Shanxi Police Bust Cyber Water Army Using AI to Defame Xiaomi
Police in Jinzhong, Shanxi, arrested three suspects for using AI tools to rewrite and mass-produce negative articles targeting Xiaomi. The group illegally purchased over 7,800 real-name accounts and registered dozens of Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) to profit from platform traffic. This case highlights the growing threat of "cyber water armies" leveraging generative AI to scale up disinformation campaigns and corporate defamation. It also underscores the strict regulatory crackdown in China on personal data infringement and AI-driven manipulation. The suspects registered over 90 individual businesses to set up 50 MCNs, purchasing real-name accounts for 20 to 50 RMB each to bypass platform controls. The operation generated over 1.6 million RMB in platform revenue, yielding 500,000 RMB in illegal profits before the suspects were prosecuted.
## BACKGROUND
"Article spinning" or AI rewriting involves using natural language processing to rewrite existing content to bypass plagiarism detection and search engine penalties while retaining the original meaning. Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) are organizations that affiliate with multiple social media accounts or channels to help them manage content, audience development, and monetization.