Hundreds of videos promoting endangered wildlife sales in Laos appeared on Chinese social media, with some directing potential buyers to private messages, according to an Oct. 14 investigation by Mongabay.
Tencent said it had removed all violating content after Mongabay supplied screenshots of 24 pangolin videos. The outlet found that only seven had been removed by publication.
Mongabay found the posts by searching WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Some users portrayed wildlife purchases as legal in Laos, contradicting warnings issued by the Chinese Embassy.
One account had posted 96 wildlife-trade videos since August 2025. Viewers asking about buying pangolin parts sometimes received invitations to send private messages.
In its response, Tencent described reviewing reports and taking action that could include deleting posts or restricting accounts. ByteDance, Douyin’s owner, and Xiaohongshu did not answer Mongabay’s questions.
Both Tencent and ByteDance have rules against posts promoting illegal wildlife trade, Mongabay reported. It found no equivalent rule in Xiaohongshu’s community guidelines.
Virginia Times has not independently verified the videos.
Some posts dated to 2023. Mongabay also found new videos about eating pangolins still appearing on WeChat Channels when it published its investigation.
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