Vlogger apologizes for spreading haunted house rumor

A vlogger who falsely portrayed a house as haunted has apologized and reconciled with the victim after being sued.

The vlogger, surnamed Lu, had over 2.5 million followers on a popular short video-sharing platform. He trespassed into the victim's residence without permission and filmed a video that depicted the house as haunted. The video quickly went viral, attracting millions of views and creating a frenzy among several social platforms.

The victim, surnamed Zhou, was deeply hurt by the video and contacted Lu to demand its removal. However, Lu refused and blocked her from further communication. Zhou then filed a lawsuit against Lu at the people's court of Zhenyuan county of Guizhou province in June.

The court ruled that Lu's video amounted to cyber-violence and should be held accountable for causing emotional stress to Zhou. Lu initially denied any wrongdoing, but he eventually acknowledged the harm caused to Zhou and wrote a formal apology letter. He also compensated Zhou with a 3,000 yuan settlement. Zhou accepted the apology.

The case highlights the growing problem of cyber-violence in China. The Civil Code, which took effect on Jan 1, 2021, includes provisions that protect individuals from cyber-violence.