Billionaire accuses ByteDance platforms of spreading misinformation targeting him
Zhong Shanshan, China's second-richest person, publicly demanded that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming apologize for misinformation spread on Douyin and Toutiao that he says damaged his reputation and that of his beverage company Nongfu Spring following nationalist criticism of the company's packaging.
What happened
Zhong Shanshan, China's second-richest person and founder of beverage company Nongfu Spring, made a public speech on Wednesday in Jiangxi province demanding an apology from ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming for allowing misinformation to spread on platforms Douyin and Toutiao.
Zhong and his company became targets of online nationalist trolls earlier in 2024 over the perceived Japanese styling of Nongfu Spring's packaging, triggering a boycott. Zhong requested that Douyin and Toutiao remove content that "hurts and slanders" him and asked ByteDance to disclose its content recommendation algorithm.
Reported impact
Zhong stated that misinformation spread on ByteDance's social media platforms damaged his reputation. He said that internet platforms, when left unchecked, bring more harm than any other entities.
Index analysis
Zhong is the first businessman to openly point the finger at online platforms for their role in fermenting nationalist passions, amid broader debate about the responsibility of government, opinion leaders, the public and social media in the attack campaigns.
Governance controls
Zhong requested that Toutiao and Douyin not use the 'safe harbour principle' to sidestep their responsibility and asked ByteDance to disclose its content recommendation algorithm. ByteDance declined to comment.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.