During the fierce battle of the WTT Montpellier Championship, some so-called "event live broadcast rooms" on the short video platform were also very lively: anchors gave excited explanations, and during the intervals between the ever-changing scores, there were also reminders to "go and shoot". However, what viewers thought was a live broadcast of the game was actually just a traffic scam spliced together with old game sounds and false scores.
Fans reported that games that had been played long ago were regarded as ongoing games and were called live broadcasts; some players obviously played smoothly and did not lose a game, but the scores in the live broadcast room were very close. After attracting fans to stay, the anchor promoted shampoo, soothing patches and other products on the grounds that the players had gained game points and the game was suspended.
How do these fake live broadcasts of games turn fans’ attention into merchandise sales? What laws and regulations will be violated by fabricating game situations and stealing game audio and video?
It was around 1 pm on November 1st, Beijing time. There were still more than five hours before the official start of the women's singles semi-final match between Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi in the 2026 WTT Montpellier Championship. However, multiple live broadcast rooms on social platforms had already staged a 12-11 game point battle.
However, this tense duel was a fictitious cover created by the anchor to guide the order from beginning to end.
On the Internet, many netizens complain that they have seen this kind of fake live broadcast - specifically fictitious games of popular athletes, paired with the sound of the game, creating a tense atmosphere of the game, which is easy for people to follow and get involved. A netizen told reporters that during the Asian Games, she often watched games on various platforms in order to watch the live broadcast as soon as possible. She found that some live broadcast accounts with few fans were broadcasting game scenes. She thought it was fans who brought equipment to shoot live, so she stayed in the live broadcast room. After the number of viewers gradually increased to more than 10,000, the anchor began to explain the products in the shopping cart and urge orders.
Ms. Han’s daughter likes table tennis, and she often watches games with her children. She said that she also saw a fake live broadcast not long ago. There was a game where the players scored 2 to 1. I thought the player I was following was not very good and was about to lose. Then I checked the hot searches. In fact, the game had already been played, and I saw that the player with a bad score did not lose a single game.
Ms. Liu also had a similar experience. She initially thought the game was exciting, but later realized something was wrong and quit the so-called live broadcast.
For viewers who accidentally watch the live broadcast, familiar athletes, tense commentary, and constantly updated scores may become reasons to continue watching, and the ultimate guide to watching is to sell goods.
In a fake live broadcast yesterday, the anchor repeatedly reported the score: the big score of both sides was 2 to 2, and the small score increased alternately, 11 to 10, 11 to 11, and the key points and game points were reached again and again.
At this time, an audience member left a message in the live broadcast room, asking if the previous soothing patch could be repurchased. The anchor took advantage of the situation and first said that the inventory had been sold short. The reporter found that in fact, ordinary viewers cannot leave messages in the live broadcast room. Many of these comments that flood the screen and ask for repurchase are arranged in advance.
During the live broadcast, the players got the game point again, and the anchor took advantage of the situation to apply for discounts.
Anchor of the live broadcast room: Today I applied for the benefits for all of us. Because Shabao was not easy, we got the game point, 12 to 11, and finally applied for 100 orders for all of us. Don’t hesitate when you see $9.9, just grab it and get 5 boxes in total.
After shouting "last order" for the analgesic patch, the sound of the anchor clicking the mouse came from the live broadcast room, and the live sound of the game rang again. The anchor announced that the game would continue, 12 draws, 12-13, 13-13. The two sides came and went, and the key points were entered again. Immediately, there were comments asking about Lutein Eye Drops.
Live broadcast room anchor: Come on, come on, come on! Anchor, do you still have the lutein eye drops? I've finished using it. I've been watching football games for the past two days. My eyes are too dry and I often stay up late. That one is gone, no more. Come on, long ball, pull with backhands on both sides, hold it back, backspin... Wow, beautiful! The score came to 13 to 13...
The same routine is repeated; the same athlete is playing against different opponents in different live broadcast rooms at the same time. Many users believe that this type of fake live broadcast of events not only confuses the event time and interferes with the normal viewing experience, but also poses consumption risks.
From falsifying match results to inserting merchandise, fake live broadcasts of matches consume the trust of fans. During the investigation, some merchants claimed that they could use "renting fans" to help them open account permissions and circumvent copyright restrictions. How to deal with live broadcasts that mislead viewers and are suspected of infringement?
On the platform, there are many merchants who claim to be able to access the IP authorized resources of the world's top events, and some merchants say they can provide services to help circumvent platform review. The reporter contacted a merchant who provided "rental fans" service on the grounds of consulting about live broadcast of sports events. The other party claims that they can still activate live broadcast permissions through "renting fans" without copyright.
Fan rental merchant: Are you planning to broadcast that event? If you don’t have a copyright, just have a Douyin account with 200,000 followers. There will definitely be problems if you open it now. As long as you keep broadcasting this event, people will remind you that you do not have the copyright. After the fans rent it to you, we will give you the permission to live broadcast on your account, and your live broadcast will not violate any rules.
In fact, whether the game footage and original sound can be broadcast legally has nothing to do with the number of fans. The core depends on whether there is authorization from the copyright owner. These spliced fake sports events obviously violate regulations. Regarding related issues, the reporter contacted the official customer service of the platform.
Official customer service: If he does violate the rules, we will impose penalties based on the live broadcast usage regulations. We will report it to the commissioner at that time, and he will verify it. The result will be based on their reply.
So, how to determine the legal liability for this type of live broadcast? IT legal expert Zhao Zhanzhan believes that telling the audience about non-existent real-time competitions and then attracting people to stay and place orders may be suspected of false propaganda.
Zhao Zhanzhan: It’s similar to some scripts and stories written by some writers. He didn’t tell you, pretending to be a real-time live broadcast, allowing fans and viewers to stop and place orders. False propaganda mainly violates the provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and Advertising Law. The market supervision department can impose fines and confiscate illegal gains; if the circumstances are serious, the live broadcast function can be suspended.
Song Hefa, deputy dean of the School of Intellectual Property of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that using other people’s event videos or audios without permission involves copyright infringement issues.
Song Hefa: This kind of copyright infringement involves using other people’s videos without permission. There are also rights to information network dissemination and performance rights, including the author’s right to protect the integrity of the work and the right to authorize it. If the fake live broadcast obtains illegal benefits, of course, compensation must be paid. For example, if it has a great impact on the broadcast market, our losses should be the main amount; if there is insufficient evidence, his illegal gains will be used as the amount of compensation. If these two pieces of evidence are not complete, the amount of compensation shall be a reasonable multiple multiplied by the approximate licensing price of the copyright in the market. If there is no more, the court should decide the statutory compensation according to the discretion of the court and the discretion of the judge. If the infringement is malicious and serious, punitive damages of up to 5 times can be awarded.
The current "Measures for the Supervision and Management of Live Streaming E-commerce" requires platforms to establish a risk identification system, strengthen dynamic monitoring, and promptly deal with illegal activities during live broadcasts; for live broadcast rooms where complaints are concentrated, management measures such as technical monitoring and real-time inspections should be adopted. When it comes to live broadcasts of fake events, platforms need to verify the authorization of event materials and the authenticity of match results, as well as review the product marketing associated with them, and promptly stop business practices that continue to mislead viewers.
Zhao Zhan: The market supervision department conducts administrative supervision from the perspective of false propaganda; the copyright law enforcement department imposes corresponding penalties on these contents from the perspective of copyright infringement. In addition, the Internet Information Department can require live broadcast platforms to strengthen management of such illegal content. After receiving reports from rights holders, live broadcast platforms should promptly remove such content and punish these bloggers.
