Was Dong Yuhui wronged as the "accomplice" of a named fake foreign brand?

Accusation and immediate fallout

Dong Yuhui (董宇辉), the high-profile livestream anchor who rose to fame with New Oriental’s e‑commerce arm Oriental Selection (新东方·东方甄选), has been cast in the spotlight again after it has been reported that a product promoted in connection with his program was labeled as a foreign brand. It has been reported that critics online called him an "accomplice" for lending credibility to the listing. Was he personally responsible for the brand’s origin claim — or a convenient target in a fast-moving social-media controversy?

What reportedly happened — and what’s unverified

According to reports, a merchant using the livestream channel sold a product under a name suggesting foreign provenance; the listing drew consumer complaints and media attention. It has been reported that Dong and the platform did not create the label, and that he denied intentionally misleading viewers, but specifics about who applied the foreign label and when remain unclear. Regulators and the platform are reportedly looking into the matter; no formal penalty has been announced in public sources so far.

Broader context for Western readers

Live e‑commerce in China is a huge, sometimes chaotic market where anchors can make or break product success in minutes. Recent years have seen tighter scrutiny from regulators such as the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on misleading claims and false origin statements. Why does origin matter? Chinese consumers often prize foreign brands, and in a period of trade friction and rising national scrutiny of cross‑border claims, mislabeling can become both a commercial and political flashpoint.

What's next

The case raises familiar questions: should anchors be held strictly liable for merchant claims made on their channels, and can platforms do more to verify origin labels before listings go live? For now, the facts remain partly in dispute and public opinion is split. It has been reported that investigations are continuing, and the outcome could influence how platforms, anchors and merchants share responsibility in China’s fast‑moving livestream economy.