Chinese regulator fines individual 485,000 RMB for AI-generated false articles on soda ash production

According to monitoring by Beating, the Sichuan Securities Regulatory Bureau imposed a penalty on individual investor Sun Zheyuan. He used AI to generate 17 fabricated articles about soda ash production and published them on Baidu’s Baijiahao under the account “Di Kan.” During the dissemination period, he traded soda ash futures and, after deducting transaction fees, gained 85,028.85 yuan. Regulators confiscated all profits and imposed a fine of 400,000 yuan, totaling approximately 485,000 yuan in penalties and forfeitures. These 17 articles revolved around two false claims: four claimed that a soda ash company experienced a boiler malfunction, halting production for at least six months; the other 13 claimed that an earthquake in Alashan damaged factories. One day after publication, the articles collectively received 8,794 views. Some investors had already verified the claims with the listed companies, and others reported the misinformation to regulatory platforms. Sun Zheyuan argued that the articles caused no substantial impact and that his futures profits were unrelated to the false information. He also claimed to have a long-standing mental illness. The Sichuan Securities Regulatory Bureau rejected all arguments, determining that his intent was clearly deliberate and that he failed to prove he was unable to recognize or control his actions at the time of the incident. The regulator further clarified that profits from futures trading during the dissemination of false information may be directly classified as illegal gains.