Chapter 80: A Media Storm Beyond Imagination

"Enough! The news coverage is more than enough!" Huang He muttered to himself at the end of the second day, but unfortunately, the third day brought no end to the storm; if anything, it threatened to grow even fiercer.

Even the proud national broadcaster reported on the incident on the third day, warning viewers about the risks of making friends online, urging caution, and advising people to be wary of being deceived out of money or exploited emotionally.

That same day, the nation’s major newspapers began to follow suit. Though Long Xue had originally organized over thirty papers to cover the story, when nearly every newspaper in the country—over four hundred in total—ran with the news, Huang He felt numb. Even Long Xue, a seasoned media professional, found it all unbelievable.

Because print media deals in words, they could write much more, and newspapers, above all, seemed to resent the internet—especially the emerging online media. So they unleashed a torrent of criticism against online friendships, claiming, among other things, that men online were befriending other men, that handsome men sought out the unattractive, and so on.

Some outlets dug deeper, discovering that the two people at the story’s heart had met through QQ, using its pigeon post feature.

The most outrageous was Shandong Television. They sent undercover reporters to an internet café, where, with home video cameras, they filmed user avatars as they chatted, then managed to track down these users' profiles—only to discover that 60% of the male users had listed themselves as female.

Thus, Shandong Satellite TV ran a sensational news piece: "Are 60% of Female Friends Online Actually Male? The Virtual World Demands Clear Judgment—Beware of Deception," setting off yet another frenzy and stirring up even greater public fervor.

Though it was clear to the discerning that the journalist’s math must have been taught by their literature teacher, the public lapped it up. Especially parents, who already detested their children’s online activities, rushed to tell their kids that all their online female friends were surely men in disguise.

Other media outlets followed suit, conducting their own investigations into the true gender of internet users, and produced one shocking conclusion after another, as though there were no women online at all—just men everywhere.

In this era, when most people still naively assumed a female avatar meant a female player, the news had a cataclysmic effect. It was said that many male users, disheartened, gave up chatting online altogether and focused solely on gaming.

In just five days, online socializing had been so thoroughly denounced by the media that it was considered worse than dog droppings in the street; everyone felt entitled to heap scorn upon it and spit in its direction.

For a time, online socializing became the most reviled topic in society.

"This shows just how much attention the public is paying to the internet now, and how much suspicion they have about those unseen, intangible friends on the other side of the screen. That’s why it has such a huge social impact," Long Xue analyzed from a professional standpoint.

"Chairman, I recommend we postpone our next move. Right now, public opinion is at its peak, and it’s best not to act while the storm is raging," Long Xue advised.

"No," Huang He shook his head. "At this point, the arrow is nocked and cannot be held back. Besides, this wave of public opinion is damaging not only to Tenda, but to us as well. Yet the greater the risk, the greater the opportunity. This is our moment to break through adversity."

Tenda was the first to feel the impact. After being harshly disciplined by Pony Ma during the OO incident, the marketing department no longer dared overlook any domestic developments. On the second day of the news cycle, related reports landed on Pony Ma’s desk, and he, unusually, watched the news himself.

Even Pony Ma hadn’t expected the storm to break so swiftly. Suddenly, it seemed the whole world was talking about online chatting, and as the platform that enabled two men to chat, QQ naturally became the target of intense criticism. Countless media outlets launched furious attacks against QQ.

At this time, QQ was not yet the "parent" of most media organizations, and the mainstream media held a decidedly negative view of the internet. When it came time to denounce it, they spared no effort. QQ was thus painted as the villain, and at the height of the storm, Tenda and QQ endured scathing criticism from over five hundred media outlets in a single day. Many people called Tenda’s customer service just to hurl abuse, even reducing the elderly women who staffed those lines to tears.

The tension at Tenda reached its peak. Pony Ma went three days without sleep, pondering how to resolve the crisis. Even when dealing with threats from OO, he hadn’t been this exhausted.

Yet, all of Tenda’s efforts proved futile. Two consecutive statements disappeared without a trace or only drew more abuse.

Tenda considered buying its way out of trouble, but the sheer number of media outlets nationwide made them abandon hope in despair.

After all, at this stage, Tenda was only adept at tricks on the internet. When faced with the mainstream media of the real world, the company, barely two years old, was utterly inexperienced.

If this had been Tenda in 2021, they would have issued a brief, 200-word statement disavowing any connection, then done absolutely nothing further. They would simply wait for the storm to pass and the public’s attention to fade. In fact, when dealing with such matters, lying low and staying silent is the best strategy—only a fool would work hard to clear their name. After all, internet users’ memory lasts only three days; this is a truth recognized by every future public relations professional.

Fortunately, after issuing two useless statements that only brought more criticism, Tenda finally grasped the wisdom that time is the best public relations specialist. They resolved to do nothing, to simply lie low and let others rage, until the storm passed.

Of course, there was still plenty of cursing going on.

"Could this be the work of OO?" Li Dan, the PR department manager, was in dire straits—he hadn’t slept more than two hours at a stretch in four days. With dark circles under his eyes, he cursed at the possible culprits.

"It can’t be them," Pony Ma shook his head. "The media’s main target is online socializing, and OO is caught up in it as well. They wouldn’t be foolish enough to destroy the entire industry—there’s nothing in it for them."

"True, and a campaign of this scale would cost at least tens of millions. There’s no way they could afford it," Li Dan agreed, casting aside the idea of a shadowy hand behind the scenes.

It simply couldn’t be the OO group—they didn’t have the capability.

"Boss, bad news—the crew from Focus Report just called. They want to interview you!" But before one crisis could subside, another wave crashed down. Pony Ma received a piece of news that nearly made him faint on the spot.