Influencer dog trainer ordered to apologize and pay damages for cyberbullying

A Chinese court has issued a final ruling against Pan Hong, a popular dog trainer with over 13 million followers on Douyin, for causing a pet owner to suffer cyberbullying. The Jinan Intermediate People's Court ordered Pan to post a public apology at the top of his Douyin account and pay 11,119 yuan in compensation to the victim, Ms. Li.

The dispute began after Ms. Li's Samoyed, 'Xiaobao', was killed by other dogs at Pan's training base. Following the incident, Pan shared voice messages in a fan group accusing Ms. Li of being “ugly” and seeking traffic rather than grieving the dog. Ms. Li stated these comments incited large-scale online harassment and insults that severely impacted her life.

While Ms. Li confirmed that the compensation has been paid, she noted that Pan has yet to fulfill the court's requirement for a public apology, prompting followers to demand compliance in his social media comments. Pan has previously faced public scrutiny regarding his training methods and allegations of animal cruelty for social media engagement.