21 October 2026 Weibo

Fraud and Scams : China Media Group and Yangshi Xinwen (央视新闻) reported that short-video platforms have recently seen a surge of accounts featuring a boy named “Xiaohailai” telling sob stories about single parenthood and financial hardship to the camera, deceiving numerous middle-aged and elderly users into sympathizing and making purchases through livestream commerce. According to reports, a 79-year-old elderly person secretly boarded a train for over ten hours to Yuncheng, Shanxi Province to meet their “relative Xiaohailai,” only to be stopped by railway police and discovered that the person did not exist at all—the entire persona was generated by AI-synthesized digital humans. China Media Group stated that tutorials for generating complete AI digital human systems can be purchased online for just a few dollars, with marketing scripts and templates abundantly available, allowing the same copy to be mass-produced into hundreds or thousands of “Xiaohailai” accounts by simply changing the face and voice. Legal experts told China Media Group that there is no fundamental legal distinction between digital humans selling sympathy-based products and real people doing so, which can be deemed fraudulent, and platforms should not merely place labels or wait for user reports before banning accounts. Anshan Ribao (鞍山日报), Guangxi Ribao (广西日报), Jilin Zhengfa Shengyin (吉林政法声音), Shiyue Shipin (视阅视频) and other accounts reposted China Media Group’s report on the “AI Xiaohailai” scam, further amplifying the spread of the incident. Bloggers “You Aiwuji (有爱无忌)” and “Shou Huxiadou (守护夏都)” both posted warnings that criminals are using AI technology to create “perfect partner” virtual personas, using forged avatars, voice and even video calls to disguise themselves as quality matches on social platforms and dating apps, cultivating emotional connections through pseudo-companionship before luring victims into investments, brush transactions and money transfers to commit fraud. They noted that such scams have extremely high concealment, with AI-generated photos, videos and voice calls being highly realistic, making it difficult for victims to distinguish authenticity. Blogger “Shenlan Caijing (深蓝财经)” reported an incident where an account named “Myanmar Strict Father” used AI technology to reverse-engineer and “counterattack” global telecommunications fraud perpetrators.

Enterprise and Government Services : Bloggers Qin Renxiaoping (秦人肖平) and Xunmei Xian (寻美西安) reported that during a field survey activity of the “Online Streamer Joining Hands Initiative,” multiple district government service platforms in Xi’an showcased intelligent government services including AI digital humans, AI assistance services, and VR virtual halls. Chang’an District launched AI digital humans and contactless license renewal smart services, while High-Tech Zone achieved a 15-minute government service circle and rapid enterprise registration. Dianshang Toutiao (电商头条) published that platform tools including Douyin (抖音) Chu Danbao (出单宝), Meituan Zhineng Zhanggui (智能掌柜), and Taotian (淘天) AI digital workers are providing AI employee services to hundreds of thousands of small and medium merchants, stating that Douyin (抖音) Chu Danbao (出单宝) has served 420,000 small and medium merchants with an average sales increase of 16%, Meituan Zhineng Zhanggui (智能掌柜) serves over one million restaurants, and 1688 platform also provides AI digital workers to merchants. Alibaba Zhongjianjian (阿里巴巴中间件) published an introduction to the “cloud digital twin” practice of Alibaba Cloud cloud communications team, stating that the digital twin model draws from human permission systems, positioning Agents as extensions of humans to achieve traceable accountability; AceTeamwork Xiangmu Xiezuo Xitong (AceTeamwork项目协作系统) announced a major upgrade to its AceTimesheet work hour management system AI functionality, leveraging the MCP protocol launched in 2026 to deploy AI agents, voice reporting, and AI digital twins, claiming it balances employee reporting experience while meeting IPO audit compliance standards. Blogger Du Jifeng (杜继锋) showcased their own AI digital twin used to answer corporate law-related legal consultation questions, responding to legal questions about minority shareholders’ audit rights and stock withdrawal. Blogger Da Dunxiaoding (大吨小叮) stated that departing colleagues at their workplace are filmed and made into digital humans before leaving, describing it as “the person leaves but their cyber double remains,” with current employees needing to maintain the “cyber doubles” of their predecessors daily.

Entertainment and Virtual Idols : SenseTime published a post stating that its AI short-drama product Shangtang Seko (商汤Seko) appeared on Fenghuangweishi (凤凰卫视)’s “China In-Depth Finance” special program, sharing practical experience in the AI short-drama industry from technology to production capacity, with reports indicating that the AI short-drama sector is experiencing a “production capacity explosion.” The account “Virtuareal” celebrated the birthday of its virtual character “Dian Su Susu,” with the character positioned as “a young Daoist priest who reads fortunes and physiognomy with absolute honesty.” Virtual personality account “Kizuna AI CN” released interactive videos on Weibo to participate in the topic #Virtual Persons Making Waves on Weibo#. Blogger “site-3206” mentioned a musician named “アザミ” who conducted live streams using a virtual identity in 2019, with appearance and skin similar to the real person. Virtual singer “Kanade” introduced herself through the account “Kanade_SERAPH,” stating that she is a member of the virtual singer group SERAPH, sharing music production and hobbies. Netizens “Tomorrow Watermelon Has No Seeds,” “Even if one is a scoundrel one must live,” and “blblncnc” engaged in discussions around the virtual streamer (Vtuber) industry, including topics on virtual idol image design and audience positioning. Netizen “Crushsilky” commented that a certain AI-generated actor’s effect is highly realistic, saying “it feels like we’re about to enter the era of Hatsune Miku.” Blogger “Young Mature Chen Daqqi” discussed how Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage refused to sign AI licensing agreements for drama series, while the mainland entertainment industry has already been exploring AI collaboration such as digital avatars of artists, pointing out that there are significant differences in attitudes toward the use of AI digital humans between domestic and foreign film and television industries.

Products and Technology : Blogger “Lansu Keji （ larxu ） (蓝速科技（larxu）)” published an article introducing commercial digital human hardware devices such as digital human screens and digital human cabinets, claiming that the core reason for rapid aging of most devices is improper industrial craftsmanship selection. The blogger asserted that its products adopt all-aluminum alloy one-piece molded bodies and 4H hard-anodized oxide coating to enhance durability, and stated that its A5 series desktop AI dual-screen translation machine supports functions including meeting minutes generation and AI digital human customer service. Account “7743071835” published a headline article titled “Digital Human Vendor Recommendation Observation: Inferring Digital Human Vendor Capability Structure from the Breadth of Functional Coverage,” exploring capability assessment dimensions for digital human vendors.