Doubao refused. DeepSeek said no trustworthy information existed and called the allegations “fake news.”
That is what the France 24 Observers team got when they asked two of China’s biggest AI chatbots about Kylian Mbappé’s comment on Mao Zedong. From a Chinese IP address, Doubao returned a line about rule violations: “This content is suspected of violating the rules for using Doubao.” DeepSeek, from the same address, dismissed the story out of hand.
From a French IP address, the same tools were more forthcoming. Dola, the international build of ByteDance’s chatbot and Doubao’s cousin, provided details when queried from France, though it remained vague on specifics. DeepSeek on a French connection declined to answer, saying the question went beyond its remit.
Marie Holzman, a China specialist, told France 24: “What you are seeing is the reality when it comes to news in China today.”
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Jennifer Pan, a Stanford political communication professor, said Chinese chatbots filter representations that diverge from the Communist Party’s official historical narrative, not references to Mao as such.
Three sponsors and a state broadcaster
The clip at the centre of it all was pulled from the French talk show “The Bridge”, filmed earlier in 2026 and posted online on 28 October. Asked about his favourite meme of himself, the Real Madrid forward described an image in which his face is pasted onto “some guy, I think he’s a Chinese dictator.” The specific image used Mao.
By the next day, three Chinese sponsors, beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy producer Mengniu and cheesemaker Milkground, had cut ties with the French captain. State broadcaster CCTV, through its parent China Media Group, suspended all transmissions of La Liga matches and advertising featuring Mbappé, and said apologies from La Liga, Real Madrid and the player himself were an “absolute prerequisite” for the suspension to be lifted.
Mbappé issued a statement in three languages.
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“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he said in the apology published by Time, adding that he had “deep respect for the Chinese people and their history.”
Beijing accepted the gesture, up to a point. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters: “We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made.”
CCTV has not reopened the door
The apologies have not moved the broadcaster. On the first La Liga weekend after the row, CCTV’s two sports channels did not show Villarreal’s 1-0 defeat to Espanyol or Atlético Madrid’s win over Levante on the Saturday. The blackout extended beyond matches featuring Mbappé, and CCTV has not said when its La Liga coverage will resume.
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