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A Chinese influencer, known by her alias Maiqila, has faced severe backlash and a social media ban for promoting health supplements as “miraculous” cancer cures. With over 143,000 followers on the popular platform Xiaohongshu, she cultivated an image of wealth and education, claiming to be a Harvard Business School graduate. However, her controversial marketing tactics have drawn widespread criticism for misleading vulnerable audiences.
Maiqila primarily sells health supplements, jewelry, and cosmetics, with a significant portion of her income derived from live-stream sales. During a live-streaming session in mid-November, she boasted of earning 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million) in one day and claimed weekly revenues of 260 million yuan (US$36 million). These staggering figures added to her image as a successful entrepreneur, further enhancing trust among her followers.
She marketed her products as treatments for a range of severe illnesses, employing language intended to bypass regulatory scrutiny. For example, she referred to cancer using the English abbreviation "CA" and described her products as cures for conditions such as malignant tumors, cysts, cerebral infarctions, and even acute poisoning.
Several of the products she promoted have come under scrutiny for their unverifiable claims. Among them was a monk fruit compressed slice, marketed as a dietary supplement capable of eliminating cysts and malignant tumors. Another product, a powder derived from dragon tree leaves, was said to cure blood blockage-related conditions, including cerebral infarction, cancer, and uraemia.
Additionally, a lutein capsule was promoted as a miracle cure for cataracts, glaucoma, and vision impairment. Investigations by The Paper revealed that none of these products had medicinal labels on their packaging, undermining her claims of their supposed healing properties.
To build credibility, Maiqila shared screenshots of US-based newspapers and claimed that foreign media had validated her products' effectiveness. She encouraged her followers to purchase these supplements for friends or relatives suffering from serious illnesses, framing it as an altruistic act that could "accumulate virtue" for the buyer.
Statements like “If you have nang and zhong (cysts) or CA (cancer), or other unresolved issues, our products can help,” were part of her sales pitches. Such language targeted individuals desperate for medical solutions, making her claims particularly harmful.
On November 25, Xiaohongshu announced that Maiqila’s account was suspended for violating its policies on product promotion. Her videos were removed, and her account was labeled as "risky" to protect users from further misleading content.
Source: SCMP
