A professor in New Zealand found herself blocked from Twitter last week after mocking Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the social media platform.
Anne-Marie Brady, of the University of Canterbury, wasn't reinstated until an online effort that included the British press took up her cause.
On July 1, Brady, a specialist on Chinese domestic and foreign policy and critic of China's communist government, tweeted an opinion piece she wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald titled "Xi’s hollow 100th birthday celebration for the Chinese Communist Party."
In the tweet, she offered the alternative headline "Xi: its my Party and I'll cry if I want to." For those who didn't get the reference, she tweeted a link to Lesley Gore's 1963 hit song, "It's My Party." She also tweeted a photo of Xi with two other party officials with dour looks on their faces with the caption "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Brady was finally allowed to post to her account again on Sunday, and she posted screenshots of her messages from Twitter that offered no explanation for her restriction other than an automated message.
"Twitter has not explained what prompted this," columnist Edward Lucas wrote in The Sunday Times of London. "Brady received only an automated warning that she may have 'violated' the social media platform's rules. But the decision probably results from a concerted campaign by the Chinese Communist Party’s online agents. Enough complaints usually trigger an automated block. After I had stoked a furor on Twitter and sent umpteen complaints, her account was restored. Less prominent victims of Chinese censorship would have scantier chances of redress."
"Some of the biggest names in social media, from @Twitter to @LinkedIn @Zoom & @Facebook, appear to be getting into a habit of silencing CCP critics," Brady tweeted after regaining access to her account. "Yesterday it was my turn to be censored. Thanks for your support in getting it overturned @edwardlucas."
The Chinese government has come under fire from Republicans in Washington for forcing Hollywood to censor movies to its liking for them to be shown there, a major source of box-office revenue.
The government has also banned mentions of Winnie the Pooh on social media after some Chinese citizens said the leader resembled the cartoon bear.
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