SubscribeLog in
Connect with us

China Digital

Charity Marketing on WeChat: Father Cashes In On Sick Daughter

A father raising over 290,000 US$ in donations for his sick daughter via Chinese social media triggered controversy after netizens revealed he did not actually need this money at all.

Published

10 years ago

on

A father raising over 290,000 US$ in donations for his sick daughter via Chinese social media triggered controversy after netizens revealed he did not actually need this money at all.

The story of Luo Yixiao, a 5-year-old Chinese girl diagnosed with leukemia, whose father’s diary went viral with over 100,000 views in merely half a day on Chinese social media app Wechat, has been reported as a cyber marketing strategy only 5 days…

Related Topics:

Yue Xin is a bilingual freelance journalist currently based in the Netherlands with a focus on gender issues and literature in China. As a long-time frequent Weibo user, she is specialized in the buzzwords and hot topics on Chinese social media.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

China AI

AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei

Published

4 weeks ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.

 

 

🗞️ QUICK SCROLLS

 

📈 Is China’s AI price war over?After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week,…

Continue Reading

China Digital

How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains

How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.
Manya Koetse

Published

1 month ago

on

August 3, 2026

By

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 30–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

 

Over the past few weeks, a noteworthy amount of AI-related news has been trending on Chinese social media, which is reflected in this week’s edition.

Now that AI has entered every corner of media consumption and online life, related discussions seem…

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Eye on Digital China is a reader-supported publication by
Manya Koetse (@manyapan) and powered by What’s on Weibo.
It offers independent analysis of China’s online culture, media, and social trends.

To receive the newsletter and support this work, consider
becoming a paid subscriber.

Manya Koetse's Profile Picture

Get in touch

Have a tip, story lead, or book recommendation? Interested in contributing? For ideas, suggestions, or just a quick hello, reach out here.

Popular Reads