‘South Park’ has Content Removed in China after Episode Aimed at Beijing’s Censorship

Posted on by Natalia Barreau, DI

After airing an episode aimed at Beijing’s Censorship the show ‘South Park’ has had its content removed off the internet in China. 

What we know:

  • On Sunday, October 6, 2019, Comedy Central aired a new episode of ‘South Park’ that took several digs at the Chinese government. The Chinese authorities responded by wiping out all content and mentions of the adult animated series from the local Internet.
  • In the episode ‘Band in China,’ it follows two stories one where weed farmer character Randy Marsh attempted to sell his product in the Communist nation. However, as Beijing has outlawed marijuana, local police quickly placed Randy under arrest. While in custody, he offers a blistering critique of Chinese authoritarianism.
  • The second storyline follows his son Stan who forms a new death metal band called Crimson Dawn. However, Chinese officials began censoring Crimson Dawn’s output. The episode showcased critiques of both Chinese authoritarianism and its impact on Hollywood. 
  • This episode comes just after several outlets in China declared that they plan to remove NBA games from the internet and stop airing any preseason NBA contests due to the Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey tweeting his support of the ongoing Hong Kong protests.
  • In China, the government maintains tight control of all content distributed via the Internet. Once local authorities announced the ban of “South Park,” all online references to the series vanished. Clips and episodes of the show can no longer be found in the country.

In response to the ban, the creators of south park released a humorous tweet and fans can only hope to see this incident play out in more great content for the show.

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