# Eye on Digital China China’s digital culture, online media & social trends, by sinologist & What’s on Weibo founder Manya Koetse. Page: Feed: --- ## [AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/huaweis-cicada-crisis-eyeless-ai) _2026-08-12 · Manya Koetse_ What happens when AI gives bad advice, companies start suppressing jokes, online fandom turns toxic, and airlines start giving out prune juice. ## [How Chinese AI Videos Turn Foreigners into Villains, and a Maths Queen Making Headlines](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/how-chinese-ai-videos-turn-foreigners) _2026-08-03 · Manya Koetse_ How viral AI videos turn misbehaving foreigners into threats and violent Chinese into heroes. China’s nationally broadcast AI drama & why Guangxi's newspaper is being sold 50 x its original price. ## [“God Won’t Save Us, But the PLA Will”: Floods, Faith, and What's Trending in China](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/god-wont-save-you-but-the-pla-will) _2026-07-19 · Manya Koetse_ Also in this issue: the Hong Kong bookstore arrests that did not go trending, AI bank cards, Haaland becoming China’s summer meme king, and a delivery rider winning the Lu Xun Literature Prize. ## [🌡️ “Even Pigs Have AC”: Europe's Heatwave, Luxury Lawsuits, and Graduation Wisdom in China](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/even-pigs-have-ac-the-european-heatwave) _2026-07-05 · Manya Koetse_ As Europe struggles through record heat, Chinese social media is turning the story into something much bigger than the weather. Plus: the graduation speech everyone is talking about & more. ## [China's CITIC Tower Crash: The Story That Never Trended](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/chinas-citic-tower-crash-the-story) _2026-07-02 · Manya Koetse_ How information surrounding the CITIC Tower crash was managed, from a five-day media blackout to a sixth-day official narrative. ## [Auntie Goose Legs, China's Shrinking Condom Market, and DeepSeek's AI Blind Spot](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/quack-like-a-goose-auntie-goose-legs) _2026-06-19 · Manya Koetse_ If it walks like a duck, it might just be a famous "goose." A wrap-up of noteworthy trending stories in China. From the real Rolex recruiting fake crowds to diaper scares & a funny Deepseek moment. ## [A Chinamaxxing Brand, a Stressed-Out Possum, and Japan's Lost Decades](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/how-adidas-went-from-hated-in-china) _2026-06-11 · Manya Koetse_ How Adidas won and Nike lost, Japan's lost decades as a mirror for China, and why a possum is the new workplace spirit animal. ## [Look Only at the Ugly Sides, and You Won’t See China](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/look-only-at-the-ugly-sides-and-you) _2026-06-01 · Manya Koetse_ A response to a Dutch debate on China, and why nuance matters in an age of geopolitical polarization. ## [A Taiwan Reunification Blockbuster, Hukou Reform, and China's Top 5 Rising Books](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/the-reunification-with-taiwan-is) _2026-05-29 · Manya Koetse_ A new state-backed epic about the Qing conquest of Taiwan is stirring debate. Plus: the Shanxi mine disaster, a controversial prison film, hukou reform, and China’s top 5 rising books. ## [Meet Claude, an AI assistant (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/Dj9gvLVocBBp) _2026-05-29 · **Sponsored**_ Chat with Claude at claude.ai — a conversational AI assistant. ## [Comrade Trump Returns: The 2026 Trump–Xi Summit on Chinese Social Media](https://eyeondigitalchina.substack.com/p/comrade-trump-returns-how-chinese) _2026-05-17 · Manya Koetse_ A deep dive into the 2026 Xi-Trump summit through Chinese social media, highlighting the top 15 viral moments, memes, main themes, and movie-like scenes.