Recently, topics such as "cancel takeout" and "remove takeout" have continued to spread on short video platforms. These videos show obvious templates and are usually mass-produced by multiple accounts in a short period of time. They seem to be the statements and appeals of individual catering merchants, but in fact they are public opinion gimmicks concocted by MCN organizations who understand that "emotion is traffic".
Not long ago, on the short video platform, a set of shooting templates of only a few seconds was copied in batches. In the picture, the physical store operator held a red banner that read, "Cancel takeout, close live broadcast, and restore physical prosperity." There is no oral broadcast, no dialogue, the picture is almost static, and the slightly rough visual presentation attracts netizens to leave a large number of messages in the comment area.
The account of a beef noodle restaurant operating in Yibin, Sichuan presented a more conflicting picture - two clerks "escorted" another operator, who wore a black plastic bag on his head and made a squatting posture, pointing his fingers to the words on the banner. The reporter went to a branch of the beef noodle restaurant and asked how the short video was created. The on-site clerk informed that the creative idea was provided by professional operators, with the purpose of pushing it to the "City" page of the short video platform to attract netizens to eat noodles in the store.
The reporter searched the short video platform and found that another restaurant in Yibin also posted a short video with the same template. The restaurant owner revealed that he only catered for banquets and never offered takeout. The idea of shooting a short video with the banner "Cancel takeout and close live broadcast" came from the video account operator he hired. "I made this short video holding a banner as a joke. He said it was quite popular right now, so I shot one just to increase the restaurant's popularity," the restaurant owner added.
Another restaurant that has released a short video with the same template is a semi-open stall. There are only three tables in the outdoor area in front of the door, so the dining space is quite limited. When the reporter visited, a rider came to pick up the takeaway. The restaurant clerk admitted that the store has always had takeout business and posted this short video because the boss joined an association. The "association" mentioned by this clerk appears in every banner of the short video with the same template - "Sichuan Boat Club". Accounts posting related videos are not limited to the catering industry. The owner of a clothing store also held up the same banner in the video. The clerk of this clothing store confirmed that the company where Sichuan Tongzhou Club is located is the company that operates their store's short video account. She claimed: "We are not the kind of people who just shoot and run on the street. The company hired employees, so you can view our short videos. They came up with the plan and editing, and we just paid for it."
In a short video, he introduced what the "Sichuan Boat Club" is: allowing the boss to spend the least time and the least money to get the maximum traffic - "Brother Waizui, the most established new media in Sichuan, and the first person to operate merchant accounts in Sichuan, 'Brother Betelang', has high-quality projects across the country, Lao Lei will amplify it 100 times for you!"
The reporter contacted "Brother Betelang" through the recommendation of the merchants he visited, and came to Sichuan Shizhou Culture Media Co., Ltd., which operates the "Sichuan Boat Club", on the grounds of consulting marketing business. "Brother Betelang" introduced that he is responsible for "starting accounts" for physical merchants and attracting traffic. "Brother Waizui" trains self-operation skills in short videos and live broadcasts. The founder, Lao Lei, comes from the real estate industry. The three plan to continuously expand through the community and build a commission platform that gathers resources from various industries.
When faced with inquiries from reporters about marketing for physical restaurants, "Brother Betelang" suggested that he first run an account through his team and master the traffic password; and the shooting template of "cancel takeout and close live broadcast" was a "quick start tool" that he personally tested. He introduced: "At that time, our banner idea was imitated by the whole Internet, and some people used AI to imitate us and got great results. At the beginning, we had no loyal fans, what should we do if no one liked or retweeted us? We had to use some means to get traffic. The banner section was tested by us. You can see that the video has no quality at all. I did it on purpose." "Brother Betelang" also admitted to reporters that this was "a violent start, so start the account first."
If a restaurant is unwilling to give up its takeout and live broadcast business, wouldn't it be inconsistent with the content of "cancel takeout and cancel live broadcast" spread by short videos? "Brother Betelang" admitted that among the nearly 20 physical merchants for whom he operates short video accounts, many are doing takeout and live broadcasting, and some merchants belong to non-catering industries such as home decoration and hairdressing. It does not matter whether "words and deeds are consistent".
In the operation strategy of "Binglang Ge", when physical merchants create short video accounts, they must first have exposure, secondly, have "same city" exposure, and thirdly, precise exposure. He added that the company's self-operated training for merchants charges lower fees, but it is recommended that his team first complete the "account creation", stabilize traffic, and form a certain network brand effect, and then the store owner can learn operational skills and take over account management. "For 3,800 yuan a month, we will produce 15 videos for you, one video every two days. We are responsible for all planning, content, editing, and accounts. If you have customers, we will get them for you, and we will also teach you how to maintain the backend. If you give us more than 3,000 yuan a month, once the account is really established, there will be thousands of times the return." "Brother Betelang" promoted.
The reporter combed through and found that, in fact, this is not the first time that topics related to "cancel takeout" have been used to divert traffic or even make profits. Not long ago, a group of accounts on the short video platform released a video about "removing the takeout platform". The actors came from different cities, and they all posted oral videos in the tone of catering merchants. The copywriting was highly consistent - "I would like to call on my colleagues to take it off the shelves as soon as possible and go to formal channels as soon as possible. We must work together to boycott online and not be greedy for petty profits..." After tracing the origins of many of the accounts, the reporter found that their operators were not catering merchants and had never opened an online takeout business. The traffic brought by these videos eventually leads to paid training courses and shop intermediary business of an organization called "Fuyuan Shop Search". The above-mentioned accounts are mostly named after "Fuyuan Shop + City Name + Nickname", forming an obvious account matrix. They are both communication channels and tools for business transformation.
Public information confirms that MCN organizations or marketing accounts mass-produce false content to attract attention on controversial topics such as "taking takeaways off the shelves", and then use the traffic to sell courses or promote commercial services. There has been a precedent of being dealt with by relevant departments. Starting in December 2025, netizen Zhang fabricated and spread false information such as "Ningbo takeaway merchants collectively removed the platform" and took the opportunity to sell business courses such as "profit growth classes", "consulting plan classes" and "chain MBA classes" for profit. In February this year, Zhang was administratively detained by the public security organs in accordance with the law.
However, the reporter's search found that similar topics such as "cancel the removal of take-out", different production templates, and then setting up account matrices to follow the spread... Highly consistent operation methods are still active on the short video platform, including but not limited to, restaurant owners angrily smashing take-out machines, employees applauding behind them, video copy showing in large letters "Economic experts recommend canceling take-out and shutting down live broadcasts" and so on. Zhu Wei, associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that the MCN organization used this topic to produce a type of conflicting video script, which opened the entrance to traffic business.
Zhu Wei, associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law: In fact, it presents a binary opposition between the online economy and the real economy, black and white, and compresses very complex economic principles into a video that has the effect of "inciting war". As long as the information creates an antagonistic relationship, it will definitely lead to two different opinions. Regardless of whether you support or deny it or are curious, everyone will convert it into likes, reposts or comments that can be directly seen, which is what we call traffic. Once such a video gets traffic, other accounts, even those not in MCN organizations, will follow suit - they will feel that the platform promotes such videos, and they will imitate and shoot them.
According to the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of "We-Media" issued by the Secretariat of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, when "self-media" publishes information related to public policies, social events, etc., website platforms should require them to accurately label the source of the information and display it in a prominent position when publishing; website platforms should require "self-media" to be responsible for the authenticity of the information they publish and reprint.
Zhu Wei, associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law: Some videos clearly mark the source of information as ‘economist’. Which economist said it and where did it say it? Was it taught at an academic seminar or in a relevant treatise? There is no response in the video, so according to an economist who did not specify who it is, if we strictly follow the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of "We Media"", this is illegal information. Either add a fictional or deductive mark, or label this obviously highly controversial information to let watching netizens know that the information may be unverified or controversial. If it is indeed discovered that such information is a rumor, in addition to promptly deleting the relevant information and including it in the information database, the platform must also legally require the publisher of the rumor information, especially the MCN organization behind it, to bear relevant legal responsibilities, including closing accounts.
Tang Zheng, a researcher at the Journalism and Social Development Research Center of Renmin University of China, believes that some MCN organizations use methods to intensify conflicts to deliberately create topics of "antagonism between platforms and physical merchants", mass-produce false content, and rely on highly compressed emotional slogans to obtain traffic and income. It is difficult for the general public to judge from the video whether these are the real choices of merchants or traffic business planned by institutions. This pollutes the network information environment and distorts the space for true expression. It not only causes the public and society to form misperceptions, but also increases social governance costs.
Template-based and matrix-style topic preparation continues to amplify social opposition, disrupts the normal order of online communication, and also damages a clear cyberspace and a fair and orderly business environment.
Reporter: Han Xueying
