The Death of Chinese Actor Yu Menglong Has Led to Loads of Conspiracy Theories

It's been more than a month since Chinese actor Yu Menglong died, but the case has still not resolved itself in the minds of many who have followed it closely. Reports emerged shortly after Yu's death that his body had been found at the base of a multistory apartment building, according to Foreign Policy.

Quickly thereafter, police ruled his death accidental, saying that alcohol was involved, ruling out criminal activity without going into any detail. That wasn't satisfying for his fans, many of whom were convinced there was more to the story. Here's what we know so far.

Although he was never one of the biggest stars in the country, Yu was a notable figure in Chinese culture, and had more than 26 million followers on Weibo at the time of his death.

Almost immediately his death occurred, people began to float alternate theories online suggesting that the actual reason for his death had been covered up, and he might have been the victim of foul play.

The claims varied widely, but included suggestions that other prominent Chinese stars were involved in his death, or that a USB drive existed that might have incriminating evidence about his death.

As the theories began spreading online, Chinese censors went to work to erase mentions of Yu from the internet altogether. This is not uncommon in China, where the government exercises much more control over what users can see and discuss on the internet.

In spite of this censorship, though, which included the deletion of accounts that were spreading theories related to Yu's death, the Chinese public continued to spread rumors through new accounts and more oblique references.

The chatter online grew so overwhelming that it became a story outside of China, even as those in China have noted that Yu isn't the only actor to die under suspicious circumstances.

Although the circumstances around Yu's death, and the Chinese government's efforts to make it as little of a story as possible, are certainly cause for suspicion, it's hard to know for sure what actually happened. There is no independent media inside of China that can investigate the government and get to the bottom of what's actually happened. And even citizens who might be inclined to take similar measures can't either because of government censorship.

Yu's story is a reminder that, although most Chinese citizens might not think about their country's government system every day, it's undeniably one that sometimes suppresses the truth to serve its own ends. Yu's death might be suspicious, or it might be the case that it's exactly as the Chinese government said.

The problem is, when you know you can't trust the information the government is giving you, you can never be sure exactly whether what you're being told is actually true or not. As a result, we might never know exactly what happened to Yu, and whether any of the theories online are correct.