Influencer Crash: The "Sweet Potato Starch Incident" of Northeast Yu Jie Exposes the Realities and Fakes of the Influencer Economy

Influencer Crash: The "Sweet Potato Starch Incident" of Northeast Yu Jie Exposes the Realities and Fakes of the Influencer EconomyNortheast Yu Jie, an influencer with 24 million followers on short video platforms, is known for her bold personality and down-to-earth live streaming style. Her livestreams were once a sea of laughter, where fans affectionately called her "family" and generously showered her with gifts and purchased products she recommended

Influencer Crash: The "Sweet Potato Starch Incident" of Northeast Yu Jie Exposes the Realities and Fakes of the Influencer Economy

Northeast Yu Jie, an influencer with 24 million followers on short video platforms, is known for her bold personality and down-to-earth live streaming style. Her livestreams were once a sea of laughter, where fans affectionately called her "family" and generously showered her with gifts and purchased products she recommended. However, this sea of laughter has gradually become murky, even churning with unsettling waves, amidst repeated questioning.

It all began when Northeast Yu Jie started livestreaming product recommendations. From the initial "home-raised geese" to the later "Panjin rice field crabs" and now the "sweet potato starch incident", her livestreaming journey seems to always be accompanied by controversy.

Initially, Northeast Yu Jie enthusiastically recommended her "home-raised geese" to her "family members" in her livestream, claiming they were delicious and affordable. Fans placed orders, but upon receiving them, some discovered that the goose meat contained ice chips, which didn't seem like "home-raised" at all. Faced with questions, Northeast Yu Jie explained that the geese were indeed "home-raised," but ice chips were present due to freezing during transportation. This explanation didn't convince everyone, and some fans started doubting whether Northeast Yu Jie was using "ice chips" to fake goose meat for higher profits.

The "crab photo shoot incident" further fueled the questioning. In a video, Northeast Yu Jie, wearing white sneakers, appeared in a muddy field. She bent down, grabbed a large crab from the mud, and beamed with the joy of harvest, which was used to promote the "Panjin rice field crabs" she was selling. However, sharp-eyed netizens discovered that the crab in the video wasn't a Panjin rice field crab at all. Facing questions, Northeast Yu Jie again explained that the video was a promotional film for Panjin officials and not actual crab catching. This explanation sparked even greater controversy, as she hadn't clarified in her livestream that it was a promotional film, but instead used crab catching as a gimmick to entice fans to buy, leading many to feel deceived.

If the "goose" and "crab" incidents only created some cracks in Northeast Yu Jie's "persona," the "sweet potato starch incident" completely ignited the fans' long-held anger.

The incident stemmed from a sweet potato starch product Northeast Yu Jie sold, which was tested by professional counterfeiters and found to contain tapioca starch. Tapioca starch is far cheaper than sweet potato starch, and some unscrupulous merchants use tapioca starch to fake sweet potato starch to reduce costs. The news immediately caused a stir online, with Northeast Yu Jie's livestream flooded with questions and accusations. Fans demanded explanations and compensation for their losses.

Faced with overwhelming public opinion, Northeast Yu Jie chose to "clarify" again on livestream. In her livestream, she cried profusely, claiming she was deceived by the manufacturer and promised to compensate all fans who bought the sweet potato starch.

"I'm sorry to my family members, I was deceived by the manufacturer, I didn't know they would mix tapioca starch into the sweet potato starch..." Northeast Yu Jie said tearfully, "I swear, I never intended to deceive anyone, every penny I earn is clean..." She then produced a test report, claiming she sent the sweet potato starch to a third-party institution for testing, and the results showed no tapioca starch in it. "I will definitely give everyone an explanation, I will definitely investigate this matter and give justice to all the family members who support me!" Northeast Yu Jie wiped away her tears and said firmly.

However, Northeast Yu Jie's "heartfelt display" didn't win everyone's forgiveness. Some fans remained skeptical, questioning why she needed a second test after the manufacturer admitted to tapioca starch. They questioned why she promised to "sell everything" to compensate fans without concrete evidence. They questioned whether she was exploiting fans' sympathy to clear her name. Was Northeast Yu Jie's "tears" truly tears of regret or tears of performance? Was her "promise" genuinely sincere or simply a temporary measure to quell the public opinion? Perhaps only time will tell.

Northeast Yu Jie's "sweet potato starch incident" exposes the "real" and the "fake," the "benefits" and the "drawbacks" of the influencer economy to the public.

In the age of "traffic is king," influencers have become a new profession. They have massive fan bases, control enormous traffic resources, and enjoy wealth and fame that ordinary people can only dream of. Faced with immense temptation, some influencers lose themselves, forgetting their initial intent and responsibilities, placing "traffic" above all else. For greater profits, they even resort to illegal means, deceiving consumers, and ultimately face the consequences.

Northeast Yu Jie's "crash" may only be the beginning. More "Northeast Yu Jie"s will emerge in the future, using more concealed methods and elaborate packaging to deceive consumers and reap profits. As consumers, we must sharpen our eyes, be vigilant, not be blinded by the glamorous image of influencers, not be deceived by their sweet talk, and engage in rational consumption and make cautious purchases of products recommended by influencers, avoiding becoming victims of the "fan economy."

Returning to Northeast Yu Jie herself, her "sweet potato starch incident" has also sparked people's reflection on "counterfeiting."

Professional counterfeiters are a new group that emerged with the rise of e-commerce platforms. They operate on the fringes of the law, exploiting platform rules and legal loopholes to "counterfeit" merchants and gain profits. Some professional counterfeiters genuinely defend consumers' legitimate rights and combat counterfeiting, but many use the name of "counterfeiting" to extort and profit.

Northeast Yu Jie's "sweet potato starch incident" seems to be a case of "extortion" by professional counterfeiters. According to Northeast Yu Jie, shortly after she started selling sweet potato starch on livestream, she received a call from someone claiming to be a professional counterfeiter. They claimed Northeast Yu Jie's sweet potato starch contained tapioca starch and demanded a large sum of compensation, threatening to report her to the platform and make her "infamous."

Northeast Yu Jie initially didn't believe it because she was confident in her products. The sweet potato starch she sold came from legitimate manufacturers and had relevant test reports, making it impossible for quality issues to exist. However, the professional counterfeiters spoke with certainty, claiming they sent the sweet potato starch to a third-party institution for testing, showing that it indeed contained tapioca starch. They presented a test report to Northeast Yu Jie. Seeing the report, Northeast Yu Jie panicked. She realized she might be encountering "extorting" professional counterfeiters.

To quell the situation, Northeast Yu Jie chose to compromise. She paid compensation as the professional counterfeiters demanded. But this didn't stop them. Instead, they became more demanding, asking for even higher compensation, threatening to expose the matter to the media and make her "infamous."

Northeast Yu Jie finally couldn't bear it anymore and chose to report it to the police. After police investigation, it was discovered that the professional counterfeiters' test report was forged. They never sent the sweet potato starch for testing but used Northeast Yu Jie's fear of becoming "infamous" to extort her.

Ultimately, the professional counterfeiters were brought to justice, and Northeast Yu Jie cleared her name. However, this "sweet potato starch incident" caused Northeast Yu Jie huge losses. Her reputation was severely damaged, her fan count plummeted, and her livestreaming product sales took a nosedive.

Northeast Yu Jie's experience serves as a wake-up call for all influencers: In the age of "traffic is king," influencers have tremendous traffic resources but also face enormous risks and challenges. The influencer economy is a double-edged sword, capable of making someone or breaking someone. How to effectively utilize this "double-edged sword" is a question all influencers need to ponder.

For ordinary people like us, we should also view the influencer economy rationally, not blindly worship influencers, not be blinded by the false prosperity of the "fan economy."

Influencers are just ordinary people, they also make mistakes, they also lose themselves. Rational consumption, cautious star-chasing, is what we should do.

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