A forged image purporting to depict an “Alibaba Qwen company-wide rally” has recently caused an uproar across Chinese social media.

The image, showing so-called employees holding Doubao-themed items with a banner reading “Wipe Out Doubao” displayed in the square, went viral alongside the absurd claim that “participants ate Doubao after the mobilization meeting,” quickly becoming a focal point of public opinion.

Alibaba insiders promptly refuted the rumor, pointing out obvious discrepancies in logos and employee IDs in the image, dismissing it as a deliberate fabrication.

This seemingly nonsensical rumor farce is no isolated online prank. Instead, it reflects the 2025 AI industry landscape dominated by tech giants with a “duopoly taking shape,” as well as the market’s anxious imagination of sector competition that has spawned a distorted phenomenon of “using rumors to dramatize rivalry.”

Duopoly Narrative and Emotional Projection in the AI Sector

Why did the rumor spread so rapidly? Its core appeal lies in its alignment with the market’s underlying perception of the AI industry.


Per QuestMobile’s Q3 2025 report, apps related to Doubao and Qwen rank among the top in monthly active users (MAU) among AI applications. Meanwhile, on a16z’s global consumer generative AI rankings, products from Alibaba and ByteDance collectively hold three of the top five spots, solidifying an industry structure of “two dominant players.”

This pattern of concentrated market leadership has naturally fueled market speculation about intense cutthroat competition. From the average user’s perspective, functional differences between AI products are narrowing, and homogeneous competition has entrenched the perception of a “zero-sum game.”

When major tech firms pour hundreds of billions into the sector—Alibaba has committed 380 billion yuan to AI infrastructure over three years, while ByteDance has stepped up 160 billion yuan in computing power procurement— the public tends to interpret such resource battles as life-or-death vicious competition.

Notably, online public opinion inherently favors dramatic expressions. The crude slogan “Wipe Out Doubao” is far more shareable than technical jargon like “technology iteration” or “scenario deepening.” Rumor-mongers capitalized on this, simplifying complex business competition into blunt emotional outbursts, which catered to some people’s desire to gawk at the “involution” among tech giants and reinforced the market’s preconceived notion of fierce industry rivalry.

From “Slogan Confrontation” to “Ecological Deep Warfare”

In stark contrast to the “slogan-based competition” in the rumors, real competition in the AI sector has long entered a more sophisticated phase, focusing not on emotional venting but on a comprehensive contest of full-stack capabilities and ecological layout.

The core of competition among tech giants has shifted from early model parameter comparisons to ecological positioning centered on “comprehensive coverage plus vertical deepening.”

Alibaba has built a collaborative matrix including Qwen, Kuaike AI, and Ant Fortune AI, seizing user entry points with general-purpose AI while establishing moats in high-barrier vertical sectors like healthcare via Ant Fortune AI. ByteDance leverages the Douyin ecosystem to drive traffic to Doubao, while continuously advancing in content generation and daily assistant scenarios.

The competitive logic for both sides lies in a comprehensive strength contest of “breadth plus depth,” rather than confrontation between individual products.

The essence of resource investment is not to “target rivals” but to build core barriers. Alibaba’s 380 billion yuan infrastructure investment has translated into practical capabilities such as training on over a trillion medical corpus data and connecting with 300,000 qualified doctors. ByteDance’s 100-billion-yuan computing power procurement underpins Doubao’s advantages in interactive experience and response speed.

These investments ultimately aim to meet users’ evolving demands from “chatting” to “getting things done,” rather than simply defeating competitors.

It is worth noting that competition in vertical sectors like healthcare and finance highlights the importance of “differentiated breakthroughs.” Ant Fortune AI, leveraging over a decade of medical sector experience, achieved 15 million MAU within six months of launch, proving that users truly pay for products that “solve real problems.”

Under this competitive logic, slogans like “wipe out competitors” are meaningless; only deepening scenario applications and optimizing user experience can ensure long-term market standing.

Value Distortion Amid Rumor Hysteria

The spread of rumors like “Wipe Out Doubao” not only poisons the online environment but also risks negatively impacting the AI industry’s development. It diverts public attention from core issues such as technological innovation and user value to irrelevant topics like vicious competition and emotional confrontation, fostering a “bad money drives out good money” media atmosphere.

More dangerously, such rumors may intensify involutionary competition in the industry. If the market excessively embraces confrontational narratives, companies may be pressured to deviate from long-term strategies and fall into the trap of “competing for competition’s sake.”

The AI industry is essentially driven by technology to create value. Whether for major tech firms or startups, core competitiveness ultimately hinges on addressing user pain points. For example, Ant Fortune AI has expanded from medical consultation to daily needs like weight loss and smoking cessation, winning user recognition through practical functions.

For users, rumors can also lead to cognitive misunderstandings. Simplifying complex business competition into “slogan-shouting” causes the public to overlook core differences in data security, privacy protection, and professionalism among AI products, hindering the healthy development of the industry.

In fact, what users truly need is not “who defeats whom,” but safer, more practical, and more user-friendly AI services.

For tech giants, rather than passively responding to rumors, they should communicate their competitive logic more transparently, reducing “muscle-flexing” and increasing focus on user value communication, allowing the public to see the essence of “technology for all” behind AI competition.

Competition between Alibaba Qwen and ByteDance Doubao should drive industry progress, not breed rumors. The public needs to maintain independent judgment and avoid being misled by dramatic rumors.

The “duopoly competition” between Alibaba and ByteDance should be a contest of technological innovation, user experience, and scenario implementation—not emotional outbursts in rumors.

May competition in the AI sector embrace more value adherence and less narrative alienation, more rational competition and less emotional hysteria. Only then can the industry grow in a healthy environment and truly fulfill its original aspiration of technological inclusion.

A forged image purporting to depict an “Alibaba Qwen company-wide rally” has recently caused an uproar across Chinese social media.

The image, showing so-called employees holding Doubao-themed items with a banner reading “Wipe Out Doubao” displayed in the square, went viral alongside the absurd claim that “participants ate Doubao after the mobilization meeting,” quickly becoming a focal point of public opinion.

Alibaba insiders promptly refuted the rumor, pointing out obvious discrepancies in logos and employee IDs in the image, dismissing it as a deliberate fabrication.

This seemingly nonsensical rumor farce is no isolated online prank. Instead, it reflects the 2025 AI industry landscape dominated by tech giants with a “duopoly taking shape,” as well as the market’s anxious imagination of sector competition that has spawned a distorted phenomenon of “using rumors to dramatize rivalry.”

Duopoly Narrative and Emotional Projection in the AI Sector

Why did the rumor spread so rapidly? Its core appeal lies in its alignment with the market’s underlying perception of the AI industry.


Per QuestMobile’s Q3 2025 report, apps related to Doubao and Qwen rank among the top in monthly active users (MAU) among AI applications. Meanwhile, on a16z’s global consumer generative AI rankings, products from Alibaba and ByteDance collectively hold three of the top five spots, solidifying an industry structure of “two dominant players.”

This pattern of concentrated market leadership has naturally fueled market speculation about intense cutthroat competition. From the average user’s perspective, functional differences between AI products are narrowing, and homogeneous competition has entrenched the perception of a “zero-sum game.”

When major tech firms pour hundreds of billions into the sector—Alibaba has committed 380 billion yuan to AI infrastructure over three years, while ByteDance has stepped up 160 billion yuan in computing power procurement— the public tends to interpret such resource battles as life-or-death vicious competition.

Notably, online public opinion inherently favors dramatic expressions. The crude slogan “Wipe Out Doubao” is far more shareable than technical jargon like “technology iteration” or “scenario deepening.” Rumor-mongers capitalized on this, simplifying complex business competition into blunt emotional outbursts, which catered to some people’s desire to gawk at the “involution” among tech giants and reinforced the market’s preconceived notion of fierce industry rivalry.

From “Slogan Confrontation” to “Ecological Deep Warfare”

In stark contrast to the “slogan-based competition” in the rumors, real competition in the AI sector has long entered a more sophisticated phase, focusing not on emotional venting but on a comprehensive contest of full-stack capabilities and ecological layout.

The core of competition among tech giants has shifted from early model parameter comparisons to ecological positioning centered on “comprehensive coverage plus vertical deepening.”

Alibaba has built a collaborative matrix including Qwen, Kuaike AI, and Ant Fortune AI, seizing user entry points with general-purpose AI while establishing moats in high-barrier vertical sectors like healthcare via Ant Fortune AI. ByteDance leverages the Douyin ecosystem to drive traffic to Doubao, while continuously advancing in content generation and daily assistant scenarios.

The competitive logic for both sides lies in a comprehensive strength contest of “breadth plus depth,” rather than confrontation between individual products.

The essence of resource investment is not to “target rivals” but to build core barriers. Alibaba’s 380 billion yuan infrastructure investment has translated into practical capabilities such as training on over a trillion medical corpus data and connecting with 300,000 qualified doctors. ByteDance’s 100-billion-yuan computing power procurement underpins Doubao’s advantages in interactive experience and response speed.

These investments ultimately aim to meet users’ evolving demands from “chatting” to “getting things done,” rather than simply defeating competitors.

It is worth noting that competition in vertical sectors like healthcare and finance highlights the importance of “differentiated breakthroughs.” Ant Fortune AI, leveraging over a decade of medical sector experience, achieved 15 million MAU within six months of launch, proving that users truly pay for products that “solve real problems.”

Under this competitive logic, slogans like “wipe out competitors” are meaningless; only deepening scenario applications and optimizing user experience can ensure long-term market standing.

Value Distortion Amid Rumor Hysteria

The spread of rumors like “Wipe Out Doubao” not only poisons the online environment but also risks negatively impacting the AI industry’s development. It diverts public attention from core issues such as technological innovation and user value to irrelevant topics like vicious competition and emotional confrontation, fostering a “bad money drives out good money” media atmosphere.

More dangerously, such rumors may intensify involutionary competition in the industry. If the market excessively embraces confrontational narratives, companies may be pressured to deviate from long-term strategies and fall into the trap of “competing for competition’s sake.”

The AI industry is essentially driven by technology to create value. Whether for major tech firms or startups, core competitiveness ultimately hinges on addressing user pain points. For example, Ant Fortune AI has expanded from medical consultation to daily needs like weight loss and smoking cessation, winning user recognition through practical functions.

For users, rumors can also lead to cognitive misunderstandings. Simplifying complex business competition into “slogan-shouting” causes the public to overlook core differences in data security, privacy protection, and professionalism among AI products, hindering the healthy development of the industry.

In fact, what users truly need is not “who defeats whom,” but safer, more practical, and more user-friendly AI services.

For tech giants, rather than passively responding to rumors, they should communicate their competitive logic more transparently, reducing “muscle-flexing” and increasing focus on user value communication, allowing the public to see the essence of “technology for all” behind AI competition.

Competition between Alibaba Qwen and ByteDance Doubao should drive industry progress, not breed rumors. The public needs to maintain independent judgment and avoid being misled by dramatic rumors.

The “duopoly competition” between Alibaba and ByteDance should be a contest of technological innovation, user experience, and scenario implementation—not emotional outbursts in rumors.

May competition in the AI sector embrace more value adherence and less narrative alienation, more rational competition and less emotional hysteria. Only then can the industry grow in a healthy environment and truly fulfill its original aspiration of technological inclusion.