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]

Chinese government demands Genghis Khan museum exhibit not use words "Genghis Khan"

Nantes, France's Château des ducs de Bretagne museum of history delayed its exhibition about Genghis Khan after the Chinese government insisted that the words "Genghis Khan" not appear anywhere in the show. Same goes for "Empire" and "Mongol." From The Guardian: The exhibit was planned in collaboration with the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, China. But… READ THE REST
Republican Senators call on Netflix to cancel upcoming adaptation of "The Three Body Problem" over author's awful Muslim comments

Chinese science fiction author Liu Cixin is perhaps best known for the Remembrance of the Earth's Past trilogy, which is sometimes referred to by the name of the first book, The Three Body Problem, which was the first Asian novel to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel; it also helped kick-off the current Chinese… READ THE REST
Facebook removes 155 Chinese accounts actively interfering in U.S. politics

• Chinese accounts posted material supporting U.S. President Donald Trump, and pro-Left material Facebook has removed a number of Chinese accounts on the platform that are oddly active in Philippines and U.S. politics, reports Joe Menn at Reuters today. Facebook says it suspended 155 accounts on its main platform along with six Instagram accounts. Excerpt:… READ THE REST
Get over 45 hours of elite Microsoft Excel training for just $40

If there was ever a better endorsement for making sure your resume skills are just as good as you say they are, look no further than Great Britain. Last week, Public Health England used an outdated Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which inadvertently underreported the number of positive COVID-19 diagnosed cases during the week. Because of the… READ THE REST
These six voice recorders are all tiny, but mighty — and also, on sale

Have you ever considered getting a digital voice recorder? They can actually be a lot more helpful than you might realize. From constructing business letters or memos to medical or legal dictation to recording meetings, interviews or lectures, voice recorders are a compact, lightweight way to store hundreds of hours of digital audio you can… READ THE REST
This ultimate survival bag is the thinking person's disaster prep — and it's $30 off

It used to be that go bags were almost exclusively reserved for emergency responders, journalists, and those very select few who might have to drop everything and run somewhere at a moment's notice. Maybe it's a sign of our tumultuous times, but it feels like almost everyone now has their bag of emergency supplies and… READ THE REST