Shangguan 315· Kuaishou Live Stream Fabricates Scenarios to Sell Goods, Some Elderly Users Place Over 100 Orders in a Month

(Source: Shanghai Observer News)

Every morning at 9:30 a.m., Ms. Li’s home is filled with the sounds of “chaotic arguing,” ranging from conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to disputes over family inheritance. Ms. Li knows her mother is watching videos on Kuaishou live streaming. Recently, family members of several elderly consumers have reported to Liberation Daily·Shanghai Observer News’ “Public Voice Express” that many live streams on Kuaishou are selling products through fabricated stories. One elderly person placed over a hundred orders in a month, resulting in a mountain of packages at home, with poor-quality daily necessities that are unusable, and large purchases of jade, “prayer plaques,” and bracelets of unknown value.

Why are virtual storylines in live streams so addictive for seniors? Our reporter investigated.

Using Fictional Plots to Induce Orders

“Elderly people get immersed in the stories, staying up until midnight, feeling outraged or even crying for the characters, and occasionally asking me to help support them,” said Ms. Wen, expressing some helplessness about her mother’s “enthusiasm” for these live streams. She told us her mother has been obsessed with such streams for a year or two, often forwarding links to her.

After clicking on these links multiple times, Ms. Wen found that the plots in these live streams vary widely. Some hosts claim to be “bosses,” with their husbands having cheated and then selling off assets; others have face-offs where the loser must give all their family property—clearly scripted. Ms. Wen’s mother believes these stories wholeheartedly and occasionally tips the hosts.

Ms. Wen’s mother asked her to buy a necklace to support the streamer.

Following Ms. Wen’s guidance, our reporter opened a live stream by a host named “Lin Jiahui” on Kuaishou. The stream was playing out a “rich family feud” drama: the head of the family, Kam, was discussing plans with the streamer to rescue his daughter Wala, who was caught in a romantic entanglement. After watching for a while, the reporter’s Kuaishou homepage was recommended more similar streams—rich family disputes, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, and tearful confessions of “tragic backgrounds.” These “fake” live streams, which seem obviously scripted to children and journalists, are nonetheless met with serious audience discussions in the comments. After the stream, many elderly viewers create clips of the plot to post on their own pages, discussing the story development and continuing to “follow” the series.

Elderly viewers create clips after the live streams.

While seniors’ enthusiasm for dramas is harmless in itself, when these fictional plots are tied to real products, they often unwittingly lead to orders. For example, in the “Lin Jiahui” stream, during a conversation between the host and Kam, a “Kam-style” titanium cup was introduced, with the host claiming, “Originally priced over 3,000 yuan, most families wouldn’t buy it, now it’s only 80 yuan, thanks to Kam for giving us this benefit.” Meanwhile, two other actors in the stream shouted loudly, saying “Lin Jiahui is crazy, this can’t be sold,” and demanded it be taken down. Amid the argument, over 2,000 units of the product were sold instantly.

Titanium cups are introduced during the plot.

Xiao Wang has participated in similar live stream dramas. She told us that her role involved selling products in three or four scenes per performance, with the products closely integrated into the story. On the day she performed, the plot was about “Manager Wang helping a petitioner, who tries to expose the family’s scandals, and the family trying to prevent this at all costs, with the price for silence being the surrender of core products,” which was “Niuhuang” (a medicinal herb). Xiao Wang said that a single live stream could generate sales of hundreds of thousands of yuan.

When asked about the requirements for actors, Xiao Wang said, “The biggest thing is to stay in character and not laugh.” She explained that the platform’s managers want her “to believe in what she’s acting,” but because the plots are so “absurd,” she promised during her audition to be able to cry on cue, which she failed to do, leading to criticism during her review. After her performance, she was shocked to see comments on the screen saying, “Even though there’s a ‘fictional plot’ label, viewers still believe it!” Xiao Wang feels that acting in such a way to “deceive the elderly” is unethical, so she no longer participates.

We also noticed the “fictional plot” label Xiao Wang mentioned, usually located in the top left corner of the live stream, in very small, light gray text. Watching carefully, it’s hard even for us to notice, let alone elderly viewers. When asked, many family members of seniors said they “never noticed.” Meanwhile, the platform’s regulation of the “fictional plot” label is inadequate. During our observation, some live streams depicting plots did not display the label at all.

Some streams have the “Fictional Plot” label in the top left, but many do not.

Zhao Zhanling, a partner and lawyer at Beijing Jiawei Law Firm, stated that for fictional plots, platforms should use a standard based on “the general attention of consumers.” When the plot involves real products, it must be clearly and conspicuously highlighted to alert consumers, fully informing them of the fictional nature of the story; otherwise, it could constitute false advertising or consumer fraud. Even if the “fictional plot” label is present, platforms cannot escape regulatory responsibility if consumers are deceived into purchasing.

Poor Quality Products, Mismatched Prices

Many family members of elderly consumers told us that the items purchased are generally of poor quality, and some high-priced products are difficult to evaluate for value.

Ms. Mi’s mother believed the story that “the host was set up by others and is having a tough time, but was saved by a master,” leading her to buy two “Yiye Ling” worth 1,314 yuan and one “Yiye Brand” for 333 yuan. “The same items on other platforms cost only a few tens of yuan. There’s no way to verify their authenticity, so we just get scammed,” Ms. Mi said angrily. When we searched using the pictures she provided, we found similar products on another platform priced around 50 yuan for the “Yiye Ling” and just over 10 yuan for the “Yiye Brand.” Ms. Ma also told us that her father bought a pendant for 100 yuan in the live stream, but she found the same item on another platform for only 2.5 yuan.

The “Yiye Ling” purchased by Ms. Mi’s mother for 1,314 yuan costs about 50 yuan elsewhere.

In addition to outrageous prices, many elderly people also fell into traps with daily necessities. Ms. Wen said her mother bought bedding sets that were advertised as “originally thousands of yuan, now only a couple hundred,” but the quality was very poor. Netizen “Pao Mo” showed that his mother bought boxed cosmetics and skincare products, many of which had no registration information on the official website of the National Medical Products Administration.

During our observation of the live streams, we noticed that most plot-based streams do not provide detailed information about the products’ specifications, efficacy, or other details. The focus remains on the “storyline.” Many product pages only have a single picture, lacking specific information. For example, a live stream selling a sea cucumber product titled “Haiyan Red Ginseng” only displayed one image, with no details about size, origin, packaging, or expiration date. The host repeatedly emphasized “high nutritional value and deliciousness.”

The product “Red Ginseng” on the live stream has no detailed description.

On February 1 this year, the “Live E-commerce Supervision and Management Measures” (hereinafter “Measures”) came into effect. The Measures stipulate that live stream operators must clearly display the product name, price, and unit, or provide information about the service offered, including content, price, and calculation method, or include links to such information. Zhao Zhanling believes that these “fictional plot” streams do not comply with the regulations, as they fail to properly display product information, infringing on consumers’ right to know, and should be regulated.

Our investigation further revealed that many streamers operate multiple “backup accounts.” Ms. Mi told us that after discovering her mother’s bulk purchases of high-priced items, she quickly blocked the main streamers her mother watched. However, after a few days, she found her mother was still buying from other streams—she entered those streams and saw the same “people.” Some streams have been reported and temporarily banned, but they often “resurface” after a week or two.

The “Yiye Brand” that Ms. Mi’s mother bought has a supply market price of only 3.61 to 9.50 yuan for the same items.

Despite the platform’s requirements for real-name registration, business licenses, and deposits, the actual barriers for “story” live streams are very low. Even if they get banned, they can simply create new accounts and continue to perform and sell.

Zhao Zhanling suggests that platforms with a large elderly user base should take greater social responsibility, develop more detailed regulatory measures for specific audiences, and enhance risk warnings for shopping. Special attention should be paid to categories like health supplements and jade, which are popular among seniors, by adding consumer alerts during live streams. Additionally, platforms and regulators should establish industry blacklists to prevent banned streamers from simply re-registering under new accounts, and strengthen penalties to deter violations.

Original Title: “Shanghai Observer 315·Kuaishou Live Stream Fakes Stories to Sell, Elderly Place Over 100 Orders a Month”

Chief Editor: Mao Jinwei

Source: Author: Liberation Daily, Shi Mengjiao