‘Peppa Pig’ purged from Chinese app
China’s push to cleanse its internet of unsavory elements appears to have claimed an unlikely victim, with videos of the children’s cartoon program “Peppa Pig” culled from a video app.
Douyin, an online video platform owned by Beijing Bytedance Technology, removed all trace of the British TV show, the staterun China Daily said. The app had previously carried more than 30,000 videos related to Peppa Pig, and the videos had been viewed 45 billion times on the country’s video-ondemand platforms.
Bytedance, which has incurred the wrath of China’s censors in the past, didn’t immediately respond to requests for an explanation.
“Peppa Pig,” which follows a young cartoon pig and her family, had become a hit in China. But the cartoon’s appeal had spread to teenagers and adults, with some seizing on the character as a sign of rebellion. China Daily said Peppa Pig’s Chinese nickname — shehuiren — is a slang term for gangster, spurring grown-up fans to link the show to gangster rap.
People also have been posting their own edited versions of the program and some have even gotten “Peppa Pig” tattoos, the newspaper said. A two-line rhyme that roughly translates as “Get your Peppa Pig tat, shout out to your frat” went viral in China.
State media have speculated that the links to gangs and tattoos — frowned upon in China — may be why Douyin pulled the cartoons.
In February, Winnie the Pooh was temporarily banned after commentators used the character in posts as a standin for leader Xi Jinping. Peppa Pig