In this episode, Simone and Malcolm Collins dive deep into China’s sweeping crackdown on social media, exploring how the Chinese government is targeting not just political dissent, but also “sad people,” conspicuous consumption, LGBTQ+ communities, and even influencers who promote minimalism or criticize the economy. We discuss the cultural, economic, and political motivations behind these policies, compare them to similar trends in other countries, and debate the long-term consequences for China and the world. From the disappearance of China’s “Kim Kardashian” to the fate of the “lying flat” movement, this conversation is packed with surprising stories, sharp analysis, and global context. Simone Collins: [00:00:00] Hello Malcolm. I’m excited to be with you today because we are going to talk about China’s crackdown and it’s not exactly what you would expect. It’s a crackdown on sad Malcolm Collins: people. Sad Simone Collins: people Malcolm Collins: go to jail, Simone Collins: directly to jail, sad people. It’s also a crackdown on, on Crazy Rich Asians, which are my favorite. Malcolm Collins: So yes, yes. Sad people. Rich people. They’re basically like live. The middle class like that is the aspiration we want on the internet. Yeah. You will be moderates. Well, but not just that. ‘cause we’re also gonna go on, you know, them disappearing gay people, them disappearing trans people. Literally everything that they are shoving down the west right now. Like everything that they are filling. TikTok whiz, their bots are hammering. YouTube whiz. Probably Simone Collins: more apparently. Oh yeah. Yeah. Malcolm Collins: Yeah, but this, this is, oh, no, no. YouTube still very badly affected by Chinese bots. This is what every, everything that, that, you know, we keep saying this is what they’re hitting [00:01:00] us with within their own country. It’s controlled their own citizens can’t even voluntarily produce this kind of content. And Simone Collins: most people are familiar with this, with TikTok. How, like in the United States, TikTok is just sort of this, this, this. S toilet vortex of debauchery and distraction. And in, in China it’s like educational content. Malcolm Collins: Yeah. But the way that Laowai talked about this was he said it’s, it’s a form of informational, asymmetric warfare, you know? Mm-hmm. With their own country. All of this stuff is banned and I think the question that we’re gonna be coming to throughout this episode is. Is this actually bad, like the way that China is implementing this? Yeah. I know that we have like this idea around free speech maxing in the United States but when other powers are actively and provably using these platforms to, so social discord was in our country. You know, do we need to address this? Or is [00:02:00] there benefit in addressing it the way that, that China’s addressing it? And what are the downsides to addressing it the way that China’s addressing it? Yeah. So get started, Simone. Simone Collins: Yeah. So first off, what really got me and what I, where I first heard about this was the conspicuous consumption takedown where all of a sudden these really treasured. Famous Chinese people. Just like not known to Americans had their accounts taken down. So notable people were weighing Hong Queing. Yes, I butchered that. 2.3 million Malcolm Collins: followers. Simone Collins: Yeah, this guy was known for being China’s Kim Kardashian. I’m setting you. A picture of him looking fabulous in his outfits. I, I just, I love his look. I’m, I’m kind of devastated that he’s been taken down because this means that I can’t easily consume Malcolm Collins: his content anymore. Matt, those outfits look ridiculous. He looks Simone Collins: like he’s out of some crazy futuristic anime. He, his whole thing, aside from being China’s Kim Kardashian. Was that he [00:03:00] became really famous for his claims of never leaving home with less than 1.4 million worth of clothing and jewelry, as well as owning seven high value properties reportedly worth over 110 million US dollars. They were all located within this exclusive Beijing compound. He, he is, is really known for the lavish outfits. Great examples that I sent to you. Yeah. Valuable jewelry, frequent visits to hot couture. Jewelry dealers accompanied by his security team, which makes sense. ‘ cause if you don’t leave the H it’s like you’re famous for not leaving the house in that amount of money. Like Malcolm Collins: screwed. Yeah. You’re, you’re, you’re asking for. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think what a lot of people don’t realize is, is you build this up, building up. Fame like that, you know, 2.3 million followers. Like, I’d be devastated if our followers just got wiped one day. Right? Like, this is something you worked for years building up. Well, and Simone Collins: this is, he’s someone who like, literally, I mean this, this wasn’t how he got his wealth. His wealth was from a family business in coal mining, mining that was late
