In the midst of it, Kylian Mbappe “seized up” over a meme depicting him as “dictator Mao Zedong,” but… BBC points out that “the majority of the people didn’t even know what he said” in this “bizarre farce”

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

All of China was enraged, forcing Kylian Mbappe (28, Real Madrid) to issue a humiliating apology. However, reports emerged that the majority of Chinese people did not even know what Mbappe had actually said.

The UK’s BBC reported on the 30th (Korean time), “China has secured an apology from Mbappe, but the majority of Chinese people do not precisely know what he said.”

Recently, Mbappe appeared on the French online talk show “The Bridge” and cited a meme featuring his face as the most amusing among those based on him. He described it as “a meme compositing my face onto that of the Chinese dictator.” At the time, an image compositing Mbappe’s face onto a photo of Mao Zedong was displayed on the broadcast screen, sparking fierce backlash from China.

According to BBC, major Chinese brands such as Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu, and Milkground severed ties with Mbappe. China Media Group (CMG), the parent company of state broadcaster CCTV, halted its broadcasting of Spanish La Liga matches. As the massive market, estimated at over 110 billion won in broadcast rights fees alone, was shaken to its core, Mbappe, his club Real Madrid, and the La Liga office immediately bowed their heads.

Mbappe issued an apology statement in three languages: Chinese, English, and French. He stated, “I sincerely apologize for my reckless remarks. I hold deep respect for the Chinese people and history,” attempting to quell the situation. Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, also met directly with the Chinese ambassador to Spain to apologize and urged the maintenance of strategic cooperation relations.

BBC pointed out China’s information control phenomenon, which stands in stark contrast to the blind wave of angry public opinion. According to the report, due to strict internet censorship by Chinese authorities, many Chinese people do not properly know the full details of the incident.

Netizens asked artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots about the truth of the incident, but were blocked by government censorship filters and received no answer at all. Furthermore, while posting criticism of Mbappe on social media, they used the euphemism “the person on the 100th-yuan bill” instead of the name “Mao Zedong,” fearing punishment from public security. The problematic composite photo was also being shared with Mao Zedong’s face and the word “dictator” heavily mosaicked to the point of being unrecognizable, in an attempt to evade detection by censorship systems. It is a farce where people are criticizing without knowing the target or the reason.

Moreover, BBC also touched on Mao Zedong’s historical mistakes. Despite tens of millions being sacrificed during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, Chinese authorities blindly revere him and strictly control rational criticism.

The media then conveyed diverging overseas public opinion. Dissidents and Chinese living abroad actively defended Mbappe, stating that “the Chinese Communist Party has brainwashed the people” and that he did not need to apologize. The outlet reported, “Netizens around the world also joined in mocking the situation of being trapped in blind anger and oppression by spreading new memes compositing President Xi Jinping’s face.”

*This content was translated by AI.View Original