New Business
China’s second-richest man demands apology from ByteDance founder over online attacks
China’s second-wealthiest man on Wednesday made a surprise demand that the country’s richest man, founder of ByteDance, apologise for the perceived role that TikTok’s Chinese sibling Douyin has played in “spreading rumours and misinformation”.
Zhong Shanshan, 69 – founder and chairman of China’s largest packaged drinks company Nongfu Spring and the country’s second-richest person, according to Hurun’s latest rankings – lashed out at Zhang Yiming, 41, for allowing misinformation to spread on ByteDance’s social media platforms and damage Zhong’s reputation.
ByteDance declined to comment on Thursday.
Zhong’s remarks, part of a public speech made in the southeast Chinese province of Jiangxi, were widely reported by Chinese media. The billionaire entrepreneur and the company he helms became the target of online nationalist trolls earlier this year over the perceived Japanese styling of its packaging, triggering a boycott by angry consumers.
The series of attack campaigns led to a debate about the responsibility of the Chinese government, opinion leaders, the public and social media in fermenting nationalist passions, but Zhong is the first businessman to openly point the finger at online platforms.
Specifically, he named Douyin, China’s most popular short-video app, and Toutiao, ByteDance’s newsfeed tool, as the culprits.
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