Philippines demands removal of China Daily AI monkey video

The Philippines has formally protested and demanded the removal of an AI-generated video published by China's state-run outlet China Daily that depicts the country as a monkey, denouncing the imagery as racist and dehumanizing. The diplomatic protest was lodged on July 17, 2026, following a strongly worded statement from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued late on July 16.

The one-minute video, uploaded to China Daily's Facebook page on July 10, features an anthropomorphized monkey wearing a traditional Filipino barong shirt and a salakot hat. In the animation, arms bearing the flags of the United States and Japan are shown manipulating the monkey, handing it a document labeled as the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award. The character is subsequently thrown into the sea and blasted with a water cannon, imagery Manila says references recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed waters.

In its statement, the DFA condemned the video as "deeply offensive, distressing, and unacceptable," arguing it crossed the line of legitimate political discourse. The department demanded the material be taken down and called for an immediate end to...