China securities regulator fines investor about RMB 485,000 for AI-generated false soda ash output reports

China's Sichuan Securities Regulatory Bureau has penalized individual investor Sun Zheyuan for using AI tools to fabricate and spread misinformation related to soda ash production, according to monitoring by Beating. Regulators said Sun generated 17 false articles and posted them on Baidu's Baijiahao platform under the account name "Di Kan". During the period the articles circulated, he traded soda ash futures and netted RMB 85,028.85 after transaction costs. The bureau confiscated the full amount of the gains and imposed an additional RMB 400,000 fine, bringing the total forfeiture and penalty to roughly RMB 485,000. The 17 articles centered on two fabricated narratives. Four claimed a soda ash producer suffered a boiler failure that would suspend output for at least six months, while 13 alleged an earthquake in Alashan damaged factories. The day after publication, the posts together logged 8,794 views. Regulators noted that some investors had already checked the claims with the listed companies involved, and others reported the misinformation via regulatory channels. Sun argued the posts had no material market impact, that his futures profits were unrelated to the false reports, and that he had a long-standing mental illness. The Sichuan regulator dismissed these defenses, saying the conduct was clearly intentional and that Sun failed to demonstrate he was unable to recognize or control his actions at the time. The bureau also said that profits earned from futures trading during the dissemination of false information can be directly deemed illegal gains.