On the evening of September 27, iQIYI's official spokesperson account, 'Peach Factory Online,' shared a somewhat exasperated Weibo post: 'Let's keep the holiday vibes clean—no rumors, no jokes, please!'

Earlier, a fabricated screenshot of iQIYI's playback interface had gone viral on social media. The message, written in a solemn tone, read: 'The system is unable to verify if you blinked and missed the ad. Therefore, playback will resume from your last blink.'

Naturally, the image was a hoax, and iQIYI was quick to debunk it. Yet, the incident didn't end there.

The most notable reactions in the comments section weren't about the image's authenticity. Instead, many users responded with a sense of resigned acceptance: 'Even though I know it's fake, it feels like something iQIYI would actually do.'

This reaction was telling. The internet is awash with meme images daily, and most people can spot a joke from a mile away. The sheer absurdity of 'Please Don't Blink' was so extreme that it defied even basic logic. Yet, it resonated with a large segment of users, suggesting that it tapped into a pre-existing sentiment about iQIYI.

Over the years, iQIYI has frequently found itself explaining and tweaking its rules regarding membership rights, screen casting, advertising, and other issues. Now, the company is doubling down on AI, short dramas, creator ecosystems, and more sophisticated data-driven marketing strategies.

As technological capabilities advance and commercialization tools proliferate, users are becoming increasingly vigilant. They're constantly wondering: 'Where else is the platform planning to monetize next?'

1. A Fake Image Unveils iQIYI's Past Controversies

There's a reason why users are inclined to treat memes as 'half-truths.'

In October 2024, iQIYI made headlines on social media due to full-screen ads that appeared after paid members paused videos. Some paying members reported that when they paused to get a clearer view, the original video was shrunk to a corner, and the main screen was occupied by ads.

iQIYI's customer service responded at the time, clarifying that VIP members mainly enjoy reduced ads before some video playback, but other forms of ads may still appear during viewing. Some pause ads, they noted, would only disappear after playback resumed.

More than a year later, iQIYI's membership rights page still clearly states: The 'ad privileges' enjoyed by Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members primarily target pre-roll ads for on-demand content. Sports content, certain sources, and other ad types are not fully covered by this privilege.

The platform's rules are transparent, but friction still arises between these rules and user expectations.

When users purchase a video membership, few delve into the legal and product definitions of 'pre-roll ads,' 'pause ads,' 'creative mid-rolls,' and 'copyright holder ads.' What they're paying for is straightforward: more content, better quality, and a hassle-free viewing experience.

Rules can be detailed, but experience doesn't always align with terms and conditions.

In April of this year, this mismatch resurfaced. Multiple users discovered that iQIYI's drama pause pages featured sensational materials like 'drug lord imprisons undercover female police officer' and 'bondage, drugging, and torture.' iQIYI promptly removed the related ads and pledged to conduct reviews and strengthen oversight.

A more contentious membership controversy for iQIYI even reached the courts.

In 2023, some Gold VIP users found that high-definition screen casting, which they had previously enjoyed, was now limited to 480P. To access higher resolutions, they needed to upgrade to a higher-tier membership. Long-time user Zhu Yuan subsequently sued iQIYI. In February of that year, iQIYI adjusted its plan, restoring 720P and 1080P screen casting for eligible existing Gold members. Gong Yu later admitted in an interview that there had been missteps in early membership planning and that the interests and emotions of member consumers needed to be protected. In 2024, the case reached its final verdict, with the second instance upholding the original judgment. iQIYI was required to retain corresponding high-definition screen casting rights for the plaintiff and compensate for 41 days of Gold VIP membership duration.

The internet membership business operates under two distinct logics. Platforms tend to view membership as a bundle of rights that can be continuously adjusted, segmented, and repriced. Consumers, on the other hand, are more accustomed to understanding membership based on past usage habits—what they could do with their money last year, they hope to continue doing after renewing this year.

When these logics collide, contradictions spread from 480P and pause ads all the way to 'Please Don't Blink.'

What users find most bothersome isn't having to watch a few extra seconds of ads, but the need to constantly verify what they've actually purchased after already paying once. Therefore, the public sentiment iQIYI faces this time is difficult to dismiss with a simple denial of a rumor.

The rumor-monger created a non-existent feature, yet users quickly filled in a complete product logic for it. Moreover, the cost of this lost trust had clearly been accumulating for some time.

2. iQIYI's Minute-by-Minute Reckoning

Reducing this matter to 'iQIYI has too many ads' would underestimate the operational pressures faced by a long-form video platform today.

As of the second quarter of this year, iQIYI's situation is not dire, but it's far from comfortable. In Q2 2026, iQIYI's revenue was 6.287 billion yuan, down 5% year-on-year. Membership service revenue was 4.014 billion yuan, down 2% year-on-year. Online advertising revenue was 1.246 billion yuan, down 2% year-on-year. GAAP operating loss was approximately 105 million yuan, and Non-GAAP operating loss was 30.3 million yuan. On the positive side, compared to the first quarter, revenue recovered quarter-on-quarter, losses narrowed significantly, operating cash flow turned positive again to 340 million yuan, and free cash flow was approximately 320 million yuan.

This financial report clearly illustrates iQIYI's predicament: The core business remains intact, but growth is becoming increasingly costly.

Membership and advertising together contribute more than 80% of revenue, yet both businesses were still in year-on-year decline in the second quarter. Meanwhile, iQIYI's content capabilities have not deteriorated. According to Yunhe Data, in the second quarter, iQIYI maintained its industry-leading market share in long-form dramas, movies, and children's content, while medium-length dramas also took the top spot for the first time in June.

The coexistence of content leadership and revenue pressure means that the linear cycle of 'creating a hit—attracting members—selling ads' that long-form video has relied on in the past is increasingly unable to sustain growth on its own.

The strategy Gong Yu outlined this year is straightforward: Transition toward a 'decentralized social media ecosystem' while going 'All in AI.' iQIYI hopes to use Nado Pro, iQIYI Accounts, and AI production tools to expand its highly centralized film and television production to more creators. Then, it leverages its existing content industrial system, user data, and commercialization capabilities to complete distribution and monetization.

When this transformation is applied to the advertising business, the implications are even more direct. On September 23, just four days before the 'Please Don't Blink' meme went viral, iQIYI held its 2026 iJOY Autumn Enjoyment Conference and introduced a new brand marketing system.

One of the products is called 'Bai Tai Qian Tong.' According to iQIYI's introduction, this system will utilize long-accumulated data such as membership systems, multi-device behavior, and content preferences to identify and tag household structures, household consumption, life stages, lifestyles, and work statuses. At the same time, iQIYI hopes to use AIGC to further expand AI-generated ad materials into large-scale product placements.

For advertisers, this means more precise data, richer touchpoints, lower material costs, and higher conversion efficiency. For users, it may mean that the platform understands them better and is also more adept at finding every possible space for commercialization.

In the past, long-form video sold ad slots. Today, it's beginning to manage scenes, data, IP, and user attention. This is why pause pages have become sensitive.

To the advertising department, it's an idle screen. To the user, it's a pause button they just actively pressed.

The same interface, two sets of value calculations. Of course, iQIYI will not halt commercialization because of a single roast. In the second quarter, targeted drama brand advertising revenue achieved double-digit year-on-year growth. Performance advertising resumed growth, and iQIYI is also using its self-developed large models to improve ad targeting precision. The core pursuit of the advertising business has long since shifted from simply increasing exposure to using data and AI to enhance the commercial value of per-unit traffic.

The operational logic makes sense, but the boundaries are harder to define. Members themselves are iQIYI's largest group of paying users. Every increase in ad efficiency, if it comes at the cost of their most sensitive viewing experience, requires a recalculation of the books.

Because users have another right: not to renew.

3. Hongguo's Redefinition of User Time

The pressure iQIYI faces also comes from a competitor that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago: Hongguo.

According to QuestMobile monitoring, in July 2026, Hongguo Short Drama's independent app DAU reached 168 million, up 107% year-on-year. During the same period, Tencent Video had approximately 50 million, iQIYI approximately 45 million, Youku and Mango TV approximately 30 million each, totaling around 155 million for the four traditional long-form video apps.

It should be noted that Hongguo employs incentives such as daily check-ins and watching ads to earn coins, so its DAU measurement cannot be directly equated with the membership viewing behavior of long-form video platforms. Nor does daily active user scale necessarily mean that revenue has surpassed 'iQIYI, Youku, Tencent Video, and Mango TV.'

Hongguo has changed the video industry's understanding of 'free.' Traditional long-form video has worked hard to educate users to pay for high-quality content. Hongguo, on the other hand, relies on free content to gain scale and then completes commercialization through advertising, sharing a portion of the revenue with producers and creators.

These two models are now competing for time on the same screen. A user who has paid a membership fee on iQIYI is naturally more sensitive to ads. On Hongguo, where they have not paid, watching ads becomes part of the preset business model.

This puts long-form video in a delicate position. To continue relying on memberships, it must maintain the paid experience. To increase ad commercialization, it must avoid creating a psychological gap for high-value members who feel, 'I've already paid, why do I still have to watch ads?' A full shift to a free model would directly impact the subscription revenue foundation built over the years.

iQIYI has already begun proactively entering the short-form content battlefield. In June of this year, iQIYI's short dramas took the top domestic market share for the first time. The platform is also encouraging more creators to join iQIYI Accounts, using AI to lower the production barriers for short dramas, comic dramas, medium-length dramas, and other content.

In the past, the most valuable asset for long-form video platforms was head content. In the era of short videos, another asset is becoming increasingly valuable: continuously occupying user time.

iQIYI possesses a mature film and television industrial system, IP, advertisers, paying members, and content aesthetic capabilities—assets that Hongguo would find difficult to replicate in the short term. Hongguo's advantages come from its massive supply of low-cost content, free mechanisms, ByteDance-system traffic, and a product structure more suited to ad revenue sharing.

What the two sides are ultimately competing on is no longer just who can produce the next hit. Who can retain more user time at a lower content cost without prematurely exhausting user patience will determine where the profits of the next round of the video business come from.

This also adds an industry dimension to the joke of 'Please Don't Blink,' because while platforms are studying how to maximize the value of every minute, users are increasingly concerned about whether they can still control that minute themselves.

Epilogue

iQIYI should consider itself fortunate that 'Please Don't Blink' is just a meme. At least for now, it has not reached that level of absurdity.

However, the most difficult public sentiment for a company to handle has never been rumors that are completely detached from reality. Jokes that seem outrageous at first glance but make large numbers of users feel, 'It seems like something they would actually do,' often represent a free brand stress test.

iQIYI still has strong content capabilities today. Overseas growth is happening, short dramas are catching up, AI is entering production and commercialization chains, and offline IP is taking its first steps. Its hand is not a bad one.

But as the company begins to use AI to re-produce content, re-understand households, redesign ads, and recalculate the efficiency of every scene, members on the other end are also recalculating their own accounts.

When an absurd fake image starts to seem like a 'product preview,' debunking the image is easy. Rewriting users' imaginations of iQIYI's next move is much harder.

*The featured image and illustrations in the text are sourced from the internet.