3·15 Gala | "Medical Experts" Turned Out to Be Actors! "Private Domain Marketing" Exploits Seniors with 5x Profits

In late January 2026, a private-domain marketing industry internal exchange meeting held in a certain city in central China attracted more than a hundred related companies to attend. With the introduction of an industry insider, the reporter was able to enter the venue smoothly. At the exchange meeting, many company representatives took the stage to give speeches, looking for合作伙伴.

At the scene of the internal exchange meeting, the reporter learned that the so-called “online video production provider” who gives the stage presentations is a key link in the private-domain marketing industry. These “online video production providers” select and purchase products from pharmaceutical companies or healthcare product companies; afterward, they produce a series of videos such as health lectures based on the purchased drugs or healthcare products—sometimes as few as four or five episodes, and up to several hundred episodes. After the program production is completed, the “online video production provider” bundles the products and the programs to sell them to a private-domain marketing company. The private-domain marketing company then uses various methods to drive traffic and acquire customers, guiding consumers to private-domain scenarios on social platforms to watch courses for product marketing.

As for the drugs and healthcare products selected and purchased by online video production providers, their procurement costs are very low, but their external selling prices are extremely high.

Attendee Mr. Jin: “Add up this bottle and it’s less than 20 yuan. I set the price directly to 1,198 yuan. Once I put up the link, people bought it right away.”

Over the past year, the State Administration for Market Regulation has launched a serious crackdown on “robbing and fooling the elderly” in the private-domain sector. To understand the latest situation in private-domain marketing, at this conference, the reporter came into contact with an online video production provider called “Da Hong International,” which is currently promoting a video in the private-domain space called “Life Password.” In the marketing materials sent by Mr. Liu from Da Hong International, the reporter clearly saw that the product video’s first round of 20 episodes had already been completed, and it had currently been updated to the 15th episode of the second round. The featured product is an OTC drug called “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution,” priced at 298 yuan per box, with a specification of 90 milliliters.

The materials state that “Life Password” is a course based on the theory of “the 21st century’s first therapy—cell regenerative therapy.” The materials claim that by taking “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution,” patients suffering from multiple stubborn illnesses can recover.

Cataracts, high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack, cerebral infarction… these difficult and complex diseases that modern medicine still struggles to tackle—according to the expert in the “Life Password” video, patients only need to take “Huoyuantai,” and these difficult diseases can be resolved. But does this medicine really have such remarkable effects? The reporter searched on internet platforms and found information on the indications for “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution,” which came as a real shock.

Indications: For adjunctive treatment of immune dysfunction, recurrent respiratory tract infections, leukopenia and aplastic anemia, and cancers. To reduce adverse reactions and gastrointestinal reactions from radiotherapy and chemotherapy on the hematopoietic system.

The indications information for “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution” seriously does not match the claimed effects heavily promoted in the “Life Password” video. What is the actual value of this product? The reporter searched further. The reporter could not find market price quotations for the 90-milliliter specification of “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution,” but they found another product with the same manufacturer, approval document number, and drug basis code as “Huoyuantai Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution” in the 90-milliliter specification: “Ganlousutang Peptide Oral Solution (Anjia’an),” 100 milliliters per bottle, whose market price is only 68 yuan.

In this way, a drug for ordinary adjunctive treatment is sold with exaggerated and even falsified publicity about its basic function, and at a price nearly five times the market price. To investigate what lies behind it, the reporter went to Da Hong International’s office location, where the person receiving the reporter was Mr. Liu. Right at the start of the conversation, what Mr. Liu brought up first was actually the “March 15” TV special.

“Life Password” Video Producer Da Hong International Mr. Liu: “If you’re going to do this, wait until after the New Year—after the ‘3·15’ TV special, then we can talk. As for what’s going on with this year’s ‘3·15’ TV special, and what kind of situation it will bring, we don’t know. Our so-called ‘medicine circle’—the ‘3·15’ TV special is a bellwether. Our private-domain channels are in a gray area.”

Mr. Liu重点 told the reporter that, as a business that produces fake course lectures and sells medicines at high prices to swindle elderly people, during this period they should act low-key, mainly to avoid drawing attention to the “3·15” TV special.

“Life Password” Video Producer Da Hong International Mr. Liu: “Recently everyone is worried that this year’s ‘3·15’ TV special might expose these group chats (private domains). The truth is, our industry can’t stand up to an investigation.”

In view of the approaching “3·15” TV special, Mr. Liu specifically explained her operating strategy: she did not recommend that the reporter launch online videos now. Besides the period of the “3·15” TV special, the春节 season is also not suitable for private-domain marketing.

“Life Password” Video Producer Da Hong International Mr. Liu: “If you’re going to make a move, wait until after the ‘3·15’ TV special, because you still need to catch the right timing. During the New Year, children are all at home, and none of the children are allowed to let their elders spend so much money buying these things.”

On a shelf in the office, various health products and medicines were displayed. Mr. Liu introduced that these are the products that their company had previously featured and promoted in their online videos. To sell these ordinary products as “miracle medicines,” they really put a lot of effort into it.

Mr. Liu also explained that behind every online video that deceives elderly consumers, there are professional planning companies that assist the online video production provider to tailor a “con artistry script” specifically for the job. To fully expose the complete套路 behind private-domain marketing scams, through an insider’s introduction, the reporter found Shengwei Culture Media Co., Ltd., located in a certain city in Northeast China. The company负责人 Zhang introduced to the reporter how to plan an online private-domain video “standard process” on the internet.

Mr. Zhong from Shengwei told the reporter that the most critical factor in whether a so-called online video can sell products is the “medical expert” who talks confidently in the video.

Shengwei Culture Media Co., Ltd. Mr. Zhong: “Set up the teacher (an authoritative image). Once ordinary people trust the teacher, basically whatever the teacher sells, ordinary people will buy along with it.”

If experts are so crucial, then what kind of person can become the main speaking teacher in these online videos?

Shengwei Culture Media Co., Ltd. Mr. Zhong: “To us, the two more important words for a teacher are ‘an actor.’ Whatever we write, the teacher just has to talk about it. The professionalism is provided by the script. The teacher just needs to deliver it passionately and eloquently—professionalism isn’t needed. As long as they can act, that’s enough.”

Can identity be assigned at will? If you don’t look for a doctor, you look for an actor? If they don’t understand medicine, they just recite the script? Are all those “national medicine disciples” and “traditional Chinese medicine masters” experts in the videos just acting performers?

Shengwei Culture Media Co., Ltd. Mr. Zhong: “Not anymore. The government now regulates more strictly, so the teacher themselves needs to have a doctor’s identity.”

Mr. Zhong from Shengwei admitted that previously, most of the “experts” featured in the videos were fakes. Now that supervision over the private-domain industry has tightened, for safety’s sake, they started looking for medical personnel with practicing physician certificates and practicing pharmacist certificates to record programs. But even those lofty-sounding titles of these medical personnel are still designed and packaged by the company.

Mr. Zhong told the reporter that these shiny titles—such as “national medicine disciples,” “academy association chair,” “expert committee member,” etc.—are almost all packaging props that can be bought with money. To verify the truth, the reporter visited multiple other online video production providers and planning companies, and the answers obtained were astonishingly consistent.

Aoying Culture Media Co., Ltd. Mr. Liu: “What customers want is a teacher with an authoritative identity. Can a genuinely authoritative teacher come do this job? It’s all fake—everything is deceiving people.”

Since online video production providers and planning companies so brazenly package fake “experts,” then are the medical personnel pushed to the front stage aware of this whole fabrication scheme? The reporter proposed wanting to witness the process of recording online videos, and thereby connect with the lecturer to get to the bottom of it. But the other party said that because the “3·15” TV special is approaching, recording work would only continue after the TV special.

Yao Ba Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Mr. Qin: “Especially during this period, it’s usually big customers. They control the direction and understand everything. After the ‘3·15’ TV special, then they plan and then they take photos.”

The reporter, posing as an online video production provider, also managed to contact several so-called expert lecturers who record online videos. All of them were extremely cautious and refused the reporter’s request to meet in the near term.

Although everyone was closely防范 against “3·15” reporters, the “3·15” reporter did not give up. Through repeated efforts, they finally gained the trust of an “expert lecturer”—Ding Yuqiu. The other party agreed to meet with the reporter.

Although in the online video, the ophthalmology expert Ding Yuqiu spoke convincingly, the reporter checked and found that Ding Yuqiu indeed holds a practicing physician certificate, but the certificate shows their practice scope is internal medicine, not ophthalmology. So why could an internal medicine physician somehow transform into an “ophthalmology authority expert” online?

Online Video Lecturer Ding Yuqiu: “The first requirement is to have a physician’s certificate. Second, the person has to speak well. Don’t look at the ‘title.’ The ‘title’ can be solved by paying money. Find a place to pay annual dues, join the association, and then get me a vice chair position—that’s simple.”

The reporter then searched and verified on the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ “Government Service Platform for Chinese Social Organizations,” and did not find any registration or filing information for the “Chinese Physicians Association.” If consumers don’t go online and carefully check, they would never know that the “Chinese Physicians Association” Ding Yuqiu mentioned is actually a nonexistent organization.

(Editor: Wenjing)

Keywords: