Images from the British animation Peppa Pig decorate a car shown at an auto expo in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, in April. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Representatives from video sharing app Douyin says the company has not banned the British animation Peppa Pig, according to the National Business Daily and China National Radio.

A form allegedly posted by Douyin's community regulations that is circulating on the internet lists British children's TV animation character Peppa Pig as a "banned element", along with "banned songs", "pornographic and vulgar behaviors", "illegal or regulation-violating behaviors" and "discomforting behaviors".

A Douyin user then posted a message from the Douyin app, which said that a video posted on April 21 containing Peppa Pig was banned from playing, because it "violates the community regulations and has not passed censorship".

On May 2, the National Business Daily released a report, saying that a Douyin insider denied there was a ban on the animation and said the alleged community regulations form was false.

According to the insider, "Douyin has made community regulations according to the relevant laws and regulations, and hopes that everybody will maintain and follow the benign community regulations. However, the specific regulations cannot be disclosed."

A China National Radio report on May 5 also said that the app had not banned Peppa Pig.

The negative implications of Peppa Pig come from its association with "shehuiren", which literally means "society people", but has become a buzzword on Chinese social media for riffraff or hooligans. This association was reinforced by a viral meme that rhymed "Tattoos on Peppa, claps for society fella".

The expression was first used in a derogatory context, teasing a group of users on video sharing apps, including Kuaishou and Douyin, who showed off their tattoos and dance moves as a symbol of rebellion and gangsterism.

Later, as celebrities began to wear fashion items inspired by Peppa Pig, an increasing number of people began to wear clothes and tattoo stickers themed on the animation-while referring to themselves as "society people" in a self-deprecating way.

Although the number of videos featuring Peppa Pig has been drastically reduced, Douyin search results on May 7 showed that it was more likely that the term "society people" has been banned rather than the animated series itself. The app provided 2,169 results in a search for Xiaozhu Peiqi (Peppa Pig), and zero results in a search for shehuiren.

"Peppa Pig as a cartoon does not have any problem in its content", says He Tianping, the executive editor-in-chief of Review, a magazine published by the State Administration of Radio and Television.

"The values, family values and emotions it conveys are all positive."

The banning incident is centered around derivative videos of Peppa Pig, which echoes with the administration document about regulating online programs released in March. The document stipulated that it is prohibited to re-edit, re-dub or re-subtitle classic works, radio and video programs and online original video programs without permission.a