CCTV 3·15 Gala Exposes Four Major Internet Consumer Scams - Have You Been Targeted?

Special Topic: Improving Consumer Quality — Focus on the 2026 “315 Gala”

Source: TechWeb

[TechWeb] March 15th is International Consumer Rights Day. The annual CCTV 3.15 Gala airs as scheduled. This year’s theme is “Trustworthy Consumption, Quality Life,” focusing on violations of consumer rights in food safety, public safety, financial security, advertising markets, and other areas.

Now, let’s take a look at what internet-related consumer issues were exposed this year at the 3.15 Gala. Which companies involved in false advertising and deception were spotlighted?

“Medical Experts” Are Actually Actors, Private Domain Marketing Yields 5-Fold Profits in Elderly Targeting

The CCTV 3.15 Gala exposed chaos in the private domain marketing sector. In late January, at an internal industry exchange meeting held in a city in Central China, many representatives from “online video production companies” spoke on stage seeking partners. These so-called “online video producers” are key players in the private domain marketing industry.

These companies purchase selected products from pharmaceutical or health supplement companies at low prices, then produce health lectures and related videos, selling them to private domain marketing firms. These firms guide consumers to private social media scenes, play the videos, and promote products.

The medicines and health supplements chosen by these video producers are very cheap to source, but are sold at very high prices—exaggerated or even falsified to misrepresent their basic effects, and sold at nearly five times the market price.

A CCTV reporter visited the office of “Da Hong International,” where Manager Liu, who received him, surprisingly first mentioned the 3.15 Gala. She told the reporter, “If you’re going to do something, do it after the holiday, after 3.15. Our private channels are in a gray area.”

Liu also said that as a business producing false courses and high-priced medicines to deceive the elderly, they need to stay low-profile recently. “Everyone is worried that this year’s 3.15 community (private domain) might be exposed,” she said. “We’ll wait until after 3.15. We call it the ‘pharmaceutical circle,’ and 3.15 is a weather vane.”

The company responsible for producing these videos is Dalian Shengwei Cultural Media Co., Ltd. The company’s leader stated that whether a so-called online video can sell products depends mainly on the “medical experts” featured in the videos. These titles like “Disciple of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” “Society President,” or “Expert Committee Member” are almost all just packaging props that can be bought with money.

According to Tianyancha, Dalian Shengwei Cultural Media was established in March 2010, with Ma Liandong as legal representative, registered capital of 1.5 million RMB. Its scope includes interior decoration, various engineering activities, and advertising production, jointly held by Ma Liandong and Wang Qi. The company’s social insurance data shows zero insured employees in 2024. Its intellectual property records indicate that trademarks like “Wuxing Fukan” for advertising sales and convenience foods are invalid.

Rental E-Bikes “Soaring,” with companies like Hello Bike Named Violators of New National Standards

The CCTV 3.15 Gala exposed the rampant rental of electric bikes, specifically naming Hello Bike and others for violating the new national standards.

Investigations found that during live broadcasts, many e-commerce hosts openly promoted their non-compliant, over-standard electric bikes, which could be rented freely. A test ride at an e-bike rental shop revealed speeds reaching up to 80 km/h.

The latest 2025 national “Electric Bicycle Safety Technical Specification” clearly states: maximum design speed should not exceed 25 km/h; battery pack label voltage should not exceed 48V; motor output power should be less than or equal to 400W.

Not only do local rental shops violate these standards, but some well-known chain brands do as well. Hello Bike, a leading brand in the industry, claims on its official website to have over 5,000 stores across more than 100 cities nationwide. A reporter visited a Hello Bike store, where staff said their bikes can reach speeds of up to 75 km/h.

According to Manager Mi, the provincial franchise manager for Hello Bike, before the new standards were implemented, some channel vendors applied for license plates for electric bikes using certificates for bikes not yet produced. When customers needed these bikes, manufacturers produced models according to pre-standard standards, which then became “old bikes” before the new standards took effect, thus bypassing speed restrictions by avoiding the “one vehicle, one pool, one code” recognition system.

Another company, “E-Donkey,” operates more directly. Manager Wang told the reporter they supply stores with electric motorcycles, but they hang electric bike licenses, which are bought cheaply and in large quantities.

Tianyancha shows that Hello Bike’s related company, Shanghai Junha Network Technology Co., Ltd., established in August 2018 with a registered capital of 2.05 billion RMB, is wholly owned by Hello Bike’s parent company, Shanghai Junfeng Network Technology Co., Ltd. It has eight branches, five of which are deregistered. The company has multiple administrative penalties, including selling non-conforming products as compliant.

Zhengzhou E-Donkey Network Technology Co., Ltd., founded in December 2018 with a registered capital of 1 million RMB, is wholly owned by Feng Lechong. It develops network and information security software, computer systems, and sells electronic products. Feng Lechong’s investment partnership, Hangzhou Find E-Donkey Investment Management Partnership, has been listed multiple times as abnormal.

AI Large Models Poisoned, “Brainwashing” AI Becomes Industry Chain

The CCTV 3.15 Gala exposed the current hot GEO business. Service providers claim that users can pay a fee to have their products ranked on major AI large models; their ads become the “standard answers” given by AI models.

Can GEO technology truly inject “hidden agendas” or false information into AI? An industry insider told CCTV that their company’s strength is helping clients rank higher in AI search results—essentially creating soft articles that AI platforms “read, input, and fetch.”

The insider also said that because AI model algorithms update frequently, maintaining continuous recommendation requires constantly feeding related promotional soft articles.

GEO, as a tool for optimizing information distribution and enhancing promotion efficiency, has been exploited for other purposes. Investigations showed an industry professional purchased a software called “Liqing GEO Optimization System” on an e-commerce platform. They fabricated a smart bracelet product, input its details into the system, and selected article creation commands. Soon, the system generated over ten promotional articles for the smart bracelet. The professional then published these articles online via the system. When querying “recommended smart health bracelets” on AI platforms, two models recommended this fictitious product, ranking it highly.

Li, the operator of Liqing GEO, explained that GEO’s popularity stems from its ability to “feed” and “poison” AI models, achieving commercial goals. Controlling the GEO business involves “posting articles” on major internet accounts. “For example, for mobile phone brands, there are five or ten positions. How to fill so many? With billions in advertising yearly, spending a few million to inject some poison is feasible!”

Li further revealed that the booming GEO business has spawned many companies and platforms specializing in article posting, which have long-term contracts to produce content, making AI models cite and fetch these soft articles, thus becoming a key part of “data poisoning” and AI model manipulation.

Stock Recommendations Made Up, Investment Scam Exposed

The CCTV 3.15 Gala revealed that since early 2026, many consumers have been attracted to a stock investment scheme called “Stock Tips and Fake Trading, 50-50 Profit Split.” Investigations found that many of these are scams by illegal actors impersonating legitimate financial institutions.

If the recommended stocks profit, the scammers demand a share; if they fall, they disappear, with the excuse of “covering losses” enticing consumers to fall for the trap.

A reporter contacted a self-proclaimed Tian Shun Investment agency, and following their advice, bought 2,000 shares of a stock at 18.82 RMB per share. Over the next half month, the stock declined steadily, and the agency vanished, forcing the reporter to sell at an 8% loss.

This agency’s behind-the-scenes company, Xin Ben Ke Information Consulting Co., Ltd., has no financial qualification and recruits telemarketers to call potential investors, using scripted pitches to persuade them to buy designated stocks.

Where do these so-called “research stocks” recommended daily come from? A customer service staff member revealed that these are just a front; the stocks are actually chosen by the company’s boss. The boss arbitrarily picks stocks, uses clients’ funds to trade, and shares profits, while losses are ignored. This creates a “sure-win” stock recommendation business—some stocks rise and profit, others vanish with losses.

Final Words:

Every year, the 3.15 Gala is a major test for corporate PR departments. Industry insiders jokingly call it the “PR Festival.” If a company is exposed, it immediately launches crisis management; if not, it celebrates another safe year, while consumers remain angry at the exposed companies and products.

The long investigation by CCTV aims not just for immediate responses on March 15, but for sustained attention to industry chaos, and whether exposed companies can truly rectify their issues.

Corporate self-examination and correction should become routine, not only when the 3.15 warning appears.

Protecting consumer safety requires companies to uphold bottom lines, regulators to continue enforcement, and consumers to stay vigilant. Only through joint efforts can we build a safe and trustworthy consumption environment.