Collecting the distortions and degradation produced in products and behaviors within Chinese society for the sake of profit: advertisements overriding emergency services, algorithms trapping the elderly, substituting inferior goods for superior ones, etc.
Recently, a netizen posted that a motorcycle taxi driver with a speech disability sought help, discovering that his account had been automatically deducted approximately 200 yuan per month by "Shuidi Insurance Brokerage" without his knowledge for about five years, totaling over 10,000 yuan.
On November 6, a vlogger in Beijing was charged a default fee of 340 yuan by an inspection station while registering an electric motorcycle. After discovering that the normal cost is only a few dozen yuan, the vlogger returned to question the charge. Staff claimed 280 yuan was a "comprehensive service fee," but refunded the 280 yuan via WeChat on the spot after the vlogger threatened to call 12315 to report them.
On November 6, parents of students at Chonghua Middle School in Nankai District, Tianjin, reported that the school required students who had not received the self-paid HPV vaccine to get vaccinated over the weekend, or otherwise provide a certificate from a Grade A tertiary hospital stating they are unsuitable for vaccination. After parents complained, they were told this was based on a joint notice from the Municipal Health Commission and the Municipal Education Commission.
On November 6, a netizen in Shanghai posted a video stating that 'advertising mirrors' equipped with ad screens were installed in front of the sinks in a public restroom at a shopping mall. The mirror suddenly plays commercial advertisements while someone is looking into it, sparking mockery and concerns among netizens regarding privacy and surveillance.
On November 4, the official WeChat account of Xiamen City Vocational College published an article stating that the school is launching a "Digital Yuan on Campus" campaign. It requires students to open and link digital yuan wallets and top them up. Some class meetings indicated that digital yuan will subsequently be used to fully cover payment scenarios such as cafeterias, supermarkets, and utility bills.
On November 4, a blogger posted a video claiming that while riding a motorcycle on a highway at night, the phone's navigation frequently and automatically jumped to third-party ad pages like JD.com due to normal vehicle vibrations, making it difficult to close and sparking heated discussion among netizens.
On November 3, Google released an investigation report stating that Shenzhen Shizhuang Technology exploited certification testing vulnerabilities to pre-install backdoors in TV boxes before they left the factory, selling device access rights to black and gray industry syndicates. Over 1.3 million devices worldwide were remotely controlled to click ads and install malware. Google has severed the control servers and terminated its certification partnership.
On November 3, a netizen posted a video demonstrating that when using a certain domestic Android phone to dial the 120 emergency number, the screen failed to enter the call interface. Instead, it popped up 'shake-to-open' ads for Douyin Lite, Meituan, JD.com, etc. The slightest movement caused automatic redirection, making it difficult to close.
On November 3, a netizen posted that screenshots from the Android version of Taobao taken a few months ago contained invisible watermarks, which were visible when zoomed in. The user encountered significant trouble after sending the screenshots to others. In the comments section, some netizens claimed they had received calls from customer service demanding they delete posts after sharing Taobao shopping screenshots, while others confirmed they had also discovered the watermarks.
On November 3, a netizen posted a video stating that iQiyi densely displayed scrolling bullet-screen ads marked with advertising labels in a grid pattern on official drama playback screens. The author remarked that this was an "exclusive official watermark" and "the last time supporting official versions," which sparked mockery among netizens.
On November 1, CCTV's Weekly Quality Report exposed the chaotic sales situation of sulfur-fumigated Angelica dahurica. During an undercover investigation, a merchant reminded the reporter that sulfur-free Angelica dahurica should be used for personal consumption, stating that sulfur-fumigated ones are "a bit bad for human consumption," but when discussing processed spiced dishes for sale, the merchant recommended sulfur-fumigated Angelica dahurica, saying it is "more fragrant."
On November 1, netizens discovered that previously free mountain-access paths near the Pofengling Scenic Area in Beijing, such as "Shixiagou," were completely blocked off by blue sheet-metal fencing. Guards were stationed at the site to collect 50 RMB adult admission tickets and turn away visitors who had not purchased tickets, sparking heated discussions online.
The Jiangxi Provincial Games were held in Pingxiang with a cost exceeding 100 million yuan. Sponsorship fees ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan were mandatorily apportioned to major banks, urban investment companies, and large taxpayers. The opening ceremony was restricted to personnel within the system, with only 700 tickets made available to the public out of a city population of 1.8 million.
On October 30, a Meituan delivery rider posted a video of an on-site reconciliation with a merchant: for a 279-yuan order, the rider's delivery fee was only 3 yuan, while the merchant's backend showed a deduction of 35.69 yuan for delivery service fees, with the actual amount received being about 205 yuan. Netizens questioned the platform for taking cuts from both sides.
On October 28, a developer used AI analysis to discover that the Baidu Netdisk advertising component can access orientation data typically used for compasses. It judges user actions based on changes in phone orientation to trigger 'shake' ads upon opening. Previously, even after users upgraded to iOS 27.2 and restricted the app from reading motion data, they were still unable to prevent the redirects.