On February 17, Li Liang, the Vice President of Douyin Group, took to social media to refute a widely circulated rumor. He pointed out that numerous marketing accounts had been deliberately amplifying the unfounded claim that 'ByteDance is the biggest short seller of the Hang Seng Tech Index.' These accounts, in a manipulative manner, tried to establish a causal link between seemingly coincidental events, thereby stirring up tensions among companies and attributing index fluctuations to the launch of competitive products by certain enterprises. Such behavior, Li Liang emphasized, is not only absurd but also malicious.

Li Liang further clarified that the Hang Seng Tech Index started to decline in October 2025, a period well before ByteDance's release of Seedance 2.0. He highlighted that stock market declines are the result of a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to, the reversal of expectations regarding Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Regarding the impact of Seedance 2.0 on the Hang Seng Tech Index, Li Liang urged for a comprehensive perspective, noting that innovations in large models are set to propel the development of AI technology forward.