12 arrested, 139,000 USD seized, after Xiaomi, Huawei, and Li Auto report coordinated online attacks
Chinese police in Yantai have dismantled an organised online operation accused of manufacturing and spreading harmful content targeting several Chinese automakers, according to an official police statement. The case follows formal complaints filed this year by Xiaomi, Huawei-backed Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, and Li Auto, which reported a surge of coordinated harmful automotive content on online platforms beginning in July. Authorities said the activity disrupted normal business operations and damaged brand reputation in China’s new-energy vehicle sector.
Yantai police said the investigation lasted four months and led to the arrest of 12 suspects. Officers also seized more than 1 million yuan, equivalent to about 139,000 USD, and shut down more than 8,000 online accounts linked to the operation. The announcement was released through the official Yantai Public Security social media account.
According to police findings, the complained-about content showed clear signs of organisation rather than isolated consumer opinion. Authorities said some posts deliberately distorted publicly available information to discredit automakers, while others fabricated consumer identities and usage scenarios to publish false ownership experiences. Police added that certain content was repeatedly copied, rewritten, and amplified, with isolated incidents exaggerated and repackaged into articles or short videos for broader dissemination.
Investigators reviewed more than 3,000 negative articles and determined they originated from accounts with short registration histories, abnormal posting activity, and widely dispersed IP addresses. Police said these characteristics pointed to an industrialised operation commonly described in China as paid online influence groups. The accounts were allegedly used to generate traffic and monetise platform engagement.
Further investigation found that the group used technical tools to scrape keywords such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and Li Auto. Police stated that artificial intelligence tools were used to mass-produce low-quality, highly repetitive content, which authorities described as online spam created solely to generate advertising and traffic revenue.
To secure evidence, investigators analysed more than 80,000 pieces of online information and reviewed over 100,000 financial transaction records. Police said this process allowed them to reconstruct the group’s organisational structure, division of labour, and complete operational workflow. Arrests were carried out simultaneously in Yantai and Liaocheng after authorities said they had obtained sufficient evidence.
On the same day, Li Auto’s legal department issued a public statement confirming that organised online attacks targeting the company and its vehicle owners had occurred this year. The company said the actions included alleged violations involving personal data, fabricated information about business operations, and false claims regarding product quality. It confirmed that suspects had been placed under compulsory legal measures.
The case concludes with police stating that enforcement actions were taken in accordance with Chinese law against organised online activities that disrupted market order and corporate operations.
