Baidu's Apollo Go Sues Over Rumors Linking Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Missing Persons

On July 23, Baidu’s Apollo Go Legal Department announced that the company has filed lawsuits against certain online accounts for disseminating false audio content and baselessly linking its autonomous ride-hailing service to missing persons cases. An investigation revealed that accounts such as “Fuyuan***” and “Haoge***” employed sensationalized and exaggerated narratives to attract traffic. The related audio clips lacked factual basis and used stereotyped labels regarding identity and nationality, distorting the fact that Apollo Go is a domestically developed Chinese autonomous mobility service. These actions appear designed to exploit nationalist sentiments to incite division and damage the brand’s reputation. Such content has gone beyond the bounds of rational discussion and legitimate oversight, misleading public perception. Apollo Go stated it has now identified the actual infringing parties through legal procedures and formally initiated litigation to hold them accountable for infringement. The company emphasized it will continue monitoring online discourse and take necessary legal measures against any unfounded, label-driven content that deliberately stirs conflict and harms its rights. Previously, in June 2023, Apollo Go’s Legal Department issued a statement highlighting multiple incidents of false information targeting “Apollo Go” on platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin. Numerous users had posted nearly identical audio recordings alleging that “driverless ride-hailing vehicles caused people to go missing,” showing clear signs of orchestrated smear campaigns by malicious PR firms and paid commentators (“black PR” and “black water army”), which negatively impacted both the brand and public understanding of autonomous driving technology.