Understanding Fanchuan in Livestreaming Platforms: A New Form of Online Antisocial Behavior

Abstract: Recently, a distinct form of online antisocial behavior, known as "fanchuan", has emerged across online platforms, particularly in livestreaming chats. Fanchuan is an indirect attack on a specific entity, such as a celebrity, video game, or brand. It entails two main actions: (i) individuals first feign support for the entity, and exhibit this allegiance widely; (ii) they then engage in offensive or irritating behavior, attempting to undermine the entity by association. This deceptive conduct is designed to tarnish the reputation of the target and/or its fan community. Fanchuan is a novel, covert and indirect form of social attack, occurring outside the targeted community (often in a similar or broader community), with strategic long-term objectives. This distinguishes fanchuan from other types of antisocial behavior and presents significant new challenges in moderation. We argue it is crucial to understand and combat this new malicious behavior. Therefore, we conduct the first empirical study on fanchuan behavior in livestreaming chats, focusing on Bilibili, a leading livestreaming platform in China. Our dataset covers 2.7 million livestreaming sessions on Bilibili, featuring 3.6 billion chat messages. We identify 130k instances of fanchuan behavior across 37.4k livestreaming sessions. Through various types of analysis, our research offers valuable insights into fanchuan behavior and its perpetrators.