Doubao Debunks Boiling Slipper Hoax, Unveils New Office Tools Amid ByteDance's Enhanced Support

Recent viral videos claiming Doubao, ByteDance's AI assistant, recommended boiling deformed slippers to fix them have been debunked by the platform's PR chief Liu Xing. The incident turned out to be a hoax orchestrated by bloggers seeking traffic: they intentionally guided Doubao to generate incorrect responses, edited the interactions into videos, and staged scenes to make the AI's advice seem real. Some media and institutional accounts further spread the false information without verification, turning a playful meme into misleading news.

This isn't the first time Doubao has faced such smear campaigns. Liu Xing previously revealed that multiple accounts from the same IP address posed as exam takers to promote competing AI products while bashing Doubao. False claims like Doubao recommending paid hotels have also been refuted in the past.

Despite the challenges, Doubao continues to innovate. It recently rolled out three core toolkits: Skill Store, Connectors, and Work Partner, offering over 200 skills and connectors to let users customize workflows for personalized office scenarios. On August 25, it launched Doubao Work, an Agent product tailored for office settings to boost workplace efficiency and automate processes.

ByteDance has shown strong support for Doubao. According to First Financial, the company raised Doubao's share price from $14.85 per share in June to $17.02, increased the number of shares available, and allowed employees to adjust the proportion of Doubao shares in their total compensation. This marks the third price hike this year, with a cumulative 30% increase in just six months.

Sources

• Sohu (https://m.sohu.com/a/1070929746_121984834)
• First Financial