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Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did Disney make a short subject about China’s history to accompany an upcoming Marvel film release there?

Thursday, August 5, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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A recent tweet by Victory News Network claimed that Disney made an animated short about Chinese history to placate officials threatening to ban its upcoming Marvel superhero film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The tweet is not meant to be taken seriously. VNN is a parody website based on a “faith-based Christian television network,” Victory Channel. On July 5, VNN tweeted:

“This is a parody account. We write funny fake news. If you see someone taking one of our made-up stories way too seriously, please let them know it's a joke.”

The bottom of its website reads, “This is a parody website, dummy.”

While the tweet is a spoof, there is real controversy in China about “Shang-Chi,” which began as a Marvel comic featuring the Asian supervillain Fu Manchu. There is speculation that China may ban the film adaptation, but no official announcement has been made. The film premieres in the U.S. on September 3.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Victory Channel (Kenneth Copeland Ministries) About

Victory News Network Tweet: ‘This is a parody account. We write funny fake news...‘

Quartz Why China is angry about Marvel’s first Asian superhero movie

Guardian The Yellow Peril: Dr. Fu Manchu & the Rise of Chinaphobia by Christopher Frayling (book review)

Variety Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi,’ ‘Eternals’ may face uphill battle to enter China

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.