The twisted logic of prioritizing traffic continues to erode the online ecosystem, from "selling misery to help farmers" to "creating opposition" through the production of scripts, fictional scenes, and staged videos. The internet is not a lawless place. Not long ago, public security organs in Sichuan, Guangxi, Hubei and other places successively cracked multiple cases of using false videos to attract traffic for profit. These cases use gimmicks such as "selling misery," "opposition," and "poverty alleviation" to fabricate false plots and create tragic characters, taking the opportunity to sell goods and accumulate wealth. Fake assistance to farmers: The scene of bitter love hides a chain of wealth accumulation. "Boss, please harvest our fruits, they are all rotten in the ground." In a short video blogger's camera, the "fruit farmer" is dressed in tattered clothes and cries about the "unsold" mangoes. The 'acquirer' is following along and promoting fruits under the guise of 'helping farmers'. In December 2023, the Cybersecurity Detachment of Leshan Public Security Bureau in Sichuan Province discovered clues about the live streaming room carrying goods during an online inspection, and after initial investigation, it met the criteria for filing a case. The plot is exaggerated and disconnected from reality Gong Yi, Deputy Leader of the Network Security Support Brigade of Leshan Public Security Bureau, said. On March 11, 2024, the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department designated the Leshan City Public Security Bureau to be in charge of this case, and the next day it was officially filed for investigation. On March 18th, the case was assigned to the Shawan Public Security Bureau for specific investigation. Deng Haizhu, the deputy captain of the Cybersecurity Brigade of Shawan Public Security Bureau, said, "The 'fruit farmers' face is covered in mud, which is not in line with common sense. In addition, there is a particularly dirty and tattered T-shirt that was worn on a disabled old farmer in this video, and then on other fruit farmers in the next video. The location of the hole is the same, like a repeatedly used prop. We preliminarily judge that it is a fake video placement." Li Yi, the instructor of the Cybersecurity Brigade of Shawan Public Security Bureau, told the reporter of the Rule of Law Daily that this account was originally named "Da XX Assisting Farmers in Action", with more than 2 million followers, mainly selling seasonal fruits on short video platforms. The suspect Xian took photos of a large number of mangoes claimed to be planted in his orchard, locally picked cherries, etc., but Xian's activity track is mainly in Chengdu and Leshan, where there is no mango production, and there is a gap between production and marketing. Opening the video, there are many similarities in the plot: among the "fruit farmers", there are disabled people with mobility difficulties, elderly people whose sons are seriously ill and in urgent need of money, holding mangoes, knocking on windows to stop the car, and humbly pleading. The "buyers" are moved by compassion and help the unfortunate people solve their difficulties. Comparing different videos from the same period, there are obvious scenes of showing off. First, someone will play two roles, one is a fruit farmer and the other is a fruit purchaser Li Yi explained that "the phrase 'helping farmers in action' in the account name can easily confuse consumers. First, someone and others produced and released these 'visual poverty' videos just to win the sympathy of the audience, create their own 'helping farmers to solve difficulties' and' conscientious merchants' kind character, and make consumers believe that they are helping farmers, but in fact, they are middlemen making a profit." Traffic manipulation: A social issue processing script factory, a criminal gang engaged in publishing false staged videos for profit to attract traffic, has surfaced. In March 2024, based on clues obtained, police officers from the Shawan District Public Security Bureau arrested three members of a gang led by Mr. Xian, and uncovered a false advertising case involving over 4 million yuan. After investigation, the suspect Xian and others registered their accounts on multiple online platforms, organized the team to fabricate and release false information, shot false "poverty" videos and broadcast "miserably sold" live, and collected money by charging commissions for selling fruits on behalf of online stores on relevant platforms, involving more than 4 million yuan. The gang registered a shell company, disguised as a legitimate enterprise through short video platform authentication, and used the 'Selected Alliance' function to develop agents, accumulating wealth with a commission of 30% per order. The filming locations cover Panzhihua, Hainan, and Chengdu, which does not produce mangoes. The 'fruit farmer' who peels mangoes exceptionally well in the video is actually a professional actor. After hanging the product link below the video, the customer order is randomly transferred to the distributor, and they earn commission Li Yi said. In fact, it is a gimmick of targeted poverty alleviation by the country, using false propaganda to gain the sympathy of the public. When we obtained evidence from e-commerce platforms and short video platforms, there were over 70 cases involving poor sales and over 7000 cases involving sales Deng Haizhu said. At present, the case has been transferred to the People's Procuratorate for examination and prosecution. Governance dilemma: legal ambiguity and difficulty in obtaining evidence. At the same time, public security organs in Guangxi, Anhui and other places have cracked multiple cases of false advertising involving flexible employment groups. Gang members are well versed in traffic codes and have turned social issues such as "class conflict," "age discrimination," and "poverty alleviation and agriculture assistance" into dramatic conflicts. For example, Wang Mouyi's gang used AI to analyze hot topics and generated scripts with themes such as "food delivery riders arguing with customers" in bulk, which were then hyped and spread online. The investigators admitted that such cases face three challenges: difficulty in discovery, difficulty in evidence collection, and difficulty in characterization, and urgently require multi-party collaboration in legal, technical, and platform governance. Once illegal videos are deleted, it is difficult to recover the data Deng Haizhu mentioned that during the investigation of the Sichuan case, the team needed to retrieve more than 7000 records of product sales from short videos, e-commerce platforms, etc. Some key videos were deleted, resulting in a broken evidence chain. In addition, the individuals involved often use virtual IPs and overseas servers, making it even more difficult to track the flow of funds. There is still a vague area in the current law regarding the classification of "false posing". For example, although the video produced by the Wang Mouyi gang in Guangxi sparked social opposition, they were ultimately only subject to administrative penalties because they did not directly defraud money. The rumors fabricated by Wei in Wuhan have caused losses to the company, but how to quantify the "social harm" has become a controversial focus. In 2024, public security organs across the country will continue to carry out the "Clean Net 2024" special action, severely crack down on and rectify various types of online illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law, and investigate and handle more than 119000 cases of online illegal and criminal activities throughout the year. Among them, in response to the illegal and criminal activities of spreading rumors that disrupt social public order, the public security organs have launched a special campaign to crack down on and rectify online rumors. They have severely punished "internet celebrities", "big Vs", MCN institutions for organized rumor spreading and speculation, and other illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law. Throughout the year, more than 42000 cases of online rumors were investigated and dealt with, more than 47000 illegal and criminal personnel engaged in rumor spreading were investigated and dealt with, more than 330000 illegal and irregular accounts were shut down, and more than 2.52 million pieces of online rumor information were cleared. Gong Yi said, "We will continue to conduct online inspections and promptly discover clues of illegal and criminal activities. We remind consumers to remain vigilant when shopping online, carefully screen product information, and avoid being deceived