On August 30th, the Legal Affairs Department of JAC Motors (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd.) officially issued a statement, stating that recently, online accounts such as “Liehu Network” have repeatedly published articles (including videos) spreading false information related to JAC Motors. This information has misled the public and damaged JAC Motors’ image. The company emphasized that it will not tolerate such behaviors, has launched legal actions to protect its rights in accordance with the law, and is determined to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
Following the statement from JAC Motors’ Legal Affairs Department, Hefei Police released a notice titled “Falsifying and Spreading False Information Related to Enterprises; Public Security Authorities Have Filed a Case for Investigation” in the early morning of August 31st. In the notice, Hefei Police pointed out that on the afternoon of August 30th, the public security authorities received a report from JAC Motors Group Co., Ltd., stating that someone had fabricated and spread over 3,000 pieces of false information about JAC Motors online, which seriously damaged the company’s business reputation and product reputation. To clarify the facts, the public security authorities have filed a case for investigation. The official notice also stated that illegal and criminal acts committed by “corporate smearers” online will be cracked down in accordance with the law, and all netizens are urged to consciously abide by laws and regulations.
In fact, with the rapid development of the Internet, the speed of information dissemination has accelerated, leading many netizens to publish false information online in an attempt to attract attention. For automobile enterprises, such false information causes significant harm, as it seriously damages their reputation and image.
Prior to this incident, regarding the Zunjie brand – a joint effort between JAC Motors and Huawei – JAC Motors’ Legal Affairs Department had also responded multiple times to false information circulating online. In February this year, the official Weibo account of Zunjie Automobile’s Legal Affairs Department issued a statement, noting that recently, a large number of online accounts had maliciously spread rumors and slandered Zunjie. These actions seriously distorted the facts, misled the public, and led to widespread dissemination, causing great damage to Zunjie Automobile’s reputation.
It is understood that in February this year, a netizen claimed that their vehicle had been used for violent testing without their knowledge. In response to this incident, JAC Motors stated that the relevant test videos presented the vehicle’s outstanding performance under extreme conditions in a rigorous and professional manner. The entire testing process strictly adhered to strict industry norms and standards, and all data generated was true and reliable. The test vehicles were obtained through formal third – party rental channels, and the purpose of using the vehicles was clearly communicated to the rental channels in advance. JAC Motors expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to relevant parties during this process and stated that it was actively communicating and negotiating with all parties to seek a proper resolution.
Beyond the aforementioned incident, test videos of the Zunjie S800 and Maybach S680 also came under attack from negative comments. At that time, in response to this situation, Harmony Auto announced a reward of up to 5 million yuan to the public for collecting clues related to “malicious public relations” (commonly known as “black PR”) targeting the brand and its flagship model, the Zunjie S800. Harmony Auto officially pointed out that this was an organized “black PR” campaign online, which might involve in – depth collusion between business competitors, professional “online troll” teams, and even gray industrial chains. The company has joined forces with its legal team to complete initial evidence collection and submitted a report with relevant materials to the public security authorities.
In recent years, as competition in China’s new energy vehicle market has become increasingly fierce, chaotic phenomena such as malicious rumors and smearing attacks against automobile enterprises have been common online. To crack down on behaviors like “black PR” and “online corporate smearers”, many automobile enterprises have successively established legal affairs departments, anti – counterfeiting centers, and other specialized units.
