A children’s cartoon character has become an unlikely victim of China’s ongoing push to clean up cyberspace.
Peppa Pig is hugely popular and broadcast around the world, it has long been a favorite of Chinese parents and toddlers but in recent months the character has become popular among certain celebrities and their fans, who shared images and videos of Peppa merchandise.
« I don’t know how the Peppa Pig meme took off from Douyin, but to me, it’s like a stress reliever as it looks so innocent and dumb, » said Nanxin Cao, a 25-year-old analyst working at a consulting firm in Beijing.
Peppa mania has even crossed over into street culture in China, with some teens and twenty-somethings getting Peppa tattoos depicting the innocent piglet as a gangster or pirate. There’s even a trending phrase that some translate as « get your Peppa Pig tatt, shout out to your frat. »
An internal Douyin memo dated last week and reviewed by CNN said censors had demanded the platform stop publishing videos that showed Peppa Pig « spreading negative social influence. »
Bytedance, Douyin’s parent company, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Peppa Pig-related content doesn’t appear to have been affected on other social media platforms.
