Beware of 'dirty media' on social networks

The noisy incident of ViruSs and related individuals will be investigated and verified by the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information.

On the evening of March 28, 2025, streamer ViruSs (real name Dang Tien Hoang)'s livestream on TikTok attracted more than 1 million viewers at the same time, at one point reaching more than 1.5 million. The livestream included a confrontation between this male streamer and female rapper Phao regarding a love scandal, lasting until 1:00 a.m. and reaching a total of 4.8 million views.

The details of the conversation quickly caused a "storm" on social networks, creating many discussions and conflicting opinions. Despite becoming the focus of criticism from netizens for its private content, with a huge number of views, streamer ViruSs was still able to earn a large amount of money.

Like previous livestreams, ViruSs enabled a feature that requires viewers to pay to comment or participate in discussions. The registration fee to participate in commenting on livestreams on TikTok ranges from 135,000-155,000 VND/month.

During the live session, the male streamer received many supportive gifts from viewers such as lions, dolphins, TikTok Universe... Some gifts cost up to millions of VND. To give rewards to the male streamer, TikTok social network users had to spend a large amount of money to buy these virtual gifts.

It can be seen that social media users have become "money-making tools" for these content creators. Just from a private scandal, messages made public without any official verification from any legitimate related parties, they were able to earn a huge profit of up to hundreds of millions of VND through a livestream. At the same time, the number of followers of all parties skyrocketed, leading to financial benefits from advertising or commercial contracts. This phenomenon also shows signs of violating many current regulations on livestream activities and providing content on social networking platforms.

According to Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP, only platforms licensed by competent authorities are allowed to provide livestreaming features that generate revenue. ViruSs and Phao's livestreaming on platforms without clear licenses and without verifying user identities, if there is commercial interest that is not disclosed or in violation of regulations, may violate the law. Thus, we are not only being exploited by them to gain profits but also indirectly assisting in illegal activities.

Socially, the content of the broadcast also has the potential to violate public morality, infringe on privacy and show signs of incitement. Publicizing emotional life to argue and attack each other on livestream with millions of followers is not only uncultured but also contributes to shaping deviant behavior on social networks, as well as creating deviant thinking about what to do to gain attention and fame. It is worrying that a large number of young people are being led and even excited by such useless and toxic entertainment content.

Nguyen Thai Duong (student of Information and Communication Technology, Thai Nguyen University) said: I think the recent livestream between Phao and ViruSs is a typical example of dirty media that is increasingly spreading on social networks. When content that attacks individuals, distorts the truth or creates drama is widely spread, it not only distorts the perception of viewers but also encourages a culture of "stoning" and thoughtless judgment.

As a young person, I feel that we need to be more alert when receiving information and also need to be more responsible when speaking on the internet. Freedom does not mean being allowed to hurt others to get views or become famous." - Nguyen Thai Duong

Mr. Pham Bao Lam (Thai Nguyen City): Sadly, sensational content, personal attacks or revealing private lives often attract more attention than real values. The recent livestream of Phao and ViruSs is a big warning for young people - both about content consumption and how to create content.

It can be said that this is no longer a temporary phenomenon but a manifestation of a crisis of social norms in the digital age, when these platforms are dominated by people who do not represent any moral or intellectual values.

Through this incident, we need to be alert, selective in information content, learn carefully and have critical thinking when following content on social media platforms. It is time for the participation of many parties: technology platforms need to be more responsible;educators and media need to speak out strongly; and especially, each social media user needs to know how to select, reject toxic content, and say no to useless entertainment.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202504/canh-giac-voi-truyen-thong-bantren-mang-xa-hoi-e762051/