Peppa Pig 'banned' on popular Chinese video app

Peppa Pig videos disappeared on a popular website in China.

Beloved children's cartoon Peppa Pig appears to have fallen victim to censorship in China.

Just days ago more than 30,000 videos could be found under the #PeppaPig hashtag on Chinese short-video app Douyin, which reportedly has more than 32 million users.

But now, the video count has been reduced to zero, and users have been left wondering why.

So apparently #PeppaPig is a symbol of rebellion in China now? 🤔

— Seth Mears (@sethmears) May 1, 2018

Peppa Pig has developed a cult status in China, finding huge appeal among adults and children. It even earned the nickname Shehuiren, a slang term for gangster, which might be why it was wiped out from the video-sharing service.

Fans of the much-loved show have been posting drawings and tattoos of Peppa, linking the cartoon to gangster rappers and even remaking scenes, according to China Daily.

But others are understood to have taken a more explicit approach, making references to paedophiles and sexual organs.

The BBC reported the Beijing government appeared keen to crack down on subversive enthusiasm for the cartoon, and Douyin's decision to remove it could be its way of getting ahead of the game.

Australian Strategic Policy Centre analyst Fergus Ryan told the ABC in the context of China's censorship regime, the ban made sense.

"It's also a possibility that Douyin is just trying to get ahead of what they think the authorities might want to crack down on, as they see that all these other companies … are being punished essentially for not controlling the content on their apps and platforms," the ABC quoted him as saying.

But what would take the place of the cartoon that has been in the country since the early 2000s, and has attracted about 34 billion views?

The government is reportedly keen to promote domestic pig cartoons instead, which Sina Weibo — one of China's most popular social media sites — has widely publicised.