Event Overview

On the evening of February 29th, the highly anticipated "reader girl" Gao Junyu revealed through her personal account that she has suffered from a rare brain tumor and has undergone surgical treatment. Subsequently, she frequently updated videos about postoperative recovery, which have also become the focus of public attention and frequently appeared on hot search lists. However, on March 11th, the video released by Gao Junyu was questioned by netizens due to its characters and external environment clearly not matching the current season, and was considered a "stock video". This incident quickly sparked widespread public attention.

On March 12, the Internet Illegal and Bad Information Reporting Center of Yuhang District, Hangzhou, issued a notice that, after in-depth verification, the relevant video was actually shot in September 2023, while the editing and production began in February 2024. However, the MCN agency mistakenly included recent textual descriptions when releasing these videos, leading to misunderstandings among the public. The relevant departments have clearly stated that the institution will be held legally responsible in accordance with the law.

At around 5 pm on the same day, the MCN agency signed by Gao Junyu also publicly issued an apology statement. The statement pointed out that there was a serious error in the timing of the final video released by the company when distributing the copy, and we deeply apologize for this. At the same time, the company has clearly stated that it has never engaged in any profitable activities such as donations or tipping throughout the entire process. In order to eliminate adverse effects, the company is willing to accept investigations and supervision from relevant departments to ensure that similar problems do not occur again in the future.

Lawyer Xiong Da: Using inventory videos to blog traffic does not comply with self media management regulations

Regarding this incident, Lawyer Xiong Da, Executive Director of Beijing Deyuan Law Firm, believes that it needs to be clarified whether Gao Junyu's party was informed and agreed to the MCN agency's video release behavior. If Gao Junyu and his family are completely unaware of the behavior of the MCN organization, and the company purely uses Gao Junyu's illness as a gimmick to expand its influence, then such video publishing behavior may involve false advertising, and if the circumstances are serious, criminal responsibility may be pursued. At the same time, this behavior is suspected of infringing on Gao Junyu's right to portrait and privacy. According to Article 1019 of the Civil Code and Article 253 of the Criminal Law, the unauthorized posting of highly private videos of someone else's illness treatment may result in civil or criminal liability. Of course, if Gao Junyu and his family have informed consent to the company's actions, it is another matter.

Event Review

More than a decade ago, Bu Bu Gao Dian Reader quickly captured the market as soon as it was launched. As its spokesperson, Gao Junyu's famous advertising slogan, "Where can't be ordered, so easy, mom no longer needs to worry about my studies." has spread throughout the country and has become a catchphrase for countless parents and children. Therefore, due to his cute image and deeply ingrained advertising slogans, Gao Junyu is affectionately known as the "Dot Reader Girl" and has become a well-known child star.

Gao Junyu demonstrated outstanding strength in the college entrance examination. She not only successfully passed the art examination at Communication University of China, but also entered this well-known university with an excellent score of 113 points above the undergraduate admission line. After entering university, she continued to maintain excellent performance, and in early 2022, she was fortunate enough to become the guide for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics. This experience undoubtedly added a touch of brilliance to her resume. In September of the same year, when Gao Junyu was still a senior student, she announced an exciting news - she had been recommended as a graduate student in the field of international communication at her university. Both her experience of taking the college entrance exam and the news of being admitted to graduate school have attracted widespread attention in society, becoming hot news at that time.

However, just as everyone thought her life would be smooth sailing, on the evening of February 29th, Gao Junyu announced shocking news on her personal social media account - she had a rare brain tumor and was about to undergo surgery. In the video, she showed the process of shaving her hair before surgery, and bravely faced the disease, earning countless blessings and encouragement from netizens. In the following days, Gao Junyu's multiple social media accounts kept updating her postoperative status. Sometimes she greeted netizens with a smile, sometimes she slept continuously due to poor condition, and even entered the ICU at one point. Her experience has attracted widespread attention, with more than ten hot search results using keywords such as "TikTok" and "Gao Junyu", including news of her self disclosure of illness, videos reporting safety after surgery, and discussions about her surgical videos being questioned as inventory. Faced with all of this, Gao Junyu and her family showed resilience and optimism, believing that she will soon overcome the disease and return to everyone's sight.

After Gao Junyu announced on her social media account that she had a rare brain tumor, netizens expressed their concern for her condition and sincerely wished her a speedy recovery. However, while paying attention and offering blessings, some netizens have also noticed that in the video released by Gao Junyu, doctors, nurses, and patient families are all wearing short sleeved skirts, which has raised doubts about the authenticity of the video, believing it to be a "stock video". In the face of such doubts, Gao Junyu's microblog and Tiktok account chose to restrict comments, which further stimulated netizens' discussion. Some even speculated whether Gao Junyu and his mother Li Cuixia were using their illness to attract attention and donations.

Under the pressure of public opinion, on the afternoon of March 11th, "Gao Junyu"'s Weibo account responded in a mother's tone, explaining that all of Gao Junyu's social media accounts have been operated by the contracted MCN agency, and the mother and daughter do not have enough time and energy to manage them. She hopes that the public can view this matter rationally and provide more care and support to Gao Junyu, rather than baseless speculation and accusations.

On the afternoon of March 12, the Internet Illegal and Bad Information Reporting Center of Yuhang District, Hangzhou City released a public notice. According to reports, some netizens have recently reported that the video released by MCN agency Hangzhou Suddenly Open Technology Co., Ltd. regarding "Point Reader Girl" Gao Junyu's self exposure of a rare brain tumor and undergoing surgical treatment is suspected to be "inventory videos". After in-depth investigation and verification by relevant departments, it was found that these videos were actually filmed in September 2023, and the editing and production work began in February 2024. However, the MCN agency mistakenly included recent textual descriptions during its release, leading to misunderstandings among the public. The notice emphasizes that the cyberspace is not an illegal place outside. Any behavior that creates rumors, causes negative social impact or serious consequences through means such as transplanting flowers and trees, exaggerating facts, making things out of nothing, stealing concepts, and taking out of context will be seriously dealt with by relevant departments. The relevant departments will investigate the legal responsibilities of the relevant responsible persons in accordance with the law, in order to maintain the cleanliness and order of the cyberspace.

At around 5 pm on March 12th, the MCN agency signed by Gao Junyu publicly issued an apology statement. In the statement, it was explained that the company had previously released a video of "Gao Junyu falling ill" with the original intention of showcasing Gao Junyu's positive and optimistic attitude towards the disease. However, considering the extremely high risk of brain surgery and the possibility of recurrence of the condition, real-time release of such videos may cause unnecessary public pressure on Gao Junyu's family and hospital. Therefore, the company has decided to release it at a later time after the condition stabilizes. Unfortunately, there was a significant error in the time description in the video release. The company deeply apologizes for this and emphasizes that it has never engaged in any form of profit-making activities such as donations or rewards throughout the entire process. The company is willing to accept investigation and supervision from relevant departments to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again in the future.

This incident once again reminds netizens and self media organizations to abide by laws and regulations when publishing and disseminating information, ensure the authenticity and accuracy of information, and jointly create a healthy and harmonious online environment.

Article source: Red Star News

Reporter: Chen Qingyuan