Some merchants specialize in selling fake short video scripts, and some Internet celebrities create "hot" short videos to attract traffic and monetize their traffic through live broadcasts.
Uncovering the “paint” of fake short videos requires penetrating supervision
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In recent years, fake short videos such as selling sadness, fabricating family and social conflicts, and publishing false information about hot news have appeared from time to time. Experts suggest that the legal boundaries of short video posing should be clarified, and platforms should strengthen self-regulation.
Pushing and grabbing, spray painting on cars, verbal abuse... On March 15, a conflict caused by an "emotional dispute" occurred at the intersection of Jinjiang District, Chengdu City. In the video, several young men and women were arguing and arguing fiercely next to a luxury car, with many people watching. The related video spread quickly on the Internet.
On March 17, the Jinjiang District Branch of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that the conflict was planned and fabricated by six employees of a car sales company, together with employees of a car rental company, and organized to film and distribute the video to the Internet platform. The police reported that this behavior seriously disrupted public order, and those involved were subject to administrative penalties.
In January this year, a short video of a woman proposing for marriage in a park in Chongqing was exposed. It seemed to be a "true story" but was actually directed and acted by herself. Why do fake short videos appear so frequently?
A fake video was created in 7 minutes
The "Statistical Report on China's Internet Development Status" shows that as of June 2023, the number of domestic short video users is approximately 1.026 billion. The huge user scale produces massive amounts of information, which may also quickly ferment negative public opinions.
In August 2023, a video of "a female delivery worker collapsed and cried on the side of the road after her car was stolen" attracted attention online.
The police investigation found that there was no police case in the local area that matched the content of the "delivery man losing his car" video, and that the woman had previously appeared in many videos with different identities, including "being fought over by two motorcycle drivers" "Beautiful Passenger", "Mother" who was sent to jail by her daughter in the middle of the night, etc. Afterwards, the woman also confessed that her takeout clothes were purchased online, and the video took less than 7 minutes from preparation to shooting.
Zhang Youlang, associate professor at the School of Public Administration at Renmin University of China and researcher at the Capital Development and Strategy Research Institute, said: “When false content spreads, people’s trust in the media and information sources will gradually decline. In addition, intentionally produced fake videos may be used through false advertising and fraud. Sexual marketing will also cause economic losses to consumers."
In recent years, with the rapid rise of short video platforms, the threshold for producing and publishing short videos has been low, providing a breeding ground for fake short videos. Some Internet users take advantage of the public's curiosity and other psychology to gain followers through staged and fake short videos, and ultimately achieve the purpose of monetizing their traffic.
Xie Yongjiang, executive director of the Internet Governance and Legal Research Center of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, believes that fake short videos will lead to conflicts between commercial interests and social public interests. "The content is staged to create shock or eye-catching without clear labeling, misleading the public, and the resulting public opinion will harm social and public interests."
Fake short videos form an industry chain
In 2023, the Liangshan Public Security Bureau in Sichuan investigated a "series of Internet celebrity live broadcast cases" represented by "Liangshan Mengyang", "Liangshan Aze", "Zhao Ling'er" and others. Recently, the People's Court of Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture pronounced the first instance verdict on the "Liangshan Mengyang" and "Liangshan Aze" cases, and eight people were sentenced for false advertising.
In 2018, a girl named "Liangshan Mengyang" became popular on the Internet. She claimed in a short video that her parents were dead, she dropped out of school to take care of her younger siblings at home, and she was living in poverty... The short video account has grown to more than 300 followers in just a few years. Ten thousand. After becoming popular, "Liangshan Mengyang" began to frequently live broadcast to bring goods.
However, some netizens visited the site and found that not only were the parents of "Liangshan Mengyang" still alive, but the adobe house in the video was also staged. An investigation by local law enforcement officers found that many of the "special agricultural products from Daliangshan that were painstakingly purchased from villagers" sold by "Liangshan Mengyang" in the live broadcast room were not produced in Liangshan. With the in-depth investigation by the local police, a gray industrial chain of counterfeiting, manufacturing and selling of counterfeit goods has emerged, including character creation, content compilation, e-commerce operations, and traffic monetization.
The reporter found that on some e-commerce platforms, some merchants specialize in selling short video scripts of sensational, family and social conflicts. A short video operator said that they will create characters for customers based on the industry. They can not only provide customers with solutions and teach them how to shoot and produce, but also achieve accurate monetization.
In July 2023, the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of "We-Media"" was issued, which clearly requires "self-media" to publish content containing fictional plots and plot interpretations, and website platforms should require them to prominently mark fiction or interpretation labels.
“Many short videos are clearly staged, but they are not labeled as required. On the one hand, many people may not be aware of this new regulation; on the other hand, some deliberately blur staged and real records in order to attract traffic. Boundaries." Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, told a reporter from Workers' Daily.
Clarify the legal boundaries of short video posing
Some people take desperate risks when producing and publishing short videos out of luck. Some people also wonder that shooting short videos inevitably requires planning and staging. What are the legal limits of short video staging?
Zhang Youlang believes that when discussing the limits of staged shots in short videos, several factors should be considered: First, the purpose, whether it is for entertainment, education, publicity or recording; second, moral and legal standards. If the staged shots in the short video involve false propaganda, Misleading the audience or infringing on the rights of others is inappropriate or even illegal; the third is social and cultural norms. Different societies and cultures have different views on what is acceptable posing, and creators need to consider how their content adapts to these norms.
In order to achieve effective supervision, Zhang Youlang further suggested that the definition of false content should be clearly defined, the corresponding legal responsibilities should be clarified, and the penalties for violations should be clarified. Short video platforms are required to strengthen self-regulation and implement content review mechanisms. Platforms should develop and utilize AI and machine learning tools to automatically identify and mark possible fake videos to help reviewers and users identify problematic content faster. Finally, users should also be encouraged to participate in supervision. For false or harmful content found, they can provide feedback to the platform through the reporting function.
"To control the chaos of fake short videos, we cannot just rely on individual photographers to mark them. The platform can establish supervision and reporting channels. Once traces of scripts are found, they can ask for verification. The works cannot be given more traffic without verification." Zhu Wei believes that, In addition to the publisher of the account, registrants, users, and actual controllers, especially MCNs and associated accounts, should also be included in the scope of supervision to achieve penetrating supervision.
Xie Yongjiang said that short video creation should stick to the bottom line and not endanger social public interests or infringe on the interests of others. If it exceeds the boundary, it lacks legitimacy. Relevant departments need to take certain measures to supervise and eliminate this negative impact, including labeling. , depriving the creators and publishers of the benefits gained thereby, and in serious cases, they will be subject to public security penalties.
Tao Wen Workers Daily