Photo: VCG

The market supervision administration of Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui Province, on Tuesday said that it had launched an investigation into Three Sheep Network, a company based in the city under Chinese influencer Zhang Qingyang. The probe is in response to alleged misconduct during the company's livestreaming sales on Douyin, a popular social media platform. 

The Hefei market supervision administration said that an investigation has been launched into Three Sheep Network for allegedly "misleading consumers" during its livestreams. The case will be handled in accordance with the law and regulations based on the investigation's findings.

The investigation stems from claims that Three Sheep Network falsely marketed mooncakes under the "Meisun" brand as a well-known Hong Kong product. However, it has been confirmed that the brand is manufactured in South China's Guangdong Province and is not sold in Hong Kong. 

Renowned Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang has also been caught up in the controversy for marketing the product.

As of press time, no products were available for sale in the Douyin store of Guangzhou Meicheng Food Co, the company behind Meisun, and no mooncake products were listed on its Tmall store.

The investigation into the Meisun mooncakes serves as a warning for the livestreaming industry, helping promote stricter regulations and reforms, veteran industry observer Liu Dingding said.

Currently, the investigation focuses specifically on the false advertising for the mooncakes produced by Zhang Qingyang's company and does not involve the influencer personally, showing that the regulators acted in accordance with the law, addressing the issue pragmatically and focusing solely on the matter at hand, Liu noted.