A Chinese social media influencer with about three million followers deleted her online account after a media investigation questioned the pricing and origin of a cosmetic product she had been promoting. The controversy centres on a face cream she sold in a livestream deal for 69.9 yuan (about US$10) while promoting an original price of 3,999 yuan (about US$580), and on claims that the product was imported from Australia.
What Happened
The influencer, who built a persona emphasising filial piety, removed her social account following a report by Lanjing News. The media investigation found that the face cream she had sold — in a two-bottle deal priced at 69.9 yuan — was presented to viewers as an imported Australian product with a much higher original retail price of 3,999 yuan.
The report, however, said the product was actually produced by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory. The implication in the coverage was that the influencer’s marketing presentation and the product’s claimed provenance did not match the investigation’s findings, prompting public scrutiny and the account deletion.
Background
Influencer-driven e-commerce and livestream sales have become a major part of online retail in China, with social media personalities often moving large volumes of product during live broadcasts. Promotional tactics vary widely and some sellers use comparisons to inflated ‘‘original’’ prices or cross-border sourcing claims to signal premium value.
OEM factories manufacture products for other brands; items made by such factories can be legitimate parts of brand supply chains, but origin and branding claims are central to consumer perceptions. In recent years, media investigations and consumer watchdogs in China and elsewhere have paid close attention to discrepancies between marketing claims and actual product provenance or price histories.
Why It Matters
The episode highlights persistent challenges in the fast-moving influencer economy: transparency around pricing, origin claims and product quality. When a high-profile seller with millions of followers faces questions about what is being sold and how it is represented, consumer trust can be damaged not only for the individual influencer but also for platforms and third-party sellers that rely on influencer endorsements.
For regulators and platforms, such controversies underscore the importance of clear rules and enforcement on advertising claims and truthful representations in livestream commerce. For consumers, the case is a reminder to scrutinise steep discounts and origin claims, and for brands it underscores reputational risk when products are marketed in ways that do not align with their documented provenance.
While the report and the account deletion are centred on the Chinese market and a single influencer, the broader issues are global: social commerce growth, rapid marketing practices and the need for transparency in online retail remain relevant to shoppers and regulators worldwide.