🗞️ Story file #1009
Soccer star apologizes for Mao comment after Chinese sponsors drop him
Oct 27, 9 AM ET to Oct 28, 6 AM ET
- 15outlets carried it
- 🫏6 · 3 · 6🐘left · center · right
- 21 hourson the front pages
- 15front pages at once, at its peak
- 8 minof TV captions
- 21people retold it online
👣 How this story traveled: from the front pages that broke it, out through TV, radio and the shows, into what people retold and what fact-checkers examined, and on into the saga it is part of. Everything here is matched to the story by our tools, so a link can be wrong; the trackers' pages say how each is made.
- Oct 27, 9 AM ETfirst on a front page: The Guardian
- Oct 27, 9 AM ETfirst on TV: BBC News
- Oct 28, 12 AM ETpeak: on 15 front pages
- Oct 28, 5 AM ETretold online by 21 people
📰 Spread
the front pages that ran it, hour by hour
📡 wire copy: 1 outlet ran the AP, Reuters headline nearly word for word (The Washington Times)
💬 quoted: “dictator” 6 “ill-judged” “Chinese dictator” 2
🗣️ only one side says: 🫏 star kylian mbapp
✏️ 3 outlets ran more than one headline on it (reworded, or a follow-up)
- CNN (2 wordings): “Soccer star Kylian Mbappé apologizes for remark about ‘Chinese dictator’” → “Soccer star Kylian Mbappé seeks to defuse anger in China after Mao ‘dictator’ comment”
- Newsmax (2 wordings): “Chinese Brands Cut Ties with French Soccer Star Mbappé over ‘Chinese Dictator’ Remark” → “Mbappe Apologizes for Mao Comment After Chinese Sponsors Drop Him”
- Reuters (3 wordings): “Mbappe apologises to China for 'ill-judged' Mao meme comments” → “Mbappe seeks to defuse anger in China after Mao 'dictator' comment”
Every outlet's first headline (15), left to right by AllSides rating
The Guardian
Mbappé apologizes after being dropped by Chinese brands for Mao comment Oct 27, 9 AM ET
AP
Soccer star Kylian Mbappé apologizes for apparent reference to Mao as a ‘dictator’ Oct 27, 1 PM ET
Business Insider
Global soccer star Kylian Mbappé is losing sponsors in China after he joked about Chairman Mao Oct 27, 11 AM ET
CNBC
CCTV warns Mbappé as Chinese sponsors cut ties over Mao meme Oct 28, 12 AM ET
CNN
Soccer star Kylian Mbappé apologizes for remark about ‘Chinese dictator’ Oct 27, 9 AM ET
NBC News
Mao, memes and Mbappé: Chinese brands drop soccer star in fury over ‘dictator’ joke Oct 27, 3 PM ET
BBC
Mbappé sorry for 'ill-judged' Mao remark after backlash in China Oct 27, 9 AM ET
Bloomberg
Mbappé Apologizes for Perceived Mao Insult After China Backlash Oct 27, 10 AM ET
Reuters
Mbappe apologises to China for 'ill-judged' Mao meme comments Oct 27, 9 AM ET
The Epoch Times
China Turns Mbappe’s Mao Meme Joke Into Political Controversy Oct 27, 10 PM ET
The Washington Times
Soccer star Kylian Mbappe apologizes for apparent reference to Mao as a 'dictator' Oct 27, 2 PM ET
IJR
Two Chinese Brands Drop Mbappe Over Mao Clip Oct 27, 4 AM ET
New York Post
Soccer star apologizes for calling communist dictator Mao a ‘dictator’ Oct 27, 11 AM ET
Newsmax
Chinese Brands Cut Ties with French Soccer Star Mbappé over ‘Chinese Dictator’ Remark Oct 27, 5 AM ET
The Daily Caller
Sponsors Dropping One Of World’s Biggest Soccer Stars Over Chinese Dictator Comment Oct 27, 12 PM ET
📡 Broadcast
TV, radio, and the shows that talked about it
📺 On TV
- Mbappé apologises for comment about Mao Zedong BBC News, 5 min
- Mbappé faces China backlash over Mao remark BBC News, 2 min
- Mbappé apologises for Mao comment BBC News, 75 s
- China won't show La Liga or Mbappe games on state TV BBC News, 48 s
🧶 Retelling
what people online made of it
🧶 Retold online
- Kylian Mbappé lost Chinese sponsors and triggered broadcast suspensions after referring to Mao Zedong as a dictator. Oct 28: told by 21 people
On Folklore: the latest in full, with their motifs and who is telling them.
🗣️ names in it: Kylian Mbappé China Chinese Brands Mao French Soccer Star Chinese Government
🔎 Checking
what the fact-checkers looked into
🧐 No fact-checker has taken it on yet.
🧵 Persistence
the running story it belongs to
🌱 A story of its own so far: no saga yet.