With 100 million cumulative views, the Indian government intervenes
X: “Deleted from Indian platforms, account closure not possible”,
Parody song mocking the downing of an Indian fighter jet. Wanghong TikTok,
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, ‘A parody song by a Chinese influencer mocking the downing of India’s French-made Rafale fighter jet has angered Indians as it spreads.’,
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, ‘On the 15th, Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily and other Chinese media reported that a Chinese influencer, known as Wanghong, posted a video mocking India’s Rafale fighter jet being downed by a Chinese-made fighter jet operated by Pakistan.’,
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, “According to reports, Wanghong, who is known for his patriotic content and has about 16 million followers, posted a song on Chinese social media on May 8th. The song is a remake of famous Indian singer Daler Mehndi’s hit ‘Tunak Tunak Tun’. The 1-minute-12-second video includes lyrics like, ‘The newly purchased fighter jet was shot down,’ ‘We lost 9 billion dollars,’ and ‘This is an enormous disgrace.'”,
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, ‘Wanghong and other actors are seen wearing turbans resembling airplane models and Indian clothing, clearly mocking India by suggesting that their latest Rafale jet was shot down by Pakistan.’,
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, ‘India signed a contract with France’s Dassault Aviation in 2016 to purchase a total of 36 Rafale jets for $9 billion. Pakistan announced on May 8th that it had downed an Indian Rafale jet using a Chinese-made J-10C fighter, and US officials confirmed this claim the next day. However, India did not acknowledge this.’,
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, ‘While the Chinese government remains cautious about Pakistan’s claims, the catchy nature of the original song and the patriotism incited by the Chinese jet downing a French-made jet have caused the parody song to surpass 100 million views on platforms like TikTok.’,
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, “The song has been translated into languages like English, spreading to social media platforms outside China, such as X (formerly Twitter). The Pakistani Ministry of Defense also shared the video, and it was covered by international media outlets like CNN. This led to outrage among Indians, who felt the video ridiculed Indian culture, prompting some to call for UN intervention.”,
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, ‘In response, the Indian government demanded the removal of the video from X and the closure of around 8,000 accounts that shared it. They threatened to impose heavy fines if their request was not met. However, X stated that while the video would be removed from Indian platforms, account closures were not possible due to freedom of the press.’,
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