58-year-old Chinese woman who used video filter to pose as younger 'cute goddess' exposed after technical glitch

As we know, online appearances can be deceptive – from photo retouching to people lying about their age on dating apps.

But one middle-aged Chinese video blogger (vlogger), who used a beauty filter to pose as a much younger-looking woman, took this one step further.

The 58-year-old woman was known as “Your Highness Qiao Biluo” to her followers, which totalled more than 100,000, on Chinese livestreaming platform Douyu.

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Biluo is what’s known as a “wanghong”, a Chinese term used for online celebrities, according to Chinese publication Global Times. She was known for her “sweet and healing voice” and “worshipped” as a “cute goddess”, and her fans sent her donations up to the amount of 100,000 yuan (£11,950).

But she lost many of her original followers when a technical glitch during a live stream exposed what she really looks like.

During a joint live-stream with fellow online celebrity Qingzi, which only those with VIP access were allowed to view, the filter Biluo used appeared to malfunction, exposing her real life experience. This caused many users to exit the stream.

The footage was captured by a Douyu user:

She has lost many of her original followers, who have also suspended their donations, according to the BBC.

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However, the situation seems to have turned around for Biluo, with her followers on Douyu rising from 100,000 to 650,000 since the incident.

She is even said to be hosting advertisements for beauty cameras like the one she used.

How do “beauty filters” work?

Beauty filters are not unheard of in the UK – with Snapchat and Instagram users using the technology to alter their faces, in everything from still images to live videos.

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But the technology is even more popular in China. Last year Hong Kong-based business Meitu, an app which allows you to alter skin, slim down your face and increase eye size, reported 455 million monthly active users.

Earlier this month, Alipay – a cash-free payment platform – even added beauty filters to its facial recognition technology, after users complained they looked ugly while making payments, Tech Crunch reported.

“We are going to make you look even prettier than with a beauty camera. I bet you’ll be impressed,” Alipay wrote on Weibo.

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