HONG KONG: A social media influencer died shortly after live-streaming himself consuming several bottles of potent alcohol. This occurrence is expected to reignite discussion over how to regulate the business.
Within hours of streaming himself competing with another influencer while sipping Baijiu, a Chinese liquor with an average alcohol level of between 30% and 60%, the influencer “Sanqiange” (or “Brother Three Thousand”) was discovered dead, state-run Shangyou News said, according to CNN.
Sanqiange, whose actual name was Wang, participated in the “PK” challenge against another influencer in the early hours of May 16 and live-streamed the outcome on his Douyin channel (TikTok), according to a friend who spoke to the media outlet.
In “PK” challenges, influencers engage in one-on-one combat to compete for rewards and presents from viewers. Losers are frequently subjected to penalties, in this case, drinking Baijiu.
“I have no idea how much he had drunk prior to my tuning in. But I witnessed him complete three bottles before beginning on a fourth in the latter half of the film,” the friend, who only wanted to be named as Zhao, told Shangyou News.
Zhao called Wang as a “decent and straightforward” guy who had a habit of recording and uploading videos of himself participating in alcoholic competitions.
On Chinese social media, a video showing Wang participating in his last challenge went viral but was no longer accessible.
A multibillion-dollar business has emerged in recent years due to the nation’s thriving live-streaming market, in which entrepreneurial influencers compete to promote their goods in real-time on social media platforms.
Wang’s death will likely intensify the discussion over the industry’s regulation, which has recently been under the spotlight due to certain streamers’ extravagant lives and their participation in unusual activities.
The nation’s broadcasting regulators limited access to younger viewers after 10 p.m. and outlawed under-16s from tipping streamers.
The National Video and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China have both taken action to outlaw “31 misbehaviours by livestreamers.”
The state-run media source Global Times lists these inappropriate actions as “encouraging users to interact in vulgar ways or inciting fans to attack with rumours.”
