A Chinese college student suffering from cancer recently died after undergoing questionable treatments from a hospital advertised in the top spot on Baidu. China’s government has launched an investigation into Baidu following the incident.

Wei Zexi, 21, a student at Xidian University in Shaanxi, died on April 12 from a rare cancer called synovial sarcoma. After radiation and chemotherapy proved unsuccessful, Wei found an advertisement on Baidu for an alternative treatment at the Second Hospital of Beijing Armed Police.

The paid post advertised cells generated by a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer, or CIK cell therapy. The doctor at the hospital told Wei that the treatment had been developed by Stanford University and was extremely effective. Wei and his family spent more than 20,000 Yuan on treatments and saw no results.

Before his death, Wei posted about his anger at Baidu and the hospital on Zhihu and his story has gone viral in China. The hospital’s fake propaganda spread by Baidu has caused much anger in China.

This Sunday, a Chinese reporter spoke on the phone with Becky Bach, a media relations professional at Stanford Medicine. Bach said that Stanford did not have any cooperative programs in cell therapy with Chinese hospitals, including the Second Hospital of Beijing Armed Police. She promised that Stanford will investigate the matter further and get their lawyers involved.

Xinhua announced on Monday afternoon that the State Information Office, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the National Health and Family Commission have set up a joint investigation into the situation. 

Baidu’s stock in the United States fell nearly 8% yesterday.

Source: inews.qq.com

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Keywords: Baidu cancer Wei Zexi Baidu