Social media is a space where people construct identities and influence how others see them. The Chinese influencer Mao Yibei (猫一杯), also known as Thurman, shows how an online persona can attract attention and eventually lose credibility.
At first, Mao posted humorous lifestyle content about her life in France, which helped her establish an entertaining persona. Over time, her online presence also included public activities that presented her as active and socially connected in Paris. Her involvement in a Chinese New Year market in Paris in 2024 contributed to this image. Kong (2024) reports that the market was organised by the Belleville United Chamber of Commerce, while Mao participated in the event. Participation in an event, however, does not mean that someone organised it.
Goffman’s (1959) theory of self-presentation helps explain how Mao developed her online persona. Her videos acted as a front stage where she managed impressions by selecting particular aspects of her life to create a humorous and engaging image. Her descriptions of her background were expressions she gave: information she deliberately communicated. Viewers could also draw meanings from her non-verbal presentation, such as settings, behaviour and tone. These were expressions she gave off, which could lead audiences to draw conclusions beyond what she deliberately stated. Her backstage experiences remained largely invisible, so viewers saw only a selected version of her identity. This carefully selected public image could appear consistent, even though audiences could not see everything behind it.
Hogan (2010) extends Goffman’s discussion by distinguishing online performances from exhibitions. Unlike face-to-face interaction, social media content can be edited, selected, stored and circulated to an imagined audience. Mao’s videos were therefore curated presentations rather than simply spontaneous expressions of identity. Social media also allows an online persona to be revisited and judged over time. This means that content posted to build a particular impression may later be viewed in a different context.
However, self-presentation does not automatically mean deception. The problem arises when an online image relies on fabricated events. In February 2024, Mao posted videos claiming that she had found a primary-school student’s lost homework in Paris. In April, police confirmed that Mao and a colleague had planned and fabricated the story, purchased exercise books and filmed staged videos to attract followers and online traffic (China Law Popularization, 2024). The revelation damaged public trust and prompted viewers to question the image she had previously built, not just the individual story.
Mao’s case shows that digital identity is not created by the individual alone; it is also shaped by audience interpretation and trust. Goffman helps explain how she managed impressions, while Hogan shows how social media turns selected aspects of identity into curated exhibitions that can be judged later. Yet careful presentation and wide circulation cannot guarantee credibility. Ultimately, gaining attention is not the same as establishing credibility, and perceived authenticity is essential to maintaining a lasting relationship with an audience.
References
China Law Popularization (2024) ‘警方通报“秦朗巴黎丢寒假作业”！’ [Police report on the ‘Qinlang lost homework in Paris’ incident], 15 April. Available at: https://legalinfo.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbzhfx/zhfxfzrd/202404/t20240415_497500.html (Accessed: 28 October 2026).
Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.
Hogan, B. (2010) ‘The Presentation of Self in the Age of Social Media: Distinguishing Performances and Exhibitions Online’, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(6), pp. 377–386. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467610385893.
Kong, F. (2024) ‘巴黎美丽城举办新春市集迎龙年’ [Belleville in Paris holds a Lunar New Year market to welcome the Year of the Dragon], European Times, 4 February. Available at: https://www.oushinet.com/static/content/qj/qjnews/2024-02-04/1203940174422892544.html (Accessed: 27 October 2026).
