Disney’s new film, “Christopher Robin” will not be allowed in China after the government blocked its release there.
Although the Chinese government did not offer a reason for the ban, Beijing has been banning images of Winnie the Pooh since the character started being used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping, Fox News reported.
Beginning in 2013, social media users began comparing Xi to the bear of very little brain. An image of Xi walking next to former President Barack Obama was soon twinned with one of Pooh walking next to Tigger.
A bear, however hard he tries, Falls foul of Chinese censors' eyes https://t.co/ToOCHHZT7I pic.twitter.com/8H9ITqIc1M
— Financial Times (@FT) July 16, 2017
Individuals wanting to indirectly protest against the Chinese government kept up the comparisons, leading China to block images of Pooh on social media, the BBCreported.
China also has blocked Western efforts to mock its ban on Pooh. In June, HBO was blocked after “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver mocked Xi on the issue of being compared to Pooh.
The company Global Risk Insights, in a blog post, offered its reasons for the ban.
“The government’s reaction is disproportionate and puzzling for two reasons. Firstly, where some see harmless fun, Beijing sees a serious effort to undermine the dignity of the presidential office and Xi himself,” the company wrote.
“Authoritarian regimes are often touchy, yet the backlash is confusing since the government is effectively squashing a potential positive, and organic, public image campaign for Xi,” Global Risk Insights continued, naming the 2015 image China’s “most censored image of 2015.”
“Beijing’s attack on Winnie the Pooh may be farcical, but it is also an indication of more serious trends in China’s media,” the post added. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Besides clearly showing the company is willing to put profit above doing what’s right, their decision to censor their search engine in China is likely to threaten their bottom line in the long run.
Should Google change its famous motto “Don’t be evil” to something like “Don’t be evil when it’s convenient, but it’s okay to be evil when it means new markets and more profit?” The question is pertinent, because The Intercept has reported that Google plans to launch a censored version of its search engine in China in the next six to eight months, pending the approval of Chinese regulators.
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While Google has no problem bending its knee to authoritarians, it refuses to help the U.S. military. In early June, Google announced it wouldn’t renew a contract to do artificial intelligence work for the U.S. military after some strong opposition from its employees. The kind of work Google does with the Pentagon involves “using machine learning and engineering talent to distinguish people and objects in drone videos.” Worrying that Google’s AI work with the Pentagon may lead to development of lethal weapons, about 4,000 Google employees signed an open letter saying working with the U.S. military was putting users’ trust at risk, as well as ignoring its “moral and ethical responsibility.” Google’s senior management was also reportedly deeply conflicted about Google’s work with the Pentagon.
Apparently, Google believes that helping the U.S. military is morally objectionable, but helping Chinese censors to restrict internet freedom and oppress over a billion people won’t put users’ trust at risk and is totally moral. Google also seems unconcerned that China is developing killer robots, such as autonomous combat drone swarms. In truth, what Google didn’t publicize is that their virtue signaling in the U.S. comes at a cheap price — Google’s contract with the Pentagon is reported to be worth less than $10 million, which is nothing for a company that is worth close to $800 billion. – READ MORE
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