JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong and his wife refute rumors of ‘Illuminati’ links and file a police report

JD.com photo: VCG

China’s largest e-commerce platform JD.com on Wednesday refuted defamatory rumors about the personal lives of founder Liu Qiangdong and his wife Zhang Zetian. The couple has filed a police report and the matter is currently under investigation, according to a statement released on the company’s official Weibo account on Wednesday.

The statement refuted the rumor about Zhang’s alleged involvement in the ‘Illuminati’, saying that a number of organized accounts have actively spread these false claims and fabricated tens of thousands of false information online in a short period of time.

The conspiracy theory about the “Illuminati” has been spreading around the world for years, claiming that it is a secret society made up of powerful individuals.

The controversy arose after Zhang wore an eye-shaped brooch at an art exhibition for alumni of Tsinghua University in London.

Zhou Junwu, a lawyer, released a statement via Sina Weibo on Wednesday stating that Liu and Zhang instructed him to handle the legal issues surrounding the recent online rumors.

After consultation with Zhang, the brooch worn by Zhang at the exhibition was chosen purely to complement the event and her overall attire. The design, origin and other elements of the brooch have nothing to do with any organization, the lawyer’s statement said.

Zhang’s stylist also publicly refuted the rumor, the statement said.

Global times