Chinese dramas and films

It has come to light that on 16 June 2026, Chinese police dismantled a criminal group of at least 12 people engaged in spreading content via social media. In plain language, it was a «troll factory» that made money by generating negative public opinion about television series and celebrities, and then extorting money from production crews in exchange for a «block on negativity» – that is, for deleting or not publishing negative posts. This was presented under the guise of «series protection» or «celebrity protection».

For each post removed, they charged between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan (23,000–34,000 roubles, or 295–440 dollars). The total amount extorted exceeded 400,000 yuan (4.5 million roubles, or 59,000 dollars).

The trolls' victims included numerous celebrities such as Zhang Ling He, Tian Xi Wei, Dilraba Dilmurat, Sun Li, Yang Chao Yue and others, as well as production teams of popular television series.

The troll operation was headed by a certain Mr Li (full name not yet disclosed, he is referred to by the provisional name Li Mou Jun).

More than 100 employees were involved in the «celebrity protection» scheme, operating across 8 provinces and 2 cities. The 12 key members of the group were detained and confessed to their crimes.

Mr Li registered and founded a «cultural communications company», using an MCN (Multi-Channel Network) agency as a cover. This organisation controlled numerous public accounts on WeChat and Weibo, with a combined following of over ten million subscribers.

They hired online writers to collect and systematise celebrity gossip, and also used artificial intelligence to manage their most influential accounts, ensuring they posted information in a coordinated manner.

During the premieres of popular television series and variety shows – whose production, as is well known, is expensive and for which success is a matter of survival for the creators – the trolls would publish fabricated materials or stories about celebrities to generate a wave of negative publicity.

When the wave of negativity spread to the point of affecting ratings, the production crew or the agency would on their own initiative contact the group to negotiate the removal of these posts.

They were told that they needed to purchase a «protection» service package; otherwise, the posts would not be deleted.

The «Series Protection» service included: posting positive promotional content about the series, removing negative posts at an early stage, and a promise not to publish any negative information about the series or its actors for the entire duration of the broadcast.

Such behaviour is classified as organised extortion.

Manipulation of public opinion seriously disrupted normal advertising activities, the ratings system, and the very system of film and television distribution.

It also devalued the very principle of public opinion and its viability on the internet. When the public space is clogged with trolls, it becomes impossible to distinguish genuine free expression of opinion from paid «seeding» by trolls. Society loses its fundamental communicative quality – the ability to independently exchange views on any given issue in order to reach a more or less relevant conclusion on the subject under discussion.

A number of artists, agencies, and film and television producers have already filed lawsuits against this group of trolls for defamation.

The public is calling on the police to conduct further investigations and identify who ordered the negative and defamatory articles.

Under Chinese law, the threat of extorting money by publishing or deleting information on the internet is a crime classified as extortion. The amount involved in the case exceeds 400,000 yuan, which constitutes an «especially large amount». The main defendant could face up to 10 years in prison.

The operation to identify and detain the trolls was carried out under the direct leadership of the Cybersecurity Department of the Ministry of Public Security and the Cybersecurity Bureau of Guangdong Province, indicating a very high level of oversight.

The most important Chinese media were involved in reporting on the situation: «People's Daily» – the main newspaper of the Communist Party of China and the primary source for all other media, CCTV (China Central Television), and Xinhua. The report was also republished by provincial government administration bodies. This suggests that the top leadership of the Communist Party has intervened in the matter and that the Chinese authorities consider the issue of internet trolls to be extremely serious.

«Cyberspace is not a lawless zone,» wrote all the central media. «Combating the chaos created by internet trolls and curbing extortion through public opinion are critical conditions for maintaining a clean and healthy cyberspace. Public security authorities will continue to exert strong pressure, thoroughly investigate shadow economy chains, and severely punish criminals. At the same time, they call on internet users to participate rationally in online discussions and work together to create a clean and healthy online environment.»

The Chinese press has repeated calls to regulate such activities.

Strictly speaking, this implies a ban on important marketing and advertising strategies that are still legally used worldwide: paid reviews of products or services, including films or series; paid recruitment of subscribers on social networks; and the so-called «content promotion» through means other than SEO, and so on.

Whether such bans will actually be imposed is uncertain. But the moral impurity of such a business, as well as the impurity of using such methods even for the most noble purpose, should be acknowledged and condemned. One recalls a discussion in the Russian public sphere several years ago, where the idea of using «light elves» against «dark trolls» was promoted – that is, using the same methods for the good of humanity. But whether elves or trolls, both are manipulation of public consciousness and of the consciousness of the individual internet user, which can lead to unpredictable and far from pure and bright consequences.

However, there are strong reasons to believe that any internet-developed State has its own state «troll (or elf) factory». Therefore, the struggle of state systems against private «factories» will largely resemble the saying: «What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to the ox» (Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi).

Sources 1, 2