On August 24, Weibo did a major clean up of content and accounts that were in violation of their Community Guidelines. Zhao Liying (赵丽颖) and Wang Yibo (王一博) were dragged into this because their fandoms were involved in fan wars over rumors the two former co-stars were going to collaborate in another drama. Weibo suspended Zhao Liying’s official fan club, fan sites, and major fan accounts after they were accused of inciting fan wars with Wang Yibo’s fans and organizing a collective group to boycott the series. Zhao Liying’s studio was later suspended from posting for 15 days for not managing the situation in a timely manner.
On August 25, Wang Yibo’s official account posted an initiative rallying for fans to rationally “chase stars”. They wrote:
“In order to actively respond to the Cyber Administration of China’s “Qinglang” series of special calls for action, to put an end to mutual incitement leading to [fan] wars, provoking confrontations and unhealthy fandom behavior, for this, we hereby issue the following initiatives:
1. Reject trampling on others, inciting wars, hurling insults at each other and other unhealthy fandom behavior, firmly boycott all cyber bullying and jointly safeguard a healthy and orderly online ecosystem.
2. Chase stars rationally, calm and restrained, civilized interactions, concept of distinguishing right from wrong, bear personal responsibility, establish a correct outlook of the world, values, outlook on life, and jointly create a peaceful and upright online environment.
3. A portion of love, a portion of responsibility, allow us to use love and trust to build a bridge of communication, work hard to grow up together, and deliver positive energy to society with a proactive and motivated attitude.”
Zhao Liying also posted on her Weibo account saying:
“As a public figure that has gained everyone’s love, I have the responsibility to proactively bring positive guidance to everyone. Regarding the impact caused by this incident, I must also deeply reflect and propose:
I sincerely hope everyone has civilized interactions on the internet, harmonious discussions, and make calm remarks. Maintain independent thinking, and be responsible for your own actions and words. Trust each other, grow up together, build a harmonious network and safeguard a healthy online environment.
In the future, whether it’s online or in reality, I hope everyone can pay more attention and discover the beauty in life, proactively pursue and promote positive energy, and provide your own contributions to create a clear and upward online environment.”
Imo, stars and their respective official studios should be more vigilant and lead their fans/followers in the right, positive way and direction. They should set good examples for not only their fans but also the general public.
This fan war could be nipped in the bud before it grew into such a large scale imo; if only the stars/their studios could step in to stop or even prevent this ‘war’ in its early stage. Now this had turned ugly resulting in the relevant authority/ies stepping in and banned/blocked or silenced the weibo accounts of those ‘guilty’ fans.
The two stars involved were not spared, they received warnings from the authority; I won’t be surprised their reputation would more or less be affected in a negative way. I mean which other stars/actors would want to collaborate with them in future, when there’s a risk of being cyber bullied by fans of these two stars?
Fans are not doing their respective idol/fave any favour!
Asking idols to tell their fans to not do something is as good as a mother telling a 2 year old child to sit still. The only way to prevent cyber bullying is laws being put in place. Better yet, remove anonymity from the platform to prevent bullies hiding from the safety of their keyboards. This isn’t an idol problem, this is an internet problem.
After “The Untamed” I’m gonna watch LOF becoz of Wang Yibo