Recently, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD publicly accused “a certain car company using black PR tactics” of engaging in “malicious slander” against them and offered a hefty reward in an attempt to uncover the behind-the-scenes “black hand.”
On June 19, according to reports from “Securities Times” and “Daily Economic News,” Li Yunfei, the brand and PR manager of BYD, posted on Weibo, stating, “Recently, we have received multiple reminders: a certain car company is using black PR tactics to denigrate, criticize, and maliciously slander our brand and products.”
Li Yunfei mentioned that based on the current and past situations, the company is seeking effective leads and evidence on black PR from netizens and the public, including but not limited to chat records, audio and video recordings, emails, contracts, and payment information. Any clues that directly point to individuals, black PR advertising agencies, or related car companies will be compiled and reported to public security and related departments. Upon verification, a reward ranging from 200,000 to 5 million Chinese yuan will be provided to those who provide effective leads and evidence, with their personal information strictly kept confidential.
This is not the first time BYD has used a substantial reward to combat the phenomenon of internet black PR.
On the evening of December 3 last year, Li Yunfei took to Weibo to angrily denounce the malicious black smear behaviors within the industry. He wrote, “This year, the word that auto industry people hear the most is ‘hype,’ hype in technology, products, prices, marketing, and even pushing the limits. The level of competition is either fierce or reprehensible to a shocking degree, something I have not seen in nearly 20 years in the industry! If it’s about promoting products and skill level, applause is in order! But if it’s pushing the limits, it’s despicable and contemptible!”
While expressing his outrage, Li Yunfei also announced that in order to further combat the chaos of internet black PR, a reward of 50,000 to 5 million yuan will be provided to whistleblowers who provide leads on malicious smears.
Prior to this, companies such as Great Wall Motors, Geely, and Changan Motors have all stated they have been victims of online black PR attacks.
In March this year, after the listing of the Ideal Auto MEGA, the company faced a series of “spoofs,” severely impacting the growth of MEGA’s order volume. In response, the founder of Ideal Auto, Li Xiang, specifically stated that this was an organized criminal act. Subsequently, during the investigation of water armies and PR-related cases by the Hengshui Police in Hebei, clues related to Ideal MEGA were discovered. During the listing period of MEGA, three to four car companies were suspected of participating in the suppression.