China targets ‘toxic’ traffic as viral sensations upend daily life and public services
Chinese authorities are cracking down on online influencers and fan groups whose aggressive pursuit of viral traffic is disrupting public services and private lives. Recent incidents, such as crowds harassing an elderly couple over viral gourds, have prompted state media to call for stricter boundaries between public attention and private life.
Why it matters
This reflects growing state concern over the societal impact of 'toxic' internet culture and the need for regulation in China's massive digital ecosystem.
Authorities in China are taking content creators, fan groups and online platforms to task as their aggressive pursuit of online traffic upends lives and public services across the country.
State media and local authorities have called on these parties to exercise restraint and stop attention-seeking behaviour from getting out of control.
The warnings followed a wave of public attention that hit a 75-year-old man and his wife in Shaoxing in eastern Zhejiang province this month.
Crowds of visitors, live streamers and photographers descended on the couple’s home to see seven gourds growing on their balcony, a scene reminiscent of Calabash Brothers, a popular Chinese animated series released in 1986.
The series follows seven magical brothers born from gourds and raised by their grandfather. Videos and images of the couple in Shaoxing and their gourds quickly went viral, with internet users dubbing the man “Grandpa Calabash”.
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