Huo Qubing AI short drama "500 Million Plays" faces criticism, while MrBeast's long videos only reach 110 million

Multiple Taiwanese media outlets reported on March 3, 2026, that the AI short drama “Huo Qubing” went viral, claiming it had over 500 million views, with a production cost of only about 3,000 RMB and a creation time of just 48 hours. However, after fact-checking across major platforms, the creator Yang Hanhans’ AIGC-related videos on Bilibili and Douyin combined have fewer than 20,000 views, which is vastly inconsistent with the reported figures.

Background of the AI Short Drama “Huo Qubing”

(Source: Manhua Production Line)

According to Taiwanese media reports, this AI short drama about the Western Han general Huo Qubing, produced by Yang Hanhans AIGC, is approximately 23 minutes long and cost only about 3,000 RMB to produce. The creator revealed on Weibo that the video was completed before Seedance 2.0 was launched, taking only 48 hours. All videos and images were generated via the “Manhua Production Line” platform developed by 360 Group, with post-editing done using JianYing, and a theme song of the same name was produced simultaneously.

Media estimates suggest that the cost for Yang Hanhans to generate special effects shots with AI has been reduced to about 3 RMB per second, which is significantly lower than the tens of thousands of RMB typically spent on a traditional live-action short episode.

Suspicious Aspects of 500 Million Views: Data Verification and Benchmark Comparison

According to records from the Manhua Production Line platform, the “Huo Qubing” AI short drama was completed on February 4, 2026. However, only a 4-minute and 23-second version is available on the platform, and the full 23-minute version mentioned by Taiwanese media has not been independently verified.

Verification results across major social platforms are as follows: related posts on Weibo have about 640,000 views; Yang Hanhans’ videos on Bilibili and Douyin combined have fewer than 20,000 views; combined with traffic from other platforms, the total still falls far short of the 500 million reported.

Key Data Comparing the Suspicious 500 Million Views

Verifiable actual data:
Creator’s own accounts on Bilibili and Douyin total fewer than 20,000 views;
Weibo posts about the video have about 640,000 views;
Total is far below 500 million.

Benchmark comparison with MrBeast:
MrBeast, the most subscribed YouTuber globally (about 470 million subscribers), uploaded a roughly 22-minute video on January 25, which has about 110 million views—more than four times the reported “Huo Qubing” views.

Credibility issues of the report:
Multiple Taiwanese media outlets reported the video as having 500 million views but did not provide verifiable data sources.

Possible reasonable explanation:
Huo Qubing is a popular historical AI creation theme, and numerous versions of related AI videos exist online. Summing all these versions’ traffic might approach 500 million; however, this is fundamentally different from claiming that Yang Hanhans’ specific video alone achieved that number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can an AI short drama produced with only 3,000 RMB truly reach 500 million views?
Technologically, low-cost AI short dramas are now feasible. Yang Hanhans’ tools can significantly reduce production costs. However, low production costs do not necessarily lead to high viewership. Based on verifiable data, the creator’s own accounts have far fewer than 500 million views, and media reports lack traceable data sources, raising doubts about the plausibility of such a figure.

Q: Why is the Huo Qubing theme so popular on Chinese internet?
Huo Qubing was a famous general of the Western Han Dynasty, known for his bravery in campaigns against the Xiongnu. As a legendary figure in Chinese history, the rise of AI video creation has led many creators to produce content on historical themes (including the Three Kingdoms, Xin Qiji, etc.), resulting in numerous versions. This may cause traffic from different versions to be conflated, inflating view counts.

Q: What does this incident teach readers about AI traffic reports?
This case highlights the potential lack of verification in media reports claiming “viral” numbers. Readers should actively verify data from the creator’s official accounts and check whether media outlets provide traceable sources, rather than relying solely on single reports.