Traumatic images. Based on information from Global Times, influencer Luo Xiao Maomao committed suicide while performing live on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, Thursday, October 14. The 25-year-old, whose nickname was Luoxiaomaomaozi, had 678,000 subscribers on the platform.
She had mentioned suffering from depression several times before and seemed particularly upset that day. “This is probably my last video because I have suffered from depression for a long time”, had also specified the young influencer. She had already been hospitalized and her relatives knew about her ill-being.
Subscribers encouraged her
During her live, Luo Xiao Maomao let her subscribers know that she had a bottle containing diluted pesticides. Some encouraged her to “drink it quickly” while others tried to talk her out of it and threatened to contact the police. She finally took action but called for help after her live. Unfortunately, they could not save her and she died in hospital on Friday October 15th.
TikTok: Chinese influencer kills herself live – Geeko Screenshot: Luoxiaomaomaozi
The relatives of the victim did not hesitate to point out the social network as responsible for this irreversible act. Indeed, according to them, Luo Xiao Maomao did not really want to die, it was a cry for help to get the attention of her ex-boyfriend. The young woman was having a hard time recovering from their breakup that had occurred a few months earlier.
The case created a real outcry in China and the family of the victim does not intend to stop there. They decided to sue the Internet users who pushed the young woman to commit the irreparable.
A live moderation problem
After this tragedy, several people called for strengthening security to protect users of social networks so that events like this do not happen again. The moderation of streams is also called into question because they can generate sources of anxiety and contribute to the unhappiness of users, often very young.
Zhu Wei, communication researcher at the Beijing University of Political Science and Law interviewed by Global Times, specifies that “artificial intelligence review channels on keywords and an online report should be put in place to monitor rooms with a large audience. “
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