advertisement

China blocks John Oliver on social media after scathing show

BEIJING (AP) - A popular Chinese social media site is blocking users from posting about "Last Week Tonight" and its HBO host John Oliver after the news satire program aired a segment this week making fun of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Attempts to send posts Friday with either the terms "John Oliver" or "Last Week Tonight" on the Sina Weibo microblog were met with failure messages saying "the content contains information that violates relevant laws and regulations."

Oliver's show on Sunday made satirical references to Xi and the way that Chinese internet users often joke that he resembles Winnie the Pooh. The show also referred to China's internment of hundreds of thousands of members of the Muslim minority groups in political indoctrination camps .

Weibo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.