Peppa Pig is not banned, says Chinese video streaming platform

Chinese video sharing app Douyin is denying reports that British cartoon character Peppa Pig has been banned from the platform, reports China National Radio. But the company has acknowledged that some Peppa Pig-related videos have been deleted after they were found to contain inappropriate content such as violent or sexual images.

British cartoon Peppa Pig is screened in China for the first time in 2015. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

The denial by Douyin comes amid widespread reports suggesting Peppa Pig videos and the #PeppaPig hashtag had been removed and blocked from the platform.

The Peppa Pig cartoon has been a big hit since it first aired in China in 2015. Episodes of the show have been watched billions of times on television and on video streaming platforms. At least 30,000 clips were reportedly on Douyin under the Peppa Pig hashtag, as well as videos with hashtags like "PigPig" or "Peppa".

But the popular porcine is not just a hit among the intended audience of pre-school children. Her unexpected popularity with young adults in China has led some social media users to post videos featuring Peppa Pig tattoos, or showing her in violent or sexual scenarios.

The subversion of the children's character has drawn negative reactions from parents. "The Peppa Pig cartoon itself is very good. I often watch it with my kid. We are even watching the English version; it's good for English learning. But some of the Peppa Pig-related videos being produced for video platforms are just not good for the young generation," said a mother of a 6-year-old child.

At this point, a search for Peppa Pig cartoons in China still links to episodes that are available to watch online. But the number of Peppa-themed videos has been substantially reduced on domestic social media platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou.