Weekend coffee: A big lesson

Recently, it has become common for event organizers to use the names of "internet gangsters," even inviting them to participate in charity programs or promote their products.

For example, at the end of March this year, a product promotion event for fermented pork sausage (nem chua) was organized by the Chien Huong Cooperative at Youth Park in Hoa Binh province. Notably, the event included a number of TikTokers widely known for their portrayals of gangsters and "street kids" in their audiovisual content; this activity was disseminated online as a "cultural and tourism event of Hoa Binh province"...

The aforementioned issue has caused public outrage for a long time and is now tending to spread to the arts, a field that was thought to be an "invulnerable territory" for "online gangsters." What seemed impossible happened in mid-July 2025, and by the end of last week was reported by the press after authorities reached an initial conclusion on the matter.

On July 18th, in Ha Tinh, An Phat Dat Event Organizing Company Limited held a music program titled "Echoes of the La River." The program was approved by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh province, with a script of 10 performances. However, in reality, the event organizers invited two "internet personalities" (one of whom had previously participated in the aforementioned program in Hoa Binh) to perform some songs outside the approved script.

The aforementioned incidents have concluded, and administrative penalties have been promptly imposed on the violators by the authorities, but the resulting harm is difficult to quantify. More importantly, there is a trend of organizing art and entertainment programs without regard for quality or artistic standards. As the organizers of "Echoes of the La River" stated in response to questions from state management agencies regarding the use of "internet personalities" to attract audience attention, this misguided viewpoint not only harms art but also negatively impacts the cultural consumption trends of young people and is unacceptable.

That's a great lesson for the management of culture and arts in general.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ca-phe-cuoi-tuan-mot-bai-hoc-lon-712013.html