(ASIAONE) - In a world of Internet scams and catfishers, you would think that most people online would know better than to believe everything they see.

Fans of Chinese video blogger Qiaobiluo Dianxia were hit with a dose of reality when the gaming goddess of their dreams was exposed as a 58-year-old woman during a live stream on Thursday (July 25).

Qiaobiluo had amassed a following of 130,000 on DouYu, a Chinese live-streaming platform that allows viewers to donate money to streamers.

She had managed to keep fans intrigued by hiding her face behind anime graphics, using filters or turning the camera away from herself.

Attracted by Qiaobiluo's sweet voice and duped by the pictures she often uploaded, her fans believed that she was a young woman.

Capitalising on her fans' curiosity, Qiaobiluo had posted that she would meet her followers in real life for 100,000 yuan (S$19,920). She also said that she wanted to gain 100,000 followers before revealing her face.

However, a technical glitch threw a wrench in her plans. Her followers saw her real face after the graphic she was using stopped working during a live stream with fellow streamer Mix Qingzi.

What followed were an awkward few minutes as Qiaobiluo rambled on while her fellow streamer seemed unsure whether or not to point out what was happening.

Qiaobiluo finally caught on and admitted that she was a 58-year-old mother of one.

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Many of her fans felt cheated and betrayed.

Others derided the gullible followers who had been taken in by Qiaobiluo and pointed out that other female live-streamers enhanced their looks artificially as well.

But Qiaobiluo also received words of support from some fans. The number of her followers rose to 400,000 after she became the most-searched streamer on DouYu.

Her fans now affectionately refer to her as "Granny". She is back to streaming regularly and is even working on a rap track.