Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
IsThis

GENERAL

The Claim

A La Dépêche du Midi article about a Chinese man divorcing his wife for concealing her appearance is based on a hoax, satire, or an unverified social-media story rather than a documented real case.

The Short Version

The story is best understood as a viral hoax or at least an unverified tale, not a documented court case. Stronger sources trace the narrative to satirical or social-media circulation, while news reports repeating vivid details do not provide primary judicial records. The main caveat is that the absence of a confirmed court file is not absolute proof that no local case ever existed.

Caveats

  • Multiple outlets appear to have recycled the same viral narrative, which can create a false impression of independent confirmation.
  • No clearly verifiable primary court judgment has been produced for the alleged lawsuit or divorce award.
  • Absence from a court database alone is not conclusive; the stronger basis is the story's traced satirical/viral origin and lack of documentary support.

The Receipts

  1. China Judicial Database

    Supreme People's Court of China

  2. Snopes Fact Checking

    Snopes

  3. Fact-Check: Viral Stories and Regional French Media

    Le Monde

  4. BBC International News

    BBC News

  5. L’histoire du mari chinois qui divorce pour avoir épousé une femme ‘laide’ est un canular

    Le Monde

  6. La comédie humaine volume XIV — Études philosophiques

    Project Gutenberg

  7. Chinese man sues wife for being ugly - wins $120k

    ABC7 News

  8. The man who sued his wife for birthing an ugly baby [Updated]

    The Week

  9. Database of Viral Hoaxes and Unverified Stories

    Hoax Map

  10. La Dépêche du Midi Homepage

    La Dépêche du Midi

+ 11 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

ChinaLa Dépêche du Midi

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