Popular livestreamer fined over sales of fake goods

A popular Chinese livestreaming influencer known as Sister Yu has been hit with a hefty fine for selling fraudulent products during her livestreams.

Sister Yu, whose real name is Chang Xiaoyu, gained fame by sharing humorous videos about her rural life in Benxi Manchu autonomous county, Liaoning province, amassing 22.5 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

The controversy erupted in late September when another Douyin influencer, Dawa, who has 285,000 followers, accused Sister Yu of selling adulterated sweet potato noodles. After sending the noodles for third-party testing, Dawa claimed they contained no sweet potato but instead were made with tapioca. He also alleged that he and his colleagues were physically attacked by Sister Yu's team when they confronted her for an explanation.

On Saturday, the market regulation bureau of Benxi, where Sister Yu's media company is based, confirmed that the noodles in question contained tapioca and other ingredients — meeting food safety standards, but not containing sweet potato as advertised. The bureau labeled the livestream claims as fraudulent and misleading.

Sister Yu's company was fined 1.65 million yuan ($225,000), and its earnings from sales of the noodles were confiscated. The company was also ordered to suspend operations for rectification.

The food company that supplied the noodles, located in Liaoning's Chaoyang county, had its illegal gains confiscated and was punished with heavy fines — totaling around 6.72 million yuan for false advertising after tests showed its noodles did not match the ingredient list printed on the packaging.

Sister Yu's company accepted the punishment, issuing an apology to consumers and pledging to protect consumer rights while undergoing rectification.

Founded in February 2023, the company's operations include food sales, livestreaming and entertainment management. Chang resigned from her role as legal representative and executive director of the enterprise earlier this year, according to corporate data provider Tianyancha.