On the evening of September 12th， CCTV’s “Economic Half Hour” aired a segment exposing malicious public relations practices in the automotive industry. Four car manufacturers， Xiaomi， XPeng， NIO， and Deepal， were featured and interviewed during the program.
The report highlighted the significant financial incentives within the “black PR” ecosystem. For instance， a short video advertising platform’s official website indicated that a car influencer with 600，000 followers could charge 18，000 yuan for a 1-20 second promotional video， 26，000 yuan for a 21-60 second video， and 38，000 yuan for videos exceeding 60 seconds. This demonstrates the substantial sums of money involved in disseminating paid content， often disguised as organic reviews or news.
CCTV also brought to light a notorious past incident involving claims that a vehicle’s door could not be opened after a collision， a case linked to Xiaomi. The individual responsible for disseminating this false information has been apprehended by law enforcement， and their video account has remained inactive since November 18， 2024. This case serves as a stark reminder of the severe reputational damage that fabricated news can inflict on brands.
Wang Hua， the public relations head for Xiaomi， commented that the methods used to spread false information and smear various car companies are strikingly similar. These tactics often include the use of AI-generated content， online abuse directed at car owners in comment sections， and the dissemination of pre-written negative articles about a company’s products before new model launches. He also pointed out that some platforms provide differential traffic flow based on the framing of content – for example， presenting the same information with contrasting positive and negative titles.
Car manufacturers face significant challenges in seeking legal recourse against such malicious actions. The legal process is often time-consuming， and awarded compensation， typically ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan， is insufficient to offset the damage to a company’s reputation and business interests. This disparity between the harm caused and the legal remedies available creates a difficult environment for legitimate businesses.
These smear campaigns severely disrupt the normal operations and growth trajectory of businesses. The sustained effort required to counter false narratives diverts resources and attention from product development and customer service.
Xiaomi’s legal department has been extensively documenting evidence， accumulating data from hundreds of accounts and initiating dozens of lawsuits this year. These cases are awaiting court proceedings， and several reported incidents are currently under investigation. This proactive legal stance underscores the industry’s growing commitment to combating disinformation.
The joint special rectification action， involving six government departments， aims not only to combat malicious public relations and online mobs but also to mandate network platform companies to conduct thorough self-examinations and implement stricter controls. This includes enhanced identification and management of online trolls and unscrupulous commentators， particularly those leveraging generative AI technologies. The overarching goal is to foster a clean and healthy industrial environment conducive to the advancement of China’s automotive sector.
Wang Hua reiterated Xiaomi’s strong endorsement of these efforts， emphasizing their firm support for such initiatives.
