For a time, a 27.9 yuan (US$4.30), 5-kilogram bag of 鈥�100 percent sweet potato鈥� handmade noodles was selling rapidly during the livestream of Chinese influencer 鈥淣ortheast Sister Yu (涓滃寳闆ㄥ).鈥�

Nearly 10,000 bags were sold, generating close to 250,000 yuan in sales after just four livestreams in a single month, according to Chanmama data.

But the momentum didn鈥檛 last. On September 23, two anti-fraud bloggers publicly accused Sister Yu of false advertising, claiming the noodles 鈥� marketed as containing only sweet potato starch, water and alum 鈥� were actually mixed with cassava starch and contained no sweet potato at all.

The bloggers also reported being assaulted when they visited her hometown in Benxi County, Liaoning Province, to confront her on September 20.

The allegations quickly caught fire on social media, prompting local regulators to investigate.

On October 12, the local market watchdog confirmed the accusations, fining Sister Yu鈥檚 company 1.65 million yuan and ordering them to suspend operations for compliance checks.

Credibility crisis

Northeast Sister Yu鈥檚 real name is Chang Xiaoyu. She hails from Benxi, a rugged part of northeastern China.

True to the spirit of her hometown, she embodies a sense of toughness and resilience.

In her videos, a typical day sees her feeding chickens, ducks, pigs and rabbits, shoveling snow, chopping wood, stoking the fire and chatting with her husband Lao Kuai and her crew before cooking a big meal.

Standing at nearly six feet tall, she鈥檚 known for her strength 鈥� swinging heavy pots, hoisting iron kettles over her shoulder and carrying half a pig with ease. She buys cabbage by the ton and cooks up steaming pots of hearty meals.

Fans say 鈥渟he鈥檚 like a warrior from an ancient tribe 鈥� you鈥檇 never go hungry with her around鈥� and 鈥渋f there was a zombie apocalypse, Sister Yu would make sure you were well-fed.鈥�

People love her boundless energy, saying she burns through in a day what they couldn鈥檛 manage in a month.

She鈥檚 become a motivational figure for many young viewers who struggle with morning routines, tuning in to hear her shout commands like 鈥淟et鈥檚 get to work!鈥� hoping to spark some of her drive in their own lives.

Between late 2022 and early 2023, her following exploded. Her Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, gained over 2.2 million followers in just 52 days.

With her popularity came business opportunities, she quickly transitioned to selling products through livestreams.

According to data, since 2024, her 28 livestreams have brought in over 100 million yuan in sales, focusing mainly on food and drink.

Yet, from late 2023 onward, trouble seemed to follow her. Just weeks before the sweet potato noodle scandal, she faced backlash over a video about a crab harvest in Panjin, where the crabs appeared unusually large and clean.

Local viewers pointed out that rice-field crabs in Panjin are typically smaller, often caught at night, and usually covered in hard-to-wash mud 鈥� unlike the pristine specimens in her video.

Sister Yu defended the video, explaining that it was filmed during a harvest festival at the invitation of the organizers and that daytime filming was chosen for convenience.

In a follow-up livestream on September 7, she admitted they used crabs from another area because the rice-field crabs were not yet in season. Many saw this as an indirect admission of staging, fueling accusations of deception.

And this wasn鈥檛 her first controversy. In late 2023, she was criticized for selling what was advertised as northeastern geese, but they were actually African geese, with many complaints about quality. The goose products quietly disappeared from her online store after the scandal.

A wave of controversies

Sister Yu鈥檚 fall from grace is one of many. Several of China鈥檚 top livestream influencers have recently faced similar 鈥渃redibility crises.鈥�

During this year鈥檚 Mid-Autumn Festival, 100-million-follower Douyin influencer 鈥淐razy Little Young Brothers鈥� faced backlash for selling 鈥楬ong Kong-made鈥� Meicheng mooncakes, which were neither produced in Hong Kong nor ever sold there.

Meanwhile, rumors of infidelity began circulating in his personal life, further damaging his public image.

Within just six weeks, he lost 5 million followers.

On September 26, he was fined 68.94 million yuan by authorities in Hefei for 鈥渕isleading consumers.鈥�

Likewise, another influencer, Xiaoying, found herself at the center of a different kind of scandal.

Like Northeast Sister Yu , she built a following by showing her rural life 鈥� endlessly working on the farm, dealing with a difficult husband and caring for children and livestock.

Viewers saw her as a symbol of perseverance and she quickly amassed 5.67 million followers on Douyin.

But as her popularity grew, so did scrutiny. Investigations revealed that Xiaoying鈥檚 lifestyle was far more comfortable than her videos suggested. It turned out she owned multiple businesses, and her finances were much more secure than she had led her followers to believe.

She also faced accusations of using videos of 鈥渟tarving cows鈥� to gain sympathy from her audience, with some even alleging she had 鈥渁bandoned her daughters.鈥� These claims shattered her carefully crafted image as a down-to-earth farm woman almost overnight.

In just two days, she lost nearly 100,000 followers.

Many viewers commented that her content seemed less about 鈥渟haring a beautiful life鈥� and more about 鈥渟taging a beautiful life.鈥�

Meanwhile, Douyin influencer 鈥淭ingquanjianbao (鍚硥閴村疂),鈥� with 25 million followers, announced a one-week break amid allegations he faked his degree from Peking University, sparking speculation about the real reason behind his hiatus.

Another rising star on Douyin, 鈥淜 Zong (K鎬�),鈥� abruptly paused his streaming after being mysteriously banned three times during his October 13 livestream, leaving fans wondering what really happened.

Reckoning with the collapse

As the old saying goes, 鈥淚 watched him build his grand mansion, I watched him host lavish parties, and I watched it all come crashing down.鈥�

This year, more than 10 of China鈥檚 top influencers have faced serious setbacks, each in their own way. Beyond those already mentioned, others with millions of followers 鈥� like 鈥淭hurman the cat with a cup (Thurman 鐚竴鏉�),鈥� 鈥淟uo Wangyu (楠嗙帇瀹�)鈥� and 鈥淪even Stars (涓冮鐚╃尒)鈥� 鈥� have also seen their reputations unravel.

Yao Suxin, founder of the PR firm AHEAD, explained to Chongqing Morning Post that many influencers rise to fame so quickly that they start to believe that maintaining their popularity is all that matters. As a result, they often overlook the need for risk management.

鈥淚n our experience, most influencers and celebrities don鈥檛 like taking advice,鈥� Yao said. 鈥淲hen we bring up risks, they usually say, 鈥業t was fine last time, and others have done it too without any issues.鈥欌��

A major factor behind these scandals is the over-construction of persona.

Many influencers gain followers by crafting a specific image, but when reality doesn鈥檛 match up with their online persona, it creates a sense of betrayal among their fans. Those who once cheered them on can quickly become their harshest critics.

Beyond losing followers, creating a false image for sympathy or attention can also have legal consequences. Fu Jian, head of Henan Zejin Law Firm, was quoted by the newspaper that influencers like Xiaoying, who create 鈥減ity personas鈥� to attract followers, risk sanctions from social media platforms. Using a false backstory for sympathy and sales could be considered false advertising or fraud, leading to civil penalties or fines. If the deception involves large sums, it could even result in criminal charges.

The recent spate of scandals has also drawn attention to broader issues in the livestreaming sales industry, such as unclear accountability for product quality, outdated regulations and challenges in effectively monitoring digital marketplaces.

Yao suggests regulators focus on high-profile influencers, introduce stricter penalties and bring in third-party agencies to verify the quality of products before they鈥檙e promoted in livestreams. Tightening the legal responsibilities of influencers, platforms and sellers could help prevent future controversies.

With the upcoming Singles鈥� Day shopping festival 鈥� China鈥檚 equivalent of Black Friday 鈥� it remains to be seen which influencers will thrive and which ones could face their own downfall.