Today in China, people on social media are buzzing about a lawsuit by Wang Sicong, the son of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, Dalian Wanda Group's defamation lawsuit over Weibo rumors, and how T Mag got some help from the "Yi Yang Qianxi" effect.
Wang Sicong sues Netease for publishing a false statement about Angelababy
It hasn’t been a day since Wang Sicong, the son of real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin, was sued by the South Korean live-streaming host, and he's already drawing media attention again, this time by suing China’s internet giant Netease. It began with what Sicong alleges was untruthful reporting by the site about actress Angelababy who became a household name after a stint on the reality-show Hurry Up, Brother. The article attracted 697,000 views on Weibo.
The article stated that Wang, who is the chairman of Prometheus Capital (a private equity company) and the founder of music management company Banana Culture, said about Angelababy that she "became popular because of the reality show," and "certainly not from her acting skills. "
Wang has accused Netease of fabricating the comment, which greatly damaged his reputation. He asked for an apology from the company and over $30,000 USD (200,000 RMB) in compensation.
Dalian Wanda Group files lawsuit against several verified Weibo accounts for defamation
On June 22, after speculation of political risk surrounding Dalian Wanda Group, shares of its units (Wanda Film Holding Co. and Wanda Properties International Co.) plummeted. Some Weibo accounts published a rumor that the Chinese government is going to reassess companies that are aggressively expanding internationally, including Wanda. As a result, Dalian Wanda Group has filed a lawsuit against several verified Weibo accounts for defamation.
“I couldn’t imagine my post caused so much trouble after only 13 shares," said Fang Shan, an owner of one of the offending Weibo accounts. His account allegedly has thousands of zombie followers. Bloomberg News reported that this was the company's biggest stock drop since January 2016.
T Mag is the surprise beneficiary of the "Yi Yang Qianxi" effect
Last week, Junkai “Karry” Wang, the members of a popular Chinese boy band “TF boys” did his first runway show for Italian label Dolce & Gabbana. This week, trending on Weibo, another member of the same band, Yi Yang Qianxi became the cover boy for both T Mag and Denmark independent lifestyle magazine Kinfolk. When the issue of T Mag with Yi Yang on the cover first came out in May, all 30,000 copies of it sold out immediately. Within one month of the publishing of both magazines, the cumulative sales volume achieved more than USD$560,000 (about 3.8 million RMB), leading some Weibo users to dub his success the 'Yi Yang Qianxi Effect." Its related hashtag has attracted more than 100 million views.
“He is low key and talented with a distinct fashion taste," said T mag’s Chinese editor-in-chief Feng Chuxuan. "He is the cover boy star." Yi Yang Qianxi is the third Chinese celebrity to be on the cover of T Mag after A-list stars Kris Wu and Jing Boran.