Winnie the Pooh (mocking nickname for Xi Jinping) · Full chronicle and history

Recently, multiple netizens posted that WeChat's official account recommendation feed displayed images of Winnie the Pooh, along with title combinations reminiscent of Xi Jinping, such as "Do not be a profit-driven chairman," "Breakfast at Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop," and "The heroic youth who fires at the dictator."

On the evening of October 31, during the Halloween event in Shibuya, Tokyo, a person dressed as Xi Jinping shook hands and interacted with the public. The relevant footage was posted by Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher.

After Mbappe became embroiled in a controversy over 'insulting China' due to a Mao Zedong meme, some Douyin users created a 'Mbappe on Sports Hydration' meme modeled after the cover of 'Xi Jinping: The Governance of China', accompanied by 'anti-Mao' music, with the comment section using famine memes to mock Mao Zedong.

On October 29, the Spanish newspaper El País published a signed commentary titled "China's Crusade Against Mbappé and Winnie the Pooh," mocking Mbappé, Real Madrid, and La Liga for their successive apologies under pressure from the Chinese market, and juxtaposing the controversy with the past censorship of Winnie the Pooh for being compared to Xi Jinping.

Recently, multiple netizens have been selling Mbappe's "original words" as commodities on the second-hand trading platform Xianyu, sparking widespread discussion.

Since October 26, clips of Mbappé's interview on the French online program The Bridge have circulated widely on Reddit, X, and Threads. Voice of America reported that when asked about the funniest meme, he said it was one putting his face on a photo of a "Chinese dictator"; later in the program a composite image of him with Mao Zedong was edited in. Multiple media outlets said the interview was recorded in April, and AFP Fact Check said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the video for now.

After Mbappé's remarks drew attention, Dongqiudi issued a statement saying the relevant comments involved harm to China and the Chinese people and would not be translated, and called on fans to watch matches rationally and avoid crossing the line.

Toutiao published an article explaining the origin of the Mbappe "dictator" meme, mentioning a French barbecue restaurant.

On October 7, a Douyin user uploaded a video in which a Winnie the Pooh doll is repeatedly slapped; all five visible comments in the comment section were clapping, thumbs-up, or "666", and a search suggestion appeared asking "what does a Winnie the Pooh plush toy symbolize".

On October 4, a fashion influencer on Douyin reported on Weibo that comments on their Winnie the Pooh-styled photo-and-text posts were abnormal — 45,000 likes but only 6 comments — and customer service said it would pass on the feedback. As of October 5, the related works and Weibo posts could no longer be viewed.

A netizen posted that after commenting the word "steamed bun" under a Winnie the Pooh video on Douyin, their account was banned for 365 days on September 20. Their alternative account was also banned, and both appeals and communication with human customer service proved fruitless.

In September 2026, Mbappé addressed the “Dictator Mbappé” meme for the first time in an interview with France Football, saying that such images can sometimes be funny, but that comparing him to rulers responsible for millions of deaths goes too far, and that this sometimes reflects people’s “lack of political and humanitarian awareness.” The figures involved in the memes include Kim Jong-un, Mao Zedong, Stalin, and Mobutu.

Recently, a Douyin user posted a photo of themselves as a child wearing a Winnie the Pooh costume with a caption. The post received about 12,000 likes and 25,000 shares, but no comments were displayed in the comment section, suggesting possible censorship.

A mainland Douyin user left a comment asking whether Xi Jinping was an emperor, a dictator, and a traitor to the Han people. Subsequently, that user's account as well as the blogger's account with 161,000 followers were banned by the platform.

On August 11, 2026, a player in an online game saw the other party using a Winnie the Pooh avatar and mentioning the national leader's name in the public chat, and the account was immediately flagged by the game's sensitive-word detection system and punished with a mute.

On August 5, 2026, a Douyin user posted a photo of a red packet featuring a Winnie the Pooh cartoon design. Although the video was not taken down directly, the platform completely disabled the comment section, prohibiting any comments.

In an interview on the French web show The Bridge (hosted by his Real Madrid teammate Tchouaméni), Mbappé was asked about the funniest meme of himself. He said it was the one where someone put his face onto a photo of “a Chinese dictator,” adding that he often sends it to friends while playing video games. The show later edited in a composite image of him and Mao Zedong. Multiple media outlets report that the interview was recorded in April this year, and clips spread on platforms such as Reddit and X starting October 26.

On December 5, netizens discovered that after “Diao Maihu” and “She Japan,” Weibo was also circulating euphemisms for Xi Jinping such as “i in ing,” “she dripping,” “shejumping,” and “skipping,” and that these had already been automatically indexed by the algorithm into search suggestions.

According to Know Your Meme, Reddit user TheSefi76 posted an edited image of Mbappé turned into Mao Zedong in the r/soccercirclejerk subreddit, and the site identifies it as the earliest known "Dictator Mbappé" image. Since then, the practice of face-swapping Mbappé with figures such as Mao Zedong, Kim Jong-un, Stalin, and Mobutu has gradually become a staple gag among football fans.

In March 2024, Kylian Mbappe's lawyer sent a letter to French influencer Mohamed Henni for naming a kebab dish after him. Henni publicly responded, claiming Mbappe had turned his own name into a 'dictatorship.' Both Know Your Meme and Yahoo Sports identified this incident as the starting point for the 'Dictator Mbappe' meme.