Recently, the well-known “patriotic” internet celebrity in China, “Eagle of God,” encountered trouble for reposting a video about Chinese people being attacked in Japan without realizing that the video ended with the image of the “Tank Man” from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. This led to the permanent suspension of their Weibo account. The incident quickly sparked public debate and was seen as another warning of the omnipresent “red line” on Chinese social platforms.
On July 31, an incident where a Chinese individual was attacked by unidentified individuals with iron rods outside Kanda Station in Tokyo, Japan, garnered widespread attention on Chinese social media and became a hot search topic. “Eagle of God” (now renamed “Faithful Aigio”) with over 2 million followers, as a so-called patriotic internet celebrity, quickly harnessed the “patriotic traffic” by reposting a segment from a Japanese TV program on Weibo. However, because they failed to edit out the “Tank Man” image at the end of the video, their account was suspended the following day, displaying only “There is no content here” when accessed.
The “Tank Man” image is one of the historical symbols of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident where an unarmed individual stood in front of an approaching tank, symbolizing personal defiance against authoritarianism, and has long been designated as “content prohibited from spreading” by the Chinese internet censorship system.
After the incident came to light, it quickly stirred discussions in overseas communities. Some netizens joked that they “picked up a brick to report themselves and ended up hitting their own foot,” while others sarcastically commented that they “met a martyrdom due to patriotic negligence.” On Weibo, a wave of “crash party” surfaced, with users reposting comments like “Welcoming the first day of August, a patriotic KOL’s crash” and “Died in the line of duty, glorious account explosion.” There were even influential users initiating “repost sweepstakes” to celebrate the “good news.”
Mr. Lin, a netizen from Fujian, expressed during an interview with Epoch Times on Monday (August 4) that “Eagle of God” built their following by reposting all “positive energy” videos and reporting others for political incorrectness to gain attention, and this “misstep” was a result of their own actions. He stated, “Over the years, by reporting on human rights defenders, feminist issues, dissenting opinions, and other content, they have earned a significant amount of traffic and sponsorships. But as they say, man proposes, God disposes.”
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“Eagle of God” was once recognized by the Chinese Communist Party as a “positive energy blogger” and was awarded the title of “Good Internet User for Chinese Youth” in 2018. Over the years, they have focused on political reporting and nationalist mobilization, often participating in attacks on Fang Fang, the author of “Wuhan Diary,” human rights lawyers, minority voices, and feminist groups, stirring up controversies repeatedly.
Mr. Lin pointed out that this incident revealed that even if one’s speech aligns closely with the official stance, they cannot escape the randomness of speech censorship: “The Communist Party never hesitates when dealing with dissenters, and even those who wave its flag, once they violate the ‘house rules,’ face the same fate.”
According to investigations by the BBC and several foreign media outlets, “Eagle of God” has been living by reporting on others and claimed to be financially struggling with a vascular tumor, unable to seek medical treatment. Their “patriotic persona” has sparked numerous controversies. In 2020, they, along with other “positive energy internet celebrities” like “Sweet Potato Bear” and “Lonely Cicada,” promoted a crab advertisement that drew criticism, leading to them being dubbed the “Mother of the Nation.”
Prof. Fang Ke-cheng from the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong once stated that many “positive energy internet celebrities” in China leverage the rise of nationalist sentiments, yet their content is primarily driven by commercial interests. Once they step into sensitive areas of censorship, going from being at the top to having their account exploded is a matter of a moment.
Mr. Sun, a retired teacher from Lanzhou University, expressed during an interview with Epoch Times reporters that the suspension of “Eagle of God’s” account once again illustrates that under the current information control system in China, even propagating the “main melody” and showing loyalty to the system does not guarantee escape from unpredictable content scrutiny: “In the era of Liangjiahe, even showing loyalty has become a high-risk operation. Carelessness can turn you from a patriotic role model into a system traitor.”
He continued, “This is not a random crash but an inevitable backlash. It serves as a reminder to all netizens, especially those self-proclaimed ‘positive energy’ enthusiasts keen on reporting, that China’s social media is undergoing unprecedented political control. When patriotism becomes a business, it also opens the door to being purged.”
One netizen aptly summed up the sentiment of the online community, saying, “On Weibo, no one is truly safe – even if you are holding a red flag.”