Recent heavy rainfall caused by multiple typhoons has led to flooding and geological disasters in Fujian and Guangxi, among other regions. In the aftermath of the disasters, many netizens have donated money and goods to support the affected areas. However, there are also cases of netizens taking advantage of the disasters to fabricate false acts of kindness for online attention.
Recently, a netizen exposed a Douyin account named “Autumn Leaves White” for posting a screenshot of a 100,000 yuan donation, claiming it was made to the “Putian City Red Cross Foundation.” However, discrepancies were found in the institution’s name, logo, and donation amount in the screenshot, raising suspicions of fraudulent donations.
According to reports from the “Fujian Daily” multimedia center, the video posted by “Autumn Leaves White” received over 7,000 likes and thousands of comments, with many netizens from Fujian expressing gratitude. When contacted by the netizen who exposed the issue, “Autumn Leaves White” blocked them, and attempts by reporters to reach the account were unsuccessful. Subsequently, the video became unavailable for viewing.
The Putian City Red Cross confirmed that there is no organization named “Putian City Red Cross Foundation,” making the claimed donation invalid.
“Autumn Leaves White” also shared donation certificates from various locations. One screenshot displayed a 100,000 yuan donation to the Huanggang Red Cross made on July 8, along with the individual’s real name.
Upon checking the publicly available disaster relief donation information from the Huangzhou District Red Cross in Huanggang City, no record of this donation was found. Red Cross staff also stated that they did not receive a single donation of 100,000 yuan on that day, deeming the claim false. Furthermore, it was disclosed that someone had previously used AI to generate donation certificates, falsely claiming a 300,000 yuan donation to gain online traffic, leading to police involvement.
Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere. As reported by the “Jiupai News,” a Weibo account with thousands of followers named “An Lan” recently posted a screenshot of a 1 million yuan donation to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Red Cross, dated July 17. The account’s post received thousands of likes and quickly gained over 31,000 followers.
However, officials from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Red Cross stated that they did not receive a single donation of 1 million yuan on July 17. After cross-referencing the name provided by the netizen, it was found that a 1-yuan donation was made on that day, and the account number of this donation did not match the one in “An Lan’s” screenshot. Attempts to contact the account were unsuccessful. Subsequently, Weibo indicated that the relevant post had been dealt with, and the account was subject to restrictions.
In July, a netizen named Bao from Jiuquan, Gansu, gathered disaster-related materials from other regions to create a public image as a “good Samaritan” influencer, attracting traffic by falsifying public welfare donation certificates using editing tools and AI technology, fabricating acts of philanthropy and falsely claiming to represent fans and supporters in donating to disaster-stricken areas.
From “Autumn Leaves White” to “An Lan” and cases of using AI to forge donation certificates, the trend of showcasing donations for personal gain amidst disasters is evolving into a means for some individuals to seek online attention.