- A Chinese student was slammed online after she wrongly accused a man of taking upskirt photos of her.
- She posted a video where she confronted the man, only to verify on-camera that he did not photograph her.
A Chinese university student has found herself in the center of a social media maelstrom after she falsely accused a man of taking upskirt photos of her, despite verifying on-camera that he didn't commit the act.
Identified only by her surname, Zhang, the woman made a social media post on June 7 saying that she noticed a migrant worker squatting near her on the Guangzhou subway, per local media.
Zhang said she suspected him of secretly taking upskirt photos of her, and posted an online video that showed his face.
"It couldn't be the first time that this wretched old man has taken photos with skillful tactics," she wrote in a caption.
The now-deleted video went viral, but the footage appeared to debunk Zhang's claim. It showed Zhang's confrontation with the man, who Chinese media outlets identified by his last name, Deng.
"Hello. May I see your phone to check if you took photos of me?" she asked Zhang.
Appearing confused, the man immediately opened his photo gallery and showed that it did not have any photos of Zhang or anyone on the subway.
"Watch it. Don't carelessly take photos of others," Zhang told him before leaving.
Zhang gets blasted online and quickly goes viral
As Zhang's video and accusations about the man's conduct spread, she started getting slammed on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.
"If you suspect that I've done something wrong, shouldn't you show evidence that I've done so? Why do I need to prove my innocence? Report it to the police and let them figure it out," said one Weibo user.
"The most hateful thing about this woman is that after she clearly reconciled the situation, she posted something on the internet to make others go viral," wrote another.
On Monday, the local broadsheet Qilu Evening News published an interview with Deng's son, who said his father was a migrant worker visiting the city on his off day when he was confronted by Zhang on the subway.
Deng's son said his family went to the police over the weekend to mediate the dispute between Zhang and the migrant worker. He told Qilu Evening News that the family, at the time, was unaware of the video that was already circulating on Weibo.
After finding out about the Weibo post, Deng's son told local reporters that his family intended to sue Zhang if she didn't apologize.
Zhang has since issued a public apology on her Weibo account. "Sir, I'm sorry, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have spread this video on the internet even after confirming your innocence," she wrote on Sunday evening.
"I sincerely acknowledge that this incident has caused serious harm to you and your family, and I solemnly express my deep apologies to you and your family," she added.
Zhang did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The backlash has intensified to the point that its top state media outlets are getting involved in the fracas
The university student's accusations have gone viral on Weibo, with hashtags related to her post being viewed nearly 1 billion times, per data seen by Insider.
Even the Ministry of Public Security jumped in, posting on Monday that people should seek help from police first when facing potential criminal issues that are "difficult to judge and deal with."
Meanwhile, people have called for Zhang to be charged in court for false accusations, and expelled from her school, Sichuan University. Unverified details about her life and relationships with her college classmates also went viral.
Deng's son told local media that his family has chosen to forgive Zhang. "We've already said that as long as she apologizes, we'll forgive her and give her a chance," he said.
The People's Daily, a Chinese state media outlet, published a commentary on Wednesday calling for the public to calm down and stop doxxing Zhang.
"Many people continue to obsess over the consequences faced by this woman. But in the process, some have exposed her name, age, school, major, and other personal information, and others found her personal social account, and others insulted, abused her, and condemned her endlessly," it wrote. "These are signs of cyberbullying."