Imagine running a small food stall, working your a** off every day to support your family, only to find yourself caught in an online shitstorm over a plate of fried potatoes.
Suddenly, thousands of strangers think they have the right to judge you. Your face is plastered across social media. People publicly shame you, attack your business, bombard you with abuse, and turn your life into a public trial. All based on a food dispute they know almost nothing about.
And what sparked this whole shitshow? A few pieces of fried potatoes. Seriously.
And it ended in tragedy
Recently, a 33-year-old street-food vendor in Sichuan is dead after a dispute with a customer over a ¥10 basket of fried food spiralled into a wave of online abuse.
She left behind a husband and two young children.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Hu, who ran a street-food stall called “Hu Er Mei Copper Pot Potatoes” in Yibin, Sichuan, had been running the business with her husband for more than four years.
On October 6, a female customer bought a ¥10 basket of self-selected fried food. According to reports, the customer had piled in a large amount of other ingredients, so Hu did not add extra fried potato strips.
An argument followed.
The customer filmed the confrontation and posted it across multiple social media platforms, warning people to avoid the stall. Her complaints reportedly included accusations that the owner “couldn't take it” and acted as though the customer owed her something.
And then the online pile-on began.
Negative reviews flooded in. Hu reportedly received abusive private messages and personal attacks. Her small business, built over years of hard work, suddenly found itself facing a crowd of strangers who had watched a short video and decided they knew the whole story.
Because, apparently, watching a few seconds of an argument on your phone qualifies you to become judge, jury and executioner.
Hu reportedly tried to explain how her business worked.
Customers could choose from more than 20 ingredients. If someone filled the basket with a large quantity of other items, there might not be room to add extra potatoes. Different ingredients also shrank by different amounts during frying.
Her point was simple: the portions followed the way the self-selection system worked.
But the bullying never stop.
On October 9, Hu died by suicide. Reports say she left a farewell message before her death.
She was 33.
She was a wife.
She was a mother of two young children.
And now her family has to live with a loss that can never be undone, over a ¥10 basket of fried food
After news of Hu's death spread, public opinion reportedly swung in the opposite direction. Many netizens began criticising the customer who had posted the original video.
The customer responded that she had shared her genuine consumer experience and had not intended to incite harassment. Her account content was subsequently closed, according to reports.
Authorities in Qingfu town and Gao County confirmed on October 13 that relevant departments were handling the case.
But here's the ugly irony.
First, a woman was reportedly subjected to a wave of online attacks.
Then, after she died, the internet turned on the person who posted the video.
Same internet. Same appetite for a villain. Just a different target.
But for the people left behind, the damage doesn't just disappear with a scroll.
And i am certain, by the time the internet finally feels sorry, it's already too late.
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