Popular livestreamer fined over sales of fake goods

A popular Chinese livestreaming influencer known as Sister Yu has been hit with a hefty fine for selling fraudulent products during her livestreams.

Sister Yu, whose real name is Chang Xiaoyu, gained fame by sharing humorous videos about her rural life in Benxi Manchu autonomous county, Liaoning province, amassing 22.5 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

The controversy erupted in late September when another Douyin influencer, Dawa, who has 285,000 followers, accused Sister Yu of selling adulterated sweet potato noodles. After sending the noodles for third-party testing, Dawa claimed they contained no sweet potato but instead were made with tapioca. He also alleged that he and his colleagues were physically attacked by Sister Yu's team when they confronted her for an explanation.