DC Comics kills Batman image because China insisted it was supporting the Hong Kong protests

Cory Doctorow 7:52 am Sun Dec 1, 2019

The poster for "The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child" features Batman hurling a molotov cocktail in front of the words "The Future is Young," after DC Comics posted it to Instagram and Twitter, the image was copied into Chinese social media, where they sparked outrage among Chinese users who claimed that the subtext of the image was support for the Hong Kong protests.

After the outcry spread, DC deleted the image. DC is highly dependent on China for movie revenues (Aquaman grossed $292m in China, and Shazam grossed $43.8m). At the time of the Chinese social media outrage storm, DC parent company Time Warner/AT&T was promoting its upcoming film "Birds of Prey," which stars Cathy Yan, who is Chinese-American.

In the meantime, DC Comics’ Instagram has been flooded with criticism from people who support the Hong Kong protests or are angry that the company appears to have given in to Chinese political pressure.

“So now Batman loves money more than justice?” asked one commenter.

Another wrote: “Apparently China rules the world now. The future is young? No, the future is censorship.”

DC Comics Comes Under Fire for Deleting Batman Poster That Sparked Chinese Backlash [Rebecca Davis/Variety]

U.S. is investigating claims that TikTok violated children's privacy

The FTC and the Justice Department are investigating claims that TikTok, the popular social media app with close ties to China, violated a 2019 agreement to protect children's privacy. READ THE REST
Bowing to China, Zoom deactivated accounts of US-based activists

Zoom performs work of China internet censors -- against users in the U.S. READ THE REST
China censors Weibo for 'interfering with online communication orders, disseminating illegal information'

Starting on Wednesday afternoon, the trending list on the popular Chinese social media app Weibo will be banned for one week, the Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said, for “interfering with… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST