicy oil, to grab attention.
People also thought the platform’s punishment was too light as it only banned him from posting new content. His account was still visible and accepting new followers.
Also, a live-streamer in Liu’s company comforted his fans by saying that he was selecting products to sell in future events, appearing to be unaffected by the ban.
“The platform should totally block his account,” one online observer said.
“The mild punishment suggests that the platform is protecting him. The platform benefits from such traps just as much as the influencer himself,” said another.
“Liu has such a big fan base and is obviously a bad influence on young people. He should be fully banned. The authorities should supervise the platform,” said a third.
The platform involved is one of the most used on the mainland.
Qinglang, or “clean and bright”, campaigns were launched by China’s cyberspace administration in 2016 to tackle vulgar content.
The administration holds the platforms jointly liable for failing to handle violations.
The platform involved in the case of Liu was reportedly punished by Beijing’s law enforcers in 2018 and 2019, partly for vulgar content. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
