Business
China Slaps $9.8 Million Fine on Influencer Agency Three Sheep Over False Mooncake Advertising: Controversy Surrounds Influencer Crazy Little Brother Yang’s Claims
Influencer firm Three Sheep slapped with a US$9.8 million penalty by China for falsely advertising 'made in Hong Kong' mooncakes
The situation escalated when influencer Crazy Little Brother Yang deceptively marketed the mooncakes he sold as being dispatched from Hong Kong.
On Thursday, the commercial watchdog in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in the east, instructed the influencer firm to halt its live-commerce activities. These activities involve selling goods online via live-streamed events.
Three Sheep expressed regret for "incorrectly promoting and deceiving customers" and promised to "carry out comprehensive corrections within the business," as per a declaration released on the company's official Douyin profile, TikTok's Chinese counterpart, on Thursday.
Established by Zhang Qingyang, who is more popularly known online as Crazy Little Brother Yang or Crazy Xiaoyangge, Three Sheep has been instrumental in fostering some of China's most successful short-video celebrities. In 2022, Zhang made history by becoming the first social media influencer in China to amass a following of 100 million on Douyin. Based on a list released by the Guangdong E-commerce Summit Forum, his earnings last year reportedly reached a staggering 3.12 billion yuan, outperforming his contemporaries.
The punishment issued this week comprised a monetary penalty and an undisclosed amount of confiscated illicit earnings, according to officials.
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