On November 5th, China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV singled out a popular internet influencer, Hu Chenfeng, accusing him of intentionally creating social divisions and profiting from traffic through a series of “Apple vs Android” discussions. This incident has sparked heated discussions on the internet.
According to a report on CCTV’s program “Rule of Law Online” on November 5th, Hu Chenfeng was banned from the entire internet for deliberately creating sharp divides like “Apple elites” vs “Android lower class.” The program cited Hu Chenfeng’s video content, stating that he uses extreme rhetoric to tear apart social consensus, incite public anxiety, all while ultimately seeking to garner more views.
The program quoted official experts as saying that Hu Chenfeng’s practice of labeling individuals as “Android people” or “Apple people” essentially creates sharp divides, incites group emotions, sells anxiety, and ultimately serves commercial interests by capturing attention and views.
Some internet users believe that Hu Chenfeng was criticized by CCTV because he touched upon the sensitive topic of wealth disparity, which is something the Chinese Communist Party does not want to be brought to light.
Hu Chenfeng often publicly discloses his income online and categorizes consumers based on their choice of smartphone brand – “Apple” representing high-end and superior quality, while “Android” symbolizes low-end and inferior quality. Before the September 3rd military parade, he suggested that the criteria for young people choosing a city to settle in should include the presence of “Sam’s Club,” “Apple Stores,” and “International Airports.”
One of his videos, shot in March 2023, showed how an elderly lady managed to get by on a monthly budget of only 100 yuan. After this video went viral on the internet, it was deleted, and Hu Chenfeng’s account was banned for the first time. He has been banned a total of five times, with two of them being temporary bans.
In late September of this year, Hu Chenfeng was suddenly banned from the entire internet, with all his accounts being terminated.
A few days after Hu Chenfeng’s sudden silence, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced on September 22nd a strict crackdown on creating and selling anxiety on the internet. Discussions promoting negativity about the future, advocating non-marriage and non-childbearing, and the rise of the “lying flat” trend are all targeted for suppression.
This represents the latest example of official crackdown on speech following economic downturn. After three years of strict pandemic control measures, the Chinese authorities have relaxed their grip, trying to revive the economy, but with no significant results yet. Unemployment rates have soared, social security is severely lacking, and public anxiety is on the rise.
Subsequently, the Chinese government began scrutinizing discussions on poverty and hardships on the internet. On March 14, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced a crackdown on self-media, targeting individuals who deliberately create emotional or divisive videos or articles that damage the image of the party and government and disrupt economic and social development. This action bans the dissemination of emotional videos involving the elderly, disabled, and children.
Since the beginning of this year, two other well-known internet influencers, Lan Zhanfei and Zhang Xuefeng, have also faced bans. Lan Zhanfei advocates that “young people will not go bankrupt if they don’t get married,” while Zhang Xuefeng focuses on the uneven distribution of educational resources. The common point among the three is that they all discuss the issue of unequal wealth distribution. Some believe that these three individuals have actually exposed the contradictions facing Chinese society today, particularly the issue of wealth distribution, which touches on the root cause of class conflicts.