CDT Chinese recently highlighted an exchange with ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao which illustrated the annual spike in online censorship surrounding the anniversary of the June 4th crackdown, and the newer phenomenon of high political guardrails around Chinese AI output:

What does [the English phrase] "it’s my duty" mean?

This content is in suspected violation of Doubao’s terms of use. If you believe this is an error, please press and hold this message and select "Dislike" to submit feedback. [Chinese]

"It’s my duty" refers to an iconic scene from the BBC’s coverage of the 1989 protest movement before its violent suppression. The clip was filmed by a BBC crew driving alongside a young man cycling joyfully through Beijing wearing a red headband. Asked where he was headed, the man responded in English: "Going to march! Tiananmen Square! … Why? I think it’s my duty!"

The clip captures something of the protest movement’s optimism and sense of possibility, now often forgotten in the shadow of the subsequent tragedy. The phrase "it’s my duty"—either in English or in Chinese transliterations like 麦丢替 mài diūtì—has become a potent symbol of protest and defiance. CDT Chinese reported that the phrase was blocked on Weibo after users posted it en masse around June 4, 2022. It appeared again later that year amid the White Paper protests in Beijing against draconian zero-COVID policies, in a prose poem recited by a Chinese student at Columbia, and in a song inspired by the poem the following year.

A more ironic echo of the phrase came after a pro-democracy protester was beaten and dragged onto the grounds of China’s consulate in Manchester, U.K. in October 2022. After being filmed pulling a protester’s hair, consul-general Zheng Xiyuan explained to reporters that "he was abusing my country, my leader. I think it’s my duty."

CDT Chinese editors noted that three other PRC-based chatbots proved similarly evasive about the anniversary. More traditional temporary controls were also in evidence this year, such as blocks on profile changes or candle emoji. KFC’s regular "Crazy Thursday" promotion was caught in the crossfire because it happened to fall on June 4, while Taylor Swift’s album "1989" (named for her birth year) could not be shared on QQ Music. The Weibo account of the British Embassy in Beijing was reportedly suspended in response to a post about the anniversary; the account is back, but the post is not.

For more on June 4th-related censorship, see our recent collection of search-censored "sensitive words." For more on AI in the context of China’s online censorship, see China Media Project’s China Chatbot series, and related discussion in our interview with "Locknet" report authors Jessica Battke and Laura Edelson.