On September 20th, Chinese internet influencer “Hu Chenfeng” was banned from all online platforms, and 10 days later, their account status was upgraded from “banned” to “permanently deleted,” causing widespread attention across the internet.
On September 30th, internet influencer “Hu Chenfeng” had their accounts on platforms like Douyin, Weibo, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, and Kuaishou permanently terminated or wiped clean. The pages displayed messages like “account cannot be viewed” or “banned for violating laws and regulations,” with no search results when attempting to find their name. Thus, the ban escalated to a complete deletion across all networks.
Earlier on September 20th, Hu Chenfeng was initially banned simultaneously on multiple platforms (Douyin, Weibo, etc.), with their content being cleared but the account still searchable.
After 8 pm Beijing time on September 30th, the tag “Hu Chenfeng all-network account deletion” quickly became a trending topic on Weibo, ranking fourth at one point.
Starting from February 2023, Hu Chenfeng transitioned to being a full-time live streamer and self-media creator. In March of the same year, Hu Chenfeng interviewed a 78-year-old retired person from Nanchong in the streets of Chengdu, who lived on a meager monthly pension of only 107 RMB. The video went viral but was swiftly removed, marking the first ban on Hu Chenfeng’s account. Altogether, there were a total of 5 ban records, with 2 being temporary bans.
After the Apple event on September 10th of this year, Hu Chenfeng made remarks like “Android is done for,” and predicted that the upcoming iPhone 17 would dominate the high-end market.
Hu Chenfeng quickly gained popularity online by dividing people into “Apple people” and “Android people.” As a staunch supporter of Apple products, he has long associated users of Android phones with being “low-class” and “low-income,” even comparing those with vocational qualifications as having an “Android education,” undermining the “technological breakthroughs” of domestic phones, and suggesting that Android manufacturers should abandon the high-end market priced above 2500 RMB.
During live streams, he also expressed controversial views such as “a city without Walmart is not suitable for living in,” openly doubting Chinese-made new energy vehicle technology, advocating Toyota for fuel cars, and Tesla for electric cars.
Despite the controversial nature of Hu Chenfeng’s remarks, his ban and subsequent deletion still sparked widespread discussions online.
Some netizens expressed, “I may not agree with many of his views, but I also don’t think silencing him is the right approach,” and “Defending people’s freedom of speech is more important than blocking it,” and “Support Hu Chenfeng, we need more people to combat pink influencers.”
“He may be more suitable for developing a presence on foreign platforms,” “Goodbye, Hu Chenfeng, I saw your videos in 2023, which deeply touched me. The early live stream clips gave me a lot of laughter and reflections,” “Hu Chenfeng is now permanently deleted, this time he won’t be coming back,” “Hu Chenfeng is completely out this time, all accounts across the internet have been deleted, previously there were rumors that after the holiday, there might be a comeback, but now it’s all gone.”
“Hu Chenfeng is gone. This time is very different from before. As far as I know, his account has been banned multiple times, but each time he kept a low profile. This time, his name trended first, but the account hadn’t shown it was banned yet. After some time of brewing, the account started displaying the ban. And today, it’s been directly deleted. Suddenly, that phrase ‘Uouo Hu Chenfeng…’ resounds.”
While Hu Chenfeng was banned from speaking, the blogger “Dog Brother” with 276,000 followers once commented that Hu Chenfeng’s attitude on certain topics reflects his worldview and values. He wasn’t completely averse to discussing Chinese politics, but under Communist Party surveillance, as an internet influencer, he dared not touch upon political topics about China. Yet, he consciously played some “close-to-the-line” moves. He was helping Chinese netizens within the Great Firewall to have a more rational understanding of the real world.
“Dog Brother” had foreseen that in the environment of “Cultural Revolution 2.0,” Hu Chenfeng’s speech style appeared different, gaining support from some. However, if Hu Chenfeng continued with this style, stimulating the “Little Pink” and “Wolf Warrior” groups, being completely blocked by the Communist Party was an inevitable outcome.