China fines influencer agency Three Sheep US$9.8 million for ‘made in Hong Kong’ mooncakes

Controversies erupted after influencer Crazy Little Brother Yang falsely promoted mooncakes he sold as shipped from Hong Kong

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Three Sheep Group, founded by China’s top-earning influencer Zhang Qingyang, has been fined for promoting fake mooncakes. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:00pm, 27 Sep 2024

China has slapped Three Sheep Group with a 69 million yuan (US$9.8 million) penalty after the company founded by one of the country’s top-earning influencers was accused of falsely marketing mainland-made mooncakes as “made in Hong Kong”.

The market regulator of Hefei, capital of eastern Anhui province, on Thursday ordered the influencer agency to suspend its live-commerce operations, which sell products online through live-streamed sessions.

Three Sheep apologised for “falsely advertising and misleading consumers” and vowed to “conduct thorough rectifications within the company”, according to a statement published on Thursday on the company’s official account on Douyin, the Chinese sibling of TikTok.

Founded by Zhang Qingyang – better known by his online name Crazy Little Brother Yang, or Crazy Xiaoyangge – Three Sheep has nurtured some of China’s biggest short-video stars. In 2022, Zhang became the first influencer in the country to reach 100 million followers on Douyin. He earned an estimated 3.12 billion yuan last year, surpassing his peers, according to a list published by the Guangdong E-commerce Summit Forum.

Zhang Qingyang, known as Crazy Xiaoyangge, presents mooncakes during a live-streaming sale. Photo: Weibo/新浪热点

The penalty handed down this week included a fine, as well as an undisclosed sum of seized illegal income, authorities said.