Disturbing fraud: 79-year-old woman went to meet a boy from the internet

An elderly Chinese woman, 79, went to meet a boy she met online, only to discover he was an AI-generated character created for fraud and product sales. The character's hashtag has amassed over 620 million views on Douyin.

An elderly Chinese woman, 79, traveled alone to meet a boy she met online, but a conversation with railway police revealed it was a scam. The boy, known as 'Xiao Hai', is not a real person but an AI-generated character, part of a series of viral videos designed to evoke sympathy from older women and induce them to purchase products. The hashtag associated with the character has garnered more than 620 million views on the Chinese social network Douyin. The police explained to the elderly woman that the boy was not real, contacted her family, who bought her a return ticket home. The incident sparked a discussion in China about exploiting the loneliness of the elderly through new technologies.