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Good morning everyone!! Several things to go over, so this is part one of my morning report. Strap in because this is big.
Morning Report 7/20/2026, Part 1
We have another article from SINA NEWS. You know, like the Sina Group. The company that owns Weibo. Yeah, that one. Let's get into it.
I'll break it down by section to save you some time. Please do read it if you get the chance!
Section 1: From Traffic Competition to Value Competition
Talks about the document I shared with you before. 31 pages of evidence compiled from June 29th to July 1st regarding the rumors and misinformation being spread across CN platforms
Clues have been submitted to authorities
"Another related party" has filed a lawsuit. It was approved by the court, but it hasn't yet gone to trial
Very important question at the end: "When specific product controversies quickly shift towards corporate stances, creator identities, and player group evaluations, can platform volume veer off from the product itself, further affecting corporate operations and industry competitive order?"
Section 2: Behind a Document
According to the 31 page doc, "the publisher demanded an apology from the company, server suspension for rectification, and punishment of relevant personnel."
The article points out some strange things about the original (anti) posts: posted quickly within a short time frame, gained a lot of attention fast, multiple accounts posting the same content, and posts alternating between public and deleted several times between June 29 and July 1
Mentions Infold attempting to fight the misinformation and rumors. "No official investigation conclusions regarding specific accounts and propagation relationships have been released by platforms or relevant authorities yet."
Points out that the nature in which the negative posts were published points towards water armies, but needs further investigation
"On the one hand, players raised genuine doubts regarding product planning, content arrangements, and user communication; on the other hand, some discussions bypassed specific product issues, evolving into generalized labeling and evaluation of the enterprise, creators, and ordinary players."
Section 3: When Traffic Becomes a Market Signal...
Points out that trends on the internet can reflect "the intensity of propagation during a certain period, but they cannot be directly equated with independent user counts, long-term willingness to pay, or stable market demand."
Negative and false content may degenerate into operational risks
"Emotional content gains higher visibility, companies quickly adjust projects to handle short-term risks, and genuine user demands along with long-term operational plans are disrupted."
It points out how this is especially true in the gaming industry because of characters, storylines, and the various departments that go into creating them
THIS PART: "If creative teams feel that names, numbers, and ordinary text might later be taken out of context, reassembled, and escalated into issues of corporate stance, companies may continuously expand review scopes and reduce expressions with realism and distinctiveness. What ultimately gets avoided may not just be problematic content, but all innovative attempts."
Goes over revenue gained from China's gaming market: 97.172 billion RMB, year-on-year increase of 13.38%. Overseas market: 6.331 billion USD, year-on-year increase of 31.76%
"At this stage, what the industry needs to compete in should be technology, content, services, and IP building, rather than negative volume, label propagation, or report mobilization capabilities."
"Even without commercial suppression, traffic disorder itself can create an industry inverse incentive where 'those adept at creating conflict gain attention, while those diligently producing content bear the costs.'
Section 4: As the "Qinglang" Campaign Progresses...
In May 2026, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a campaign called "Qinglang: Optimizing the Business Online Environment and Rectifying Malicious Hype Involving Enterprise Information."
Specifically targets combating negative business information, water armies, and instigating conflicts
"Normal customer reviews, media supervision, and fact-based content inquiries should be protected."
"The special governance targets malicious hype, spreading false information, traffic manipulation, cyberbullying, and using group confrontation to disrupt market order."
"The Regulations explicitly prohibit confusing public perception by manufacturing issues, fabricating assumptions, or piecing together spliced content; prohibit fanning user emotions and inviting group confrontation; and prohibit traffic falsification, bulk posting of homogenized content, as well as organizing, participating in, or assisting cyberbullying." (!!!)
"From special actions to official regulations, the policy signals released are clear: Internet astroturfers, abnormal traffic, labeled attacks, and matrix-style false propagation are entering a stricter, more institutionalized governance phase."
IMPORTANT: "This does not mean the current case has been formally ruled as belonging to the aforementioned categories, but it implies that once complete evidence is gathered for such propagation phenomena, there will be clearer bases for verification and handling."
Points out that platforms needs to avoid letting engagement volume directly replace factual judgement
"Not all criticism should be viewed as an attack, nor should the loudest volume be taken directly as the complete market consensus."
Points out the need for fact-checking and evidence in media
Talks about the 15th Five Year Plan: "For the gaming industry, this requires companies to uphold content and business bottom lines, while demanding that the market provide a stable, predictable competitive environment for normal innovation."
"Shifting from traffic competition to value competition means letting product quality determine market returns, letting genuine user opinion enter corporate decision-making, subjecting false content and abnormal propagation to legal verification, and allowing enterprises of different scales to compete under the same clear set of rules."
"If R&D resources are continually consumed in internal public opinion battles, and user trust is overdrawn across rounds of labeled propagation, the victim will not just be a single character or company, but the entire industry's ability to continuously produce high-quality content, attract talent, and expand markets."
"Only when platforms fulfill their responsibilities, enterprises return to products, and industry competition returns to content and innovation, can the gaming industry bid farewell to disorderly internal friction and dedicate limited resources toward long-term growth."
First of all, whoever wrote this article did a fantastic job. It hits every single nail right on the head. As a business major, I'm drooling.
Second of all, I cannot express how good this is for our protest. It directly calls out the dangers of spreading misinformation, which is the core battle we've been fighting. It also calls for companies to maintain their integrity and creative freedom, and not to fall victim to a vocal minority. This is literally a direct callout on Infold.
Third of all, this is what I meant when I said that this situation is a turning point for the entire Chinese gaming industry. Let me go back to my favorite line in this article:
"If R&D resources are continually consumed in internal public opinion battles, and user trust is overdrawn across rounds of labeled propagation, the victim will not just be a single character or company, but the entire industry's ability to continuously product high-quality content, attract talent, and expand markets."
What a fucking line. This situation, as I've said before, sets a dangerous precedent for the industry. If a vocal minority can force a company to cancel development of an important character, then the entire gaming industry itself is in danger. When you lose player trust, everything else starts to crash and burn.
This might be the best piece of media that's come out of this protest. This isn't just calling out Infold for its shortcomings—it's directly addressing the core issues. Let me just say that my hopium just skyrocketed.
