Seres Automotive Co., Ltd. has initiated a civil lawsuit against a Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) user. This user employed AI tools to fabricate a misleading video, which falsely portrayed an AITO vehicle's body collapsing while in motion, severely tarnishing the vehicle's perceived safety performance. The legal proceedings for this case are scheduled to commence on October 23 at the People's Court of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing.

Interestingly, the user's Douyin account boasts a mere 57 followers, and the controversial video in question has attracted fewer than 3,000 views. Upon receiving the legal summons, the user attempted to downplay the situation by claiming that the content was merely a "video with double meanings." Furthermore, they expressed a lack of interest in purchasing a Hongmeng Zhixing vehicle—a model produced by Seres—and subsequently took the initiative to delete the fabricated video.

In response, Seres has made several demands. They insist that the user remove any infringing remarks, issue a public written apology, and compensate them with 1 million yuan for the infringement. Additionally, Seres is seeking coverage for the related litigation costs incurred.

Prior to this incident, the legal department of Seres Automotive had already issued a statement. In this statement, they publicly called for information regarding black media operations, black PR tactics, and online water armies (organized groups paid to manipulate online discussions). Seres offered rewards ranging from 10,000 to 5 million yuan, depending on the value of the clues and evidence provided. They also assured potential informants that their information would be treated with the utmost confidentiality.