A screenshot from Li Jiaqi’s censored live streaming via Twitter user @GFWfrog
Austin Li Jiaqi, one of China’s top social media influencers, has vanished from all social media platforms since June 3 after his video live stream was removed from Taobao by Chinese web censors. Viewers were unsure about the censorship as the video featured Li innocuously advertising an ice cream treat. The abrupt take-down immediately triggered a wave of discussion online as Chinese netizens debated what caused the controversy. Eventually, viewers realized the video was removed because of the tank-shaped ice cream that was presented during the live stream. While the majority of Chinese netizens probably saw a cute, tank-shaped ice cream treat, the web censors thought it might invoke references to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and hence should be removed. The Chinese web censor is normally on high alert around the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989. All sensitive material including images of candles, historical photos of the incident, numbers like “64,” “89,” and coded expressions like “May 35” (meaning May 31 + 4 days) are blocked. One of the most symbolic representations of people’s power in the pro-democracy protest is a photo of “Tank man” and all images related to it are deemed politically sensitive around June 4. Obviously, the tank-shaped ice cream is no exception. The greatest protest photos of all time were taken 33 years ago today. On June 5, 1989, six (not four) photographers captured a lone protester facing down a column of tanks near #TiananmenSquare. This version of the“Tank Man” photo was made by @StuartAFranklin for @TIME…🧵 pic.twitter.com/RLNMEFiqet — Patrick Witty (@patrickwitty) June 5, 2022 Li is one of China’s top social media influencers. In his regular live streaming program, he reviews and makes recommendations on all kinds of consumer products. He currently has more than 30 million followers on Weibo and over 170 million across different platforms. On November 7, 2021, he appeared on China Central Television and sold 120,000 cans of Afghanistan pine nuts in a single episode, which was staged to cement the friendship between China and the newly established Taliban government in Afghanistan. He has also received several awards from the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) for being a role model for Chinese young people. Like other social media influencers, Li had been very careful to echo official discourses and avoid sensitive topics in his videos. In March 2021, he joined the CYLC’s Support Xinjiang Cotton campaign, which was a call to boycott western brands that had stopped using cotton produced in Xinjiang. Hence, many believe that Li did not intend to cross the party line. Most likely, he was unaware of the implications of the tank in Chinese contemporary history, thanks to the success of censorship authorities. But his ignorance had brought him trouble. RebelPepper, a Chinese political cartoonist mocked the incident with his latest work in Radio Free Asia: #變態辣椒漫畫 #rebelpepper RFA自由亞洲電台專欄作品 你們要的李佳琦來了 pic.twitter.com/EwromK3Oo7 — 变态辣椒RebelPepper (@remonwangxt) June 9, 2022 Li Jiaqi’s sudden disappearance immediately triggered a so-called Streisand effect as his followers wanted to know what had happened to their idol and began researching the history of tanks and censorship in China, leading them to information about the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Some circumvented the domestic network in the search of an explanation: 笑死我了！刚刚跟我妈打电话，她说我妹妹(90年生的)因为李佳琦的事来问她6月4日到底有什么不能说的，我妈大吃一惊说你居然不知道六四？！马上给她科普了一番，导致小粉红的我妹受到很大冲击。同情李佳琦，不过他这次真的立功了，多好的宣传啊。 — irei (@ireimaki) June 6, 2022 This is so hilarious. Just now I received a call from my mum, she said my sister (born in 1990) asked her what could not be talked about on June 4 after Li Jiaqi’s incident. My mum was surprised that she knew nothing about June 4 and told her about the historical incident. My little pink sister was shocked. I am in sympathy with Li, yet he really did something great. What a successful political propaganda! Some hailed Austin Li as the most popular June 4 educator: 疯狂宇宙风格海报 pic.twitter.com/dD7SyTBn66 — 墙国蛙蛤蛤🐸（声援李佳琦！） (@GFWfrog) June 9, 2022 What a crazy muti-universe poster! In order to curb the Streisand effect, Austin Li’s name was unsearchable for over a week and his social media account has not been updated since June 3. Some anticipated that the incident might trigger a further investigation and he might be sanctioned over tax-related crimes like other online celebrities. The disastrous effect of political ignorance has caused panic on social media.