Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the prevalence of data manipulation in live-streaming sales, where merchants and influencers create a false sense of urgency and popularity through fabricated sales and interaction metrics, leading to consumer deception [1][6][8]. Group 1: Data Manipulation Practices - Many platforms have initiated promotional events, leading to a common scene where merchants and influencers fake sales, interactions, and viewer counts to create a "hot-selling" illusion [1]. - Companies offer services to customize sales and interaction metrics, including real-time comments and likes, to enhance the perceived popularity of products [1][7]. - A specific company, "Miracle Team," provides services to heat up live-streams using real users, emphasizing their operations are conducted by real people to avoid detection [2][3]. Group 2: Pricing and Services - The pricing for these manipulation services includes various tiers, such as 5 million per person per hour for interaction services and 6 million per person per hour for display services, with minimum participant requirements [3][5]. - The use of coded language, such as "米" instead of "元," is employed to evade platform regulations [3][4]. Group 3: Consumer Impact - The use of phrases like "limited" and "last chance" creates a sense of urgency among consumers, often leading them to make impulsive purchases without assessing product quality [6]. - Consumers are misled by inflated sales figures and reviews, which can result in financial losses due to purchasing subpar products [8][10]. Group 4: Regulatory Challenges - The article discusses the challenges faced by e-commerce and live-streaming platforms in regulating these deceptive practices, noting the complexity and covert nature of the operations [9]. - Experts suggest that platforms need to enhance their ability to detect fraudulent activities using advanced technologies and implement stricter penalties for violators [9]. Group 5: Recommendations for Consumers - Consumers are advised to critically evaluate the sales atmosphere and data presented in live-streams, seek information from multiple sources, and retain evidence of their purchases [10].