Introduction:Recently, during a giveaway event hosted by the Chongqing community account of Paoma Tea Ji, one user won four times within just a month. Because the event did not use the platform’s automated random selection system but instead relied on manual selection by staff, it raised public concerns about the transparency of the process. Although the individual in question emphasized that it was purely due to luck and high participation, the doubts among the public remained unresolved. This article delves into the background of the incident, common differences in industry giveaway mechanisms, and offers practical tips for identifying fair events.

Recently, netizens noticed that in a giveaway event hosted by the official Chongqing community account of Paoma Tea Ji, one user won four times in less than a month. The situation quickly sparked heated discussion and skepticism online. Since this series of giveaways did not use the automatic selection tools provided by the social media platform, but were instead manually chosen by staff members, many users suspected potential unfair practices or internal manipulation.

Although the named user publicly explained that they were just an active participant with good luck and not an insider, and even shared multiple comments and check-in records as proof, such responses made some netizens even more suspicious: how would an average customer remember the details of every single event? Some even bluntly stated “this is like proclaiming innocence too loudly,” believing that it only made things seem more unnatural.

In fact, many tea beverage brands often host giveaway events on social media platforms—such as leaving comments or sharing posts—to promote new products or boost engagement. These events typically promise rewards like free drink vouchers or beverage redemption codes. Compared to other competing brands, Paoma Tea Ji holds giveaway events significantly more frequently—not only through its main official account, but also via multiple regional sub-community accounts. Almost every month features a different themed giveaway, continuously drawing fans' attention to brand updates.

However, in the Chongqing region’s recent list of winners, one user ID appeared multiple times. After careful comparison by netizens, it was found that this user not only won multiple times under the Chongqing account, but also appeared on the winning list of Paoma Tea Ji’s official main account. Furthermore, other users were discovered to have similarly “high-frequency winning” records—even some who won twice within just five days—raising widespread doubts about the fairness of the giveaways.

Notably, for this round of giveaways, Paoma Tea Ji did not utilize the built-in fair selection system of the social media platform, but instead had the event’s operations team manually select the winners. While this practice is not uncommon in the industry, when participation numbers are large (often ranging from hundreds to thousands of users per event), manual selection is more likely to spark suspicions of “pre-determined winners” or “human manipulation.” Many netizens expressed that if a brand opts for manual screening, it should publicly disclose the selection criteria and process, rather than leaving participants to guess whether there is any behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Faced with the online controversy, the first to respond was not the brand’s official account, but the user whose wins were being questioned. This user insisted that they were just an ordinary consumer who won multiple times due to high participation and luck, and were not an insider in any way. However, this explanation failed to fully dispel public doubts. Instead, it led some to believe that it is unlikely an average customer would be so familiar with every single event detail, further deepening skepticism about the fairness of the event.

This incident highlights that when tea beverage brands host community-based giveaways without using transparent and widely recognized selection mechanisms, even well-intentioned efforts to enhance brand interaction and publicity can easily lead to trust crises due to the way the events are conducted. For consumers, when participating in giveaway events, it is advisable to pay attention to whether the event rules are clear, whether the selection method is transparent, and whether past events have had similar controversies, in order to protect their own participation rights.

As of press time, the official community account of Paoma Tea Ji has still not publicly responded to this incident, and the ongoing discussion about fairness continues to unfold.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.