Celebrities willingly pay fines to create scandals to boost livestream sales: official

Recently, many scandals and incidents of online violence have been intentionally caused by some celebrities and content creators, stemming from the “attention-based business” model, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, head of the Electronic Information Division under the Department of Information and Communications, told a press meeting on Thursday.

According to the representative from the department, these cases often follow the same protocol.

Initially, the celebrity devises a shocking event, then sets up two groups—fans and anti-fans—allowing those groups to argue, thus drawing attention.

Next, they hire a lawyer and proceed with the necessary steps to work with the relevant authorities. They willingly pay an administrative fine of VND7.5 million (US$300), which is the penalty for exploiting social networks to share and post false information, and start to live stream on social media to sell products.

According to the department, social media could create many negative impacts due to its anonymity, the blending of real and virtual identities, and its strong viral effects.

Hao said in order to reduce the deliberate creation of scandals, live-streaming platform providers should be held accountable.

Advertising agencies and content creators will also be held accountable if they invest money in negative videos that adversely affect the reputation of organizations or individuals.

“In the near future, we will work with city authorities to address specific cases as a deterrent,” he said.

Many celebrities have been fined for causing negativity on social media in recent times.

In early March, singer and actress Nam Em was fined VND37.5 million for a noisy live stream on social media, spreading disturbing information and insulting public figures. She was later fined an additional VND10 million for repeat offenses, and regulatory agencies recommended suspending her social media accounts.