This is where not actually having to deal with people's opinions on an equitable basis fails authoritarian regimes. They have no sense of humour. If people started saying I looked like Winnie the Pooh, I'd wear a Winnie the pooh T-Shirt or badge every single day. People love Pooh bear.
This is where the downfall of all dictators takes root: within their egos. Dictators seize power by presenting a façade of strength. Having a sense of humour is anathema to the strongman, whose ego can’t withstand even a minor slight.
And yet... if he started adopting Winnie the pooh as one of his personal emblems. If he had his supporter fly winnie the pooh flags and wear winnie the pooh clothes. If he had people in internment camps wear winnie the pooh uniforms...
He wouldn't look any weaker and his opponents who started using that imagery to make fun of him would find the joke very sour.
He'd look weaker in his own mind, which is where the issue lies. Oh, sure, you and I would lean into it because we're so confident in ourselves. Dude, you think you've got imposter syndrome because JavaScript is hard? Trying running a whole fucking country of 1 billion people, with opportunities at every turn to screw the whole thing up. (Seems there's an obvious solution to that whole "sparrows eating our crops" thing, amirite?) He knows he has critics, and deep down inside knows that they might have a point at times.
I'm beginning to ramble. Point is, leaders despite their bluster are not nearly as confident in themselves as they portray. I mean, I know none of them personally, but I can't imagine that they don't suffer the same foibles as the rest of us. Or worse, such as ego. Your ego would allow you to wear a Pooh shirt. His does not. That's kinda sad. (More sad that we let such people run countries, but I digress.)
Putin owns this strategy. He did a photo shoot of him riding topless on a horse after Internet memes accused him of being a closeted homosexual. He even joked about meddling in U.S. elections, which is what the West accused him of:
>When asked about concerns the Russia might interfere in the 2020 US elections, he replied: "I'll tell you a secret: Yes, we'll definitely do it," Putin said. "Just don't tell anyone," he added, in a stage whisper. [1]
Nowadays you can claim Putin is evil, but nobody really believes he is weak or has problems with self esteem. He uses humor to build himself up.
If you ever a get a chance to hear Putin speak then you'll find he's extremely intelligent. It's much harder to disagree with him when you hear what he has to say in his own words instead of through the filter of US media.
Yet it’s still flooded with people posting in simplified Chinese about how freedom of speech is stupid and foreigners need to shut up and leave matters alone, completely unaware of any irony.
Maybe this is because the Great Firewall doesn't apply in China's special administrative regions (Hong Kong; Macau), yet there are many Chinese speakers there. I'd expect this is the main audience for Chinese-language Wikipedia articles, and the PRC would want to control the narrative seen by them.
I'd assume that the Great Firewall has different settings for ordinary citizens, foreign visitors, purpose-built troll farms, low-ranking party members, and high-ranking apparatchiks. China has basically used Orwell as an instruction manual.
There are tons of Chinese students studying in other countries. They are organized by Chinese consulate to "flex their muscle" against anything "anti-china".
