Is Brother Yang trapped in the 'influencer livestreaming dilemma'? Has the Douyin model reached a dead end?

Behind the huge public backlash caused by the live-streaming scandal of "Crazy Little Yang Brother," Douyin, as the platform, has remained invisible. However, the frequent issues highlight that Douyin's traffic algorithm and tacit approval are equally culpable.

@新熵 Original

Author 丨 Yixin Editor 丨 Saike

In recent days, public dissatisfaction with Douyin's top live-streaming influencer "Crazy Little Yang Brother" and his company, Three Sheep, has intensified. After the withdrawal of rival Xinba, Little Yang Brother continues to trend, with scandals involving counterfeit Meixin mooncakes, substandard meat products, beef rolls, hair dryers, meat grinders, and more—all demanding urgent responses.

Even People's Daily commented: "Beyond personal scandals and feuds, what truly matters are the quality issues of products affecting consumers and how to regulate the chaotic live-streaming sales industry."

China National Radio directly accused Three Sheep of affectionately calling viewers "family" while scheming to mislead them with wordplay and loopholes, escaping nearly unscathed from multiple crises through delay and evasion.

For days, public outrage has targeted Three Sheep, mooncake vendors, and even Hefei, while Douyin, as the platform, has remained unscathed. In reality, Little Yang Brother's frequent scandals are inseparable from Douyin's traffic algorithm and permissiveness.

As the public begins to hold live-streaming influencers accountable, Douyin's business model has also hit a dead end.

Crazy Little Yang Brother, Crazy Scandals

The so-called "Michelin-chef-made" Meixin mooncakes, which blatantly copied the appearance of Maxim's mooncakes, triggered public outrage and led to an investigation by Hefei authorities into Three Sheep.

In China's relationship-driven society, counterfeit luxury mooncakes struck a nerve. One employer who bought 15 boxes for employees had to redistribute them to relatives after the scandal broke.

Third-party data shows that as of September 18, Meixin ranked fourth on Douyin's 30-day mooncake sales chart, with over 80 million yuan in sales, while the authentic Maxim's ranked ninth with just over 50 million yuan.

On Douyin, knockoff mooncakes outsold the genuine ones. Some netizens even claimed that Meixin mooncakes and the previously scandal-plagued "Fendikasa" mooncakes were both recommended by Douyin's platform staff.

Little Yang Brother's recent wave of scandals began with a dispute over crab prices with Xinba. After several clashes, Xinba promised compensation for some products sold by Three Sheep.

The compensated product was the "lymph node meat" preserved vegetable pork belly exposed during the 315 Gala. The manufacturer used low-quality meat with excessive lymph nodes. Little Yang Brother sold 1.09 million servings, totaling 65.29 million yuan in sales. The manufacturer was fined over 5 million yuan.

Shockingly, local officials claimed Three Sheep was not the seller and bore no responsibility. Hubei Xiaocheng Youxuan handled payments, and Anhui Donghui Food Technology was the producer—Three Sheep was merely the advertiser.

Whether for the pork belly or other substandard products, Three Sheep has never compensated consumers. Professional whistleblower Wang Hai revealed that under their contracts, if products fail, merchants must pay Three Sheep an additional 30% of sales, making Little Yang Brother even more money.

Recently, small disclaimers appeared on product images: "The seller is the store linked, not this livestream."

On September 11, Xinba announced compensation totaling 100 million yuan for the pork belly scandal. Shortly after, his livestream was banned.

Subsequently, the backlash against Little Yang Brother was entirely organic. His account lost 1.29 million followers in a week, and netizens compiled a list of 25 problematic products sold by Three Sheep, including baby supplies.

Netizens discovered that Dou Xiaoyi children's shoes, sold 180,000 pairs by Little Yang Brother, contained 200 times the legal limit of plasticizers and are under investigation. Another brand, Xiaomibu, was fined in 2021 for the same issue but still sold 30,000 pairs through his livestream.

In March last year, baby cream sold by Little Yang Brother was penalized for false advertising, claiming "50 billion probiotics, 4,000+ additive-free ingredients, and 100% natural bisabolol with double the efficacy of synthetic versions."

The "Xianduoyu" beef rolls, marketed as Australian premium cuts, were exposed in July as reconstituted meat and fined 500,000 yuan. Little Yang Brother had previously sworn they were "not reconstituted, not injected, not marinated, additive-free, and not synthetic."

Consumers are losing patience.

Douyin's "Influencer Sales": The Entertainment and Amateurism of E-Commerce

Almost every e-commerce platform has live-streaming sellers—why is Little Yang Brother the most scandal-prone?

E-commerce blogger "Windy Factory Owner" offered a representative view: "Everyone blames the hosts, but shouldn't the platform bear greater responsibility? Through big data and algorithms, the platform packages gullible audiences to scammers. Whether intentional or not, isn't that irresponsible?"

Little Yang Brother's model is a product of Douyin's traffic algorithm.

Platforms like Taobao and JD.com allocate traffic based on sales performance. Douyin, as an entertainment platform, allows influencers to tap into both e-commerce and content traffic during the same livestream.

Hence the industry saying: "Bring a cow into the livestream, and traffic explodes."

Most top hosts on Douyin should be called "sales influencers," not "sales hosts."

Little Yang Brother and Guangdong Couples started with comedy skits; Jia Nailiang is a celebrity. Even pure content creators like Northeast Rain Sister, Guo Youcai, and "Dig Dig" Teacher Huang eventually turn to sales. They attract traffic while supply chain management is outsourced to MCNs or handled in-house.

Little Yang Brother's livestreams are chaotic, with minimal product details and maximum antics. This is because entertainment content draws larger traffic pools, which is then redirected to sales.

Douyin dominates lower-tier markets, where the more outrageous the content, the broader the appeal. Last year, after his apprentice "Yellow Traffic Light" posted risqué content, netizens exposed Little Yang Brother's vulgar sales tactics, like "pulling out sanitary pads" or brushing teeth with toilet brushes.

This style has its audience—those seeking both entertainment and bargains. Three Sheep must convince them they're getting a steal.

In the past 30 days, Little Yang Brother's top-selling product was two types of Feitian Moutai, priced at 2,300 yuan per 500ml bottle, totaling 86 million yuan in sales.

However, in June, a buyer claimed 14 of 24 bottles purchased from the livestream were fake, per third-party testing by Guangzhou Zhongjiu.

After the exposure, Zhongjiu offered free authentication for Moutai bought from Little Yang Brother. From September 12-15, they identified 72 counterfeit "Zodiac Moutai" bottles sold by Three Sheep.

Then, Zhongjiu's Douyin account was banned.

Three Sheep's amateurish supply chain management stands out starkly. No one has confirmed whether the Moutai was real, except for the brand's cryptic statement: "The chance of consumers buying fakes isn't that high."

Regardless, Three Sheep's blend of entertainment and low prices is entrenched. On September 17, Douyin's new CORE strategy seemed tailor-made for Little Yang Brother's model.

First, "C" stands for competitive pricing and variety—Three Sheep excels here, though quality is questionable.

Second, "O" stands for omnichannel content, pushing all hosts to be more "influencer-like." Three Sheep is Douyin's gold standard for viral content, with a vast network of clips repurposing livestream highlights for sales.

"R" and "E" stand for marketing amplification and enhanced experience. Three Sheep's store ratings hover at 4.4, suggesting decent consumer satisfaction—on paper.

Douyin's endgame is sales, and sales' endgame is the Little Yang Brother model. For Douyin, Three Sheep is the perfect case study—but its perfection may sunset alongside the traffic-driven business itself.

Little Yang Brother's Crisis, Douyin's Dilemma

Douyin's slowing traffic growth is undeniable. Per LatePost, Douyin's e-commerce growth dropped to 40% in March 2024 and 20-30% from April to June, intensifying competition among merchants and influencers.

At this critical juncture, Douyin demands "return to content," "amplify marketing," and "competitive pricing"—an impossible trinity. The added costs of content production and traffic acquisition inevitably translate to higher prices and lower quality for consumers.

Three Sheep prides itself on its clip network, but recently, a top clip account quit, stating:

"Why did I stop? Because many comments pointed out the same products were cheaper on Taobao or Pinduoduo. The Meixin mooncake scandal... If they were overpriced by 60%, fine. But they were actually half the price elsewhere."

As consumers abandon Three Sheep, the "Michelin master black truffle mooncake" facade crumbles, revealing outraged netizens and collapsing small accounts.

The crisis boils down to three words: anti-professionalism.

Douyin's rules force influencers to neglect product professionalism. Multiple industry insiders noted that proper product presentation requires 3-5 minutes to cover basics and precautions.

Three Sheep's hosts don't bother, and Douyin's algorithm, low-price demands, and "content-first" push discourage professionalism.

The epitome of anti-professional sales was Zheng Xiangxiang, who made 100 million yuan in a week by flashing products for 3 seconds each. Customers later flooded reviews with complaints like "the quality is horrendous."

Though banned, her "speed-selling" model thrives, as it pleases the algorithm.

Similarly, Three Sheep's fans pay for entertainment by buying products.

But influencers' exaggerated claims, frequent quality issues, and inconsistent after-sales service highlight their amateurism.

This anti-professionalism is crippling Douyin. During this year's 618 shopping festival, top hosts saw traffic declines, apparel return rates hit 70-80%, and complaints surged over misrepresented products, copied designs, and returned items with foreign objects inside.

The root cause isn't unethical merchants but Douyin's traffic mechanics, which force an impossible balance of content, low prices, and heavy marketing—breeding unprofessional practices.

What's the way out for Three Sheep, Douyin, and live-streaming commerce?

People's Daily put it best: "Sales hosts must uphold ethics, improve skills, and refine processes—less obsession with gimmicks and traffic, more dedication to quality and service."