On August 17th, China News Service reported that the cybersecurity department of the public security organs has cracked three cases of public opinion extortion in the film and television industry.

According to the WeChat account of the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security on the 17th, cracking down on new types of black and evil crimes such as public opinion extortion in accordance with the law is a key task in deepening the special struggle against black and evil. Recently, the online security department of the public security organ has tackled three online public opinion extortion cases against the film and television industry, captured 24 suspect in total, effectively cracked down on the arrogance of the Internet industry, and effectively safeguarded the network communication order and the legitimate rights and interests of relevant subjects.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province has cracked a case of extortion using public opinion in the entertainment industry

After investigation, it was found that a criminal gang led by Li and Liao had organized, planned, and manipulated online public opinion through the registration and establishment of a cultural media company. The gang uses multiple self media accounts with millions of followers under their control to continuously target popular movies, TV shows, variety shows, and celebrities, piecing together, fabricating, and publishing a large amount of negative information, creating public opinion pressure and forcing victims to actively contact and purchase so-called "drama protection" services, in order to illegally profit.

The criminal activities related to this gang seriously disrupt the healthy ecology of the entertainment industry. After the investigation of the whole case, the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau carried out a centralized network access operation and arrested 10 suspect.

After interrogation, the gang led by Li and Liao confessed to the illegal and criminal facts, and the case is under further investigation.

Fuzhou, Fujian Province cracked a case of fabricating "negative information" about a new drama and celebrities to carry out extortion

After investigation, Zheng and Huang have been collecting "negative information" about new dramas and celebrities for a long time, manipulating multiple popular online platform accounts, and fabricating false content. Whenever popular TV dramas are broadcasted or artists participate in public events, the two of them release negative content through their controlled accounts, artificially increasing the popularity of their posts and intentionally creating negative public opinion hotspots. The relevant film and television crews and artist management teams, concerned about negative public opinion affecting the reputation of their works, artists, and commercial income, proactively contacted the two individuals to dispose of negative information. After collecting fees, the two individuals deleted the relevant negative posts.

This behavior seriously disrupts the normal publicity order of the film and television industry, damages the online public opinion ecology, and infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of film and television producers and artists.

At present, two suspect have been taken criminal coercive measures by the public security organ according to law, and the case is under further investigation.

Guangdong Heyuan cracks a case of extortion under the guise of "protecting drama"

After investigation, Li's gang set up a MCN organization, registered a cultural communication company, and actually controlled multiple WeChat official account and microblog accounts, with a total number of fans exceeding 10 million. The gang has long employed online writers to collect and piece together various celebrity gossip, using artificial intelligence tools to manipulate multiple big V accounts they hold to post, intentionally creating negative public opinion hotspots during TV dramas and variety shows. When the relevant production team faced public pressure and actively contacted to negotiate the deletion of posts, Li Jun took the opportunity to request TV drama broadcasting platforms or celebrity agencies to purchase his so-called "drama protection" services, otherwise he refused to delete negative online posts.

The gang's "drama protection" services generally include posting positive promotional posts for the series, deleting negative posts related to celebrities that were previously posted, and promising not to post negative posts about the series and celebrities during the broadcast period. Essentially, they use account manipulation to create negative public opinion and indirectly force transactions to carry out extortion. The victims of this case involve several well-known actors and distributors of multiple popular TV dramas. Several artists, talent agencies, or film and television producers have already filed lawsuits against the gang for reputation infringement.

After the investigation of the whole case, the Heyuan Public Security Bureau carried out a centralized network operation and arrested 12 suspect.

After interrogation, Li Jun's gang confessed to the illegal and criminal facts, and the case is under further investigation. (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)