2026Yingke Food
A snack brand called itself 'nationwide No.1 in sales' on a survey nobody could check
the 'nationwide No.1 in sales' claim200,000 yuan fine
Learn from mistakes. Preferably other people's.
A working encyclopedia of business blunders
documented casesHow to use it
Planning something? Hand this archive to your AI.
Show it a plan, and it checks these 6228 documented cases for who already made the same mistake, and what it cost them.
2026Xuzhou Duoyingji Culture Media
A livestream sold ordinary food as a cure for joint pain and stomach bacteria
livestream disease-cure claims629,100 yuan fine on the seller; 109,900 on the host
2026Yiwu Houwei E-commerce
An ordinary shoulder patch was advertised as a cure for a herniated disc
the 'treats herniated discs' claim529,600 yuan fine
2026Shenzhen Anda Real Estate
A Shenzhen developer's sales brochure put amenities where the building wasn't
the mismatched brochure and scale model275,500 yuan fine
2026Zhaochen Jewellery
A jewellery store built a fake mine set to livestream 'digging' its agate
the staged mining livestream3,000 yuan fine
2025–2026Polymarket
Polymarket's CMO paid influencers to fake winning bets — 140 million views, zero real wins
a CMO paid for 1,105 fake bet videos$1.9M in bets fabricated; CFTC scrutiny; DC lawsuit filed
2026Haihe Milk
Haihe Milk's livestream host used sexual innuendo to sell milk
the suggestive livestream sales pitch450,000 yuan fine; distributor's authorisation revoked
2026Guilin Qixing dessert shop
A Guilin bakery turned a nearby earthquake into a '520' promotion
the '520/5.2 earthquake' punCase opened by district market regulator; public apology
2026Five Guys
Five Guys' 40th-birthday BOGO deal ran stores out of food — and cost $1.5M in bonuses
a BOGO deal underestimated its own reach$1.5M in staff bonuses; stores closed early, sold out
2026Cupshe
A Cupshe staffer emailed 'we would not collab with black people' — hired four days earlier
an email said no Black creatorsemployee fired; public apology
2026Babybus
A kids' nursery-rhyme app served a splash ad about sharing a mistress schedule
the unreviewed ad-network splash ad300,000 yuan fine; 3.68 yuan in proceeds confiscated
2026Gymshark
Gymshark paid influencers to look unpaid — a lawsuit says that's the whole strategy
influencers told to hide the paymentclass action filed; damages sought under NY GBL §349
2026Growth Cave
Growth Cave sold 'AI software' that automated almost nothing — the FTC made it pay $48.6M
'AI software' that needed manual work$48.6M settlement, partly suspended; assets liquidated
2026Ge'erli E-commerce
A Linyi livestream shop ran medical-device and disease-cure ads nobody had checked
unreviewed medical claims on 3 products¥100,000 fine, named in a national regulator notice
2026Equinox
Equinox's AI ad showed an Asian woman's head mounted on a stand — it ran for months
an AI image isolated one Asian subjectimage pulled after months; public apology
2026Supor
Supor's store ran AI videos of women barging into men's bathrooms to sell steam cleaners
AI clips of bathroom intrusionsVideos pulled; review process questioned
2026Logitech
Logitech's China store told buyers they'd 'come running like a dog' for a discount
the 'like a dog' discount copy200,000 yuan fine on the store operator
2026Goldenberry
Goldenberry's chocolate ad ran a sexual pun, then blamed the platform's layout tool for it
the auto-generated suggestive headlineCampaign paused; both apologies rejected as blame-shifting
2026Wowcher
Wowcher's mass email joked about a toddler thrown into a crocodile pit
A crocodile-pit pun in a sale emailPublic apology; marketing sign-off process overhauled
2026Vodafone
Vodafone's 'The Nation's Network' claim kept getting banned
Unproved 'Nation's Network' claimSeven ASA bans; 'The Nation's Network' ruled misleading