CNBC AI News – August 9, 2023 – A seemingly innocuous graduation trip photo of six female university students in Guangdong, China, took a dark turn when it was hijacked and repurposed online. In October 2023, the image, captioned with the provocative question, “Each comes with a CNY 100,000 bride price, who would you choose as your girlfriend?” went viral, sparking outrage and underscoring the growing problem of online image theft and defamation.
The photo, originally a lighthearted snapshot of Xiao Ting and her five roommates during their post-graduation travels, was pilfered and maliciously manipulated.
The individual responsible for the misappropriation was identified as a Mr. Lu from Guangxi, a social media user in his early 20s with a following of 330,000. Lu not only posted the image with the offensive caption but also assigned labels like “Big Sister” and “Second Sister” to the women, falsely attributing ages to them. He further escalated the situation by creating fan groups dedicated to discussing the women’s supposed “marriage prospects.” This case exposes the disturbing trend of turning individuals into commodities within the digital sphere.
When Xiao Ting and her friends attempted to set the record straight by entering these groups, they were swiftly blocked. This prompted them to take legal action. In December 2023, they sued the platform to obtain Lu’s real identification information, and in March 2024, they filed a lawsuit demanding CNY 25,000 in economic damages, the removal of defamatory content, and a formal apology. The lawsuit highlights the significant costs, both financially and emotionally, associated with combating online defamation.
The Guangzhou Internet Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that Lu’s actions had indeed infringed upon Xiao Ting and her friends’ rights to their reputation and image. In September 2024, the court ordered Lu to pay CNY 12,000 in damages. The relatively low amount highlights the challenges of quantifying reputational damage in the digital age.
However, the saga continues. According to Xiao Ting, they have yet to receive any payment. Their lawyer stated that investigations into Lu’s bank accounts, WeChat Pay, and Alipay revealed negligible funds. Enforcement officers even tracked him down in Guangxi, but he reportedly couldn’t scrape together even CNY 10. Ironically, Lu is now on a national blacklist for debtors due to this unpaid debt. This underscores the difficulties in enforcing judgments, particularly against individuals with limited financial resources, potentially rendering legal victories hollow.
The incident was featured on CCTV1’s “Today’s Law” segment in a special episode titled “Purifying the Internet Space – ‘Matchmaking’ Rumors,” providing a comprehensive account of the case and highlighting the broader issue of online misinformation and the need for greater accountability in the digital world.
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