Exposing the “Multi-Million Level” Sales Anchor “Mai Qila”: Splitting Disease Names to Suggest Tumor and Cancer Elimination, Hyping Health Products as “Miracle Drugs”

“Sold over 20 million tonight, and 260 million this week.”

At around 1 a.m. on November 12, just after “Double 11”, Mai Qila, a “tens of millions” level influencer on Xiaohongshu, revealed her sales for the night before ending her live stream. She quickly showed the latest weekly “Buyer’s List” on her phone, indicating that her livestream was at the top of the “Food” category, far surpassing the second place. An assistant beside her immediately hushed her, reminding her to be modest.

Starting from 5 p.m. on November 11, Mai Qila, under the pretext of celebrating her birthday, conducted a nearly 9-hour live stream, featuring over 30 products. She claimed that the day’s event offered the biggest discounts, with prices “slashed” to the bottom, “directly undermining the brand’s pricing”. Some popular products were also limited-time reappearances,声称 “never to be listed again”.

Mai Qila, who currently has 144,000 followers on the Xiaohongshu platform, is associated with multiple Xiaohongshu accounts such as “Yilala”, “Huotutu”, and “Huotuliu”. She claims to be the “KOL who influences women the most” on Xiaohongshu, a graduate of Harvard Business School, a participant in the United Nations Youth Representative Conference in 2014, and a traveler to 89 countries and regions.

Mai Qila claims that she officially started product promotion on Xiaohongshu in July 2021 upon the platform’s invitation and has frequently posted videos of her visits to Xiaohongshu’s headquarters for exchanges and learning. Her livestream often ranks in the top three of Xiaohongshu’s real-time “Buyer’s List” and “Food List”. “As a top influencer on Xiaohongshu, I’m not just promoting products; I’m also responsible for all my sisters,” she said during a speech at an internet celebrity sharing conference.

Mai Qila’s participation in Xiaohongshu events and account popularity rankings. Screenshot from the Xiaohongshu platform.

In recent years, the rapid development of the online live streaming sales industry has been accompanied by a rapid increase in consumer disputes. Among them, live streaming sales of pharmaceuticals, health foods, special medical purpose formula foods, and medical devices (collectively referred to as the “Three Products and One Device”) have become high-risk areas for public opinion due to the lack of effective supervision, attracting the attention of relevant departments.

In early November 2024, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) found that, in addition to jewelry, skincare, and cosmetics, Mai Qila was also selling various domestic and foreign health products in her livestream. However, the product pages only contained a few product images without any explanatory information or introductions. The products were also immediately removed after the live stream ended, and live stream replays were not supported.

During the live stream on the 11th, Mai Qila listed multiple domestic and foreign products claiming to have medicinal and healthcare effects, some of which she claimed were “exclusively sold” and “new product debuts”, and used language to imply that these products could treat diseases, even tumors. For example, there was the “PPC (Polyunsaturated Phospholipid Choline) Scatter Factor Compound Tablet” implied to eliminate multiple cysts and nodules throughout the body and effectively prevent recurrence, and even treat malignant tumors; “Dragon’s Blood Tree Leaf Powder” that could treat benign and malignant tumors, uremia, cerebral infarction, and any diseases caused by blood stasis, even acute poisoning; and the “Dual-Band Free Lutein Capsule” that could treat cataracts, glaucoma, and floaters, as well as remove eye bags.

However, the investigation found that none of the aforementioned three products had drug-related markings. To avoid platform scrutiny and related risks, Mai Qila and the so-called brand representatives and assistants often used English or deliberately split the names of diseases when mentioning them in the live stream, such as referring to “uremia” as “that urine, some poison, some what disease”, and using “CA” to refer to “malignant tumor, cancer”. When discussing effects, they often used phrases like “extremely wow” and “immediate some effect” to indicate good results.

“Once top influencers go awry, the social impact is widespread and severe. Platforms should prioritize their inclusion in supervision,” experts point out. Once it is discovered that influencers engage in false exaggeration, misleading propaganda, and other illegal or违规 behaviors, regulatory authorities should strictly investigate and punish them according to the law.

The so-called “scatter” product implied to remove malignant tumors is actually a compressed candy.

“If the first health is given by parents, then the second health is given by the scatter factor.” At around 7 p.m. on the 11th, Mai Qila and “Dr. Wang”, who claimed to be from the brand, jointly introduced a U.S.-imported “PPC Scatter Factor Compound Tablet”.

Mai Qila chewed and took one on the spot, claiming it was a patented product under “United States Pharmaceutical”, popular in the U.S. and many other places globally. “Dr. Wang” then successively showed multiple “authoritative” document screenshots. She first showed a screenshot of a news webpage from the U.S. “New York Times”, claiming that this PPC Scatter Factor was the “official solution” for addressing polyps, cysts, and various other issues in the U.S., capable of penetrating cell membranes, targeting and identifying various nodules, polyps, cysts, and fibroids throughout the body, “dissolving” them for excretion, and effectively preventing recurrence.

“This is Dr. Peter Kell, the attending physician at the U.S. Tumor Research Center,” “Dr. Wang” said, pointing to the foreign man in the picture, “Due to the invention of the PPC Scatter Factor, Dr. Kell received the ‘Lasker Medical Research Awards’ in 2019.”

“Dr. Wang” showing the screenshot of the news webpage from the U.S. “New York Times” and the product page. Screenshot from Mai Qila’s live stream.

Immediately afterward, “Dr. Wang” showed a screenshot of the news page from the U.S. “The Palm Beach Post”, claiming that Lawrence, the chairman of the European Health Association, had shared this product on a program. She also showed a screenshot of a page with the “World Health Organization” logo and a screenshot of a document with the logo and stamp of the “United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP)”, claiming that research showed that the PPC Scatter Factor was purely natural plant extract, with no dependence and side effects.

“There are some muscles and tumors, cysts and swellings, various things that even white coats (implying doctors) can’t handle, but the ‘Scatter Factor’ can do it,” “Dr. Wang” said. Mai Qila added, “It can help you manage any small malignant CA issues.”

“White coats” implied doctors, and “small malignant CA” implied small malignant tumors.

The Paper noted that similar rhetoric continued to appear in the live stream, with some netizens leaving comments in the chat asking if it was a “drug”. Mai Qila replied that it was a “health product”.

To further convince viewers, “Dr. Wang” pulled out several more screenshots, claiming that clinical reports from 30,000 subjects showed that 99.2% of people had “smaller nodules” after taking the product; 98.2% resolved “breast hyperplasia” issues; 95.5% resolved “cyst and fibroid” issues. A clinical report from the U.S. showed that a “lung some nucleus” patient’s temperature returned to normal after three days of taking the product, and the nodular masses reduced by half after half a month.

“This product is only available in our family. If you miss my live stream, you can only buy it in the beautiful country (referring to the U.S.), and even with a discount, it’s still around 800-900 yuan per bottle because it really works,” Mai Qila introduced. The regular price of this product was 899 yuan per bottle, with 40 tablets. But that night, for 799 yuan, viewers could get 8 bottles, “only once, won’t be listed again”.

The product page showed that nearly 100 units of this “Scatter Factor” had been sold. Mai Qila suggested buying and stockpiling as much as possible. She said that possessing this product gave her the power of discourse in the live stream, “Because you have it, others don’t. It’s hard currency.” “Dr. Wang” agreed, “Today, there’s something that can help you get rid of those bumps and lumps on your body without surgery. Don’t you think, even if it’s 800 or 8,000 yuan, you’d still buy it? Surgery would also cost thousands, plus the suffering and recovery period.” As for the dosage, “Dr. Wang” said it didn’t matter what time it was taken, adults should take one to two tablets daily, and children one tablet, chewed directly or swallowed with warm water. “You must persist. Basically, after one to