Before mastering reading and writing, they've already become adept at operating smart devices. The trend of "fan circles" pursuing celebrities is showing signs of younger age groups, with frequent cases of cyberbullying involving minors... In the internet age, while minors fully enjoy the benefits of digital technology, they also face the intrusion of harmful online culture.Starting today, this section launches the special feature "Creating a Clear and Healthy Online Environment for Minors," examining the impact of fandom chaos, online vulgarity, and cyberbullying on minors. We seek solutions and explore how to foster a cleaner, healthier digital space for young people.—Editor Over 150,000 pieces of negative and harmful information have been cleared, more than 4,000 non-compliant accounts have been dealt with, and over 1,300 problematic groups have been shut down... These are the phased results of the "Clear and Bright: Crackdown on Fan Club Chaos" special campaign currently being carried out by the Cyberspace Administration of China.The campaign aims to regulate and guide fan communities toward rational idol worship.
Recently, the National Radio and Television Administration launched a month-long special inspection and rectification of online variety shows, issuing a notice on further strengthening their management. Key requirements were outlined for critical aspects including content substance, genre types, voting systems, guest selection, and topic commentary.
According to the "2020 National Report on Minors' Internet Usage," 8% of China's minor internet users participate in fan support activities, with junior high school students being the primary participants. Fan groups are showing a trend toward younger ages.
However, in recent times, chaos within fan communities has intensified. Phenomena such as fans engaging in mutual insults and verbal attacks, provoking conflicts, inciting opposition, defaming others, spreading rumors and attacks, and engaging in malicious marketing have become commonplace. These actions undermine a healthy online ecosystem and even violate laws and regulations. The distorted "fan circles" must be addressed.To safeguard the healthy development of minors, clear boundaries for idol worship must be established.
The Path of Idol Worship Is Riddled with Tactics
Chart-topping campaigns, endorsement purchases, data manipulation, and manipulative rhetoric
Meng Wei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, notes that rational idol worship can yield positive outcomes: enjoyment, new social connections, and motivation through role models.
Once upon a time, fandom meant appreciation and admiration—"growing better alongside idols." Yet today's "cultivation-style" fandom has morphed into chart-topping votes, endorsement purchases, and data manipulation—"idols become better because of me." Crowdfunding and spending (originally referring to in-game purchases, now extended to fans buying celebrity merchandise) have become the norm.
Research reveals that fan communities employ diverse fundraising tactics involving substantial sums, often through manipulative schemes.
Xiao Ya (pseudonym), formerly part of a celebrity data group, explains that on platform-set popularity charts, some rankings can be directly purchased, while others require buying virtual accounts to achieve desired positions.
"Fan leaders have go-to 'fan manipulation' tactics," Xiaoya admitted, "like saying 'He's so amazing, everyone should see him' or 'Why can't we have what other groups have?' They also use Weibo giveaways to lure fans." She noted that fans who aren't eager to spend money might face criticism from others.
She observed that many fans are minors with immature mindsets, easily swayed into impulsive spending.
Such fundraising activities long operated in a regulatory gray area, typically conducted through fan management apps like Owhat and Taoba. Some celebrity merchandise sells for ten times its actual value, a practice fans tacitly accept.
Where do these funds go? Xiaoya explained that proceeds are usually managed by the fan club, which regularly shares expenditure details with members. Over the past two years, she has spent over a thousand yuan on fundraising. "My fan club still had over 2 million yuan left from December's fundraising, held in a wealth management app. The returns will fund future support activities."
Amid this inflated fervor, irrational fan behaviors like mutual attacks and verbal abuse frequently occur. Just recently, a group of post-00s fans in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, defied warnings to visit their idol's set. They got lost and stranded on a mountain, with the youngest being only 16 years old.From fans shattering airport escalator glass to purchasing milk for voting campaigns only to pour it away... such actions not only endanger fans' safety but also disrupt public order and even challenge laws and regulations.
In response, the Ministry of Public Security's News Center has warned: Fans engaging in illegal activities such as disrupting public order or infringing on personal rights during idol pursuits may face administrative detention and fines according to law, with severe cases subject to criminal liability.Since the start of this year, the Beijing Capital International Airport Public Security Bureau alone has handled 17 cases involving fan-related violations, resulting in 2 criminal detentions and 10 administrative detentions. Monetizing popularity by any means necessary Stirring conflict to generate buzz, trading buzz for traffic, leveraging traffic for profit "You and I had no connection—it's all thanks to my spending.""Our connection wasn't meant to be—it's all thanks to my spending." Such boundary-crossing fan behaviors are merely the surface manifestation of a vast idol industry market. Behind it lies a complex web of interests involving talent agencies, social media platforms, "professional fan organizers," "fan leaders," and even paid commenters, harboring numerous hidden dangers.
Industry insiders reveal that "professional fans" and "fan leaders" often maintain close ties with celebrity agencies. They receive directives during chart-topping campaigns, voting drives, or public opinion manipulation efforts to mobilize fans. Such inappropriate guidance disguises capitalistic logic as fans' "love and support" for idols, potentially hijacking fans' consumption choices.
"Fans build social relationships within community activities, forming self-organized 'love' structures that foster self-identity and group belonging," said Meng Wei. "Celebrity agencies are powerful capital manipulators. Investors and platforms dominate the entertainment industry as the biggest winners, while fan expenditures constitute a new source of celebrity capital."
This has spawned an industry chain of professional online trolls "farming accounts" to inflate metrics and manipulate rankings. Reports indicate that an app named Xingyuan illegally profited 8 million yuan in under a year by manipulating Weibo metrics, orchestrating fake "over 100 million retweets" for celebrities. Ultimately, the app's developer received a five-year prison sentence in the first instance for the crime of illegally accessing computer information systems.
It is understood that online platforms can utilize keyword searches and other methods to monitor harmful fan behavior and related topics, enabling technical blocking. However, some platforms and marketing accounts tacitly permit or even encourage fan feuds, deliberately creating controversies to attract illicit traffic—using conflict to generate buzz, buzz to drive traffic, and traffic to profit, lining their own pockets while leaving fans with a mess.
This profit-driven trend extends beyond social media to certain online education platforms, where idol worship has infiltrated learning spaces. A rectification notice issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China previously highlighted that multiple educational apps featured idol-related content, including fan group ranking systems and celebrity support groups.
Cracking Down on Chaos
Strict legal enforcement, strengthened oversight, and positive educational guidance
"Irrational obsessions stemming from excessive infatuation or worship are not uncommon, often manifesting as fervent and uncontrolled behavior—such as investing excessive time or money, or becoming utterly lost in fantasy,"Meng Wei explained, "Fan communities united by admiration for a celebrity often exhibit high internal consistency in attitudes and perspectives. This leads to increasingly narrow perspectives on issues, fostering irrational behaviors like obsessive fixation and abusive language."
Addressing fan culture chaos requires strengthened social collaboration."On one hand, we must enforce the law, strictly implementing regulations like the Minor Protection Law and Cybersecurity Law to crack down on the gray and black industries surrounding fan circle consumption," Meng Wei stated. On the other hand, he emphasized the need to intensify oversight of talent agencies and professional fans. Additionally, cultural workers should promote positive, high-quality programs to set good examples for young people.
An official from the Cyberspace Administration of China stated that collaborative efforts are needed to guide young people toward rational fandom practices, jointly fostering a civilized and healthy online environment.
For website platforms, the "Clear and Bright: Crackdown on Fan Club Chaos" campaign has urged them to remove features that induce fans to engage in support activities and chart-topping campaigns, optimize ranking rules, and improve management of fan groups and communities.
It is understood that in the next phase, the Cyberspace Administration will lay a solid foundation for long-term regulation of fan culture by strengthening online guidelines for celebrity-related information, enhancing account management, improving mechanisms to combat black market activities, and exploring the establishment of fan guidance systems.