Xiaomi, Huawei, and Li Auto Report Cases: Police Arrest 12, Seize Millions in Funds

On December 17, the official WeChat account of Yantai Public Security announced that after four months of investigation, authorities dismantled a group specializing in spreading negative information about new energy vehicles. The operation resulted in the arrest of 12 individuals, the seizure of over a million yuan in funds, and the shutdown of more than 8,000 accounts.

Since July this year, companies including Xiaomi, Huawei's HarmonyOS Smart Mobility, and Li Auto reported a surge of negative articles targeting their automotive brands on certain platforms. These posts exhibited highly organized characteristics: some coordinated smear campaigns with distorted interpretations to maliciously defame the companies; others posed as consumers, fabricating scenarios to post false reviews; and some even amplified isolated issues through plagiarized or mass-produced content, editing them into short videos for widespread dissemination. These actions severely damaged corporate reputations and disrupted normal business operations.

Upon receiving the reports, Yantai Public Security swiftly mobilized a task force to investigate. After analyzing over 3,000 negative posts, investigators traced them to newly registered, abnormally active accounts with scattered IP addresses, revealing signs of industrial-scale manipulation—likely orchestrated by a "paid online troll army" for profit.

After gathering preliminary evidence, Yantai police formed a special task force to crack down on the operation. Further investigation revealed that the group used automated tools to scrape keywords like "Xiaomi," "Huawei," and "Li Auto," employing AI to mass-produce low-quality, repetitive "online spam" solely to profit from platform traffic.

To solidify evidence, the task force focused on the vast network of fake accounts controlled by the group, meticulously analyzing over 80,000 pieces of online data and verifying more than 100,000 financial transactions. This allowed authorities to fully map out the group's structure, roles, and criminal workflow. With solid evidence in hand, police conducted simultaneous raids in Yantai and Liaocheng, arresting all 12 suspects, seizing over 1 million yuan in illicit funds, and shutting down 8,000 illegal accounts—achieving a comprehensive crackdown on this new form of cybercrime.

Yantai Public Security emphasized its commitment to safeguarding emerging industries by intensifying campaigns against online rumors and illegal content, transforming legal measures into concrete actions that protect innovation and market vitality while strengthening cybersecurity for new economic sectors.