Marvel Rivals bans "Winnie the Pooh" and many other phrases, here's why

Marvel Rivals players have found out that the game has included "Winnie the Pooh" among a few other phrases in the banned words list and many might not know the reason behind it. Banning certain known vulgar words or phrases is understandable but many are perplexed about the inclusion of the fun-loving fictional bear.

This article will provide a brief overview about the background of the character and why it is in the list of banned words.

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What makes "Winnie the Pooh" and other phrases offensive in Marvel Rivals?

Winnie the Pooh (Image via Disney)

Players recently discovered that if you type "Winnie the Pooh" in the Marvel Rivals in-game text chat you will be shown the message "Text contains inappropriate content." This comes from the long lasting connection between the character and the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jingping. Considering the fact that the developer of the game, NetEase Games, is a Chinese company, the decision to ban the phrase is understandable.

It all started about a decade ago with a picture of the Chinese leader with the former US President Barack Obama, where people compared them to Tigger and Pooh on social media platforms. From then onwards, Pooh has become a controversial topic in the media having been linked in multiple references to Xi Jingping.

This has resulted in the mention of the character becoming offensive to the Chinese government and has since been compulsory to ban "Winnie the Pooh" references in any event in China. The greatest example was the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

This brings us to the current situation, where any Chinese organisation always takes the precautionary step to ban the phrase to ensure safety. Furthermore, China has been known to ban multiple Marvel movies in the past, showing their unhappiness with the films being a part of the Chinese community. The game involving the same heroes and villains are bound to get the spotlight.

Finally, "Winnie the Pooh" is not the only phrase banned in the game. Other phrases include "Isis," "Free Taiwan," and "Hitler." The developer is clearly aiming for a controversy free environment and there will possibly be more banned words discovered as players continue to play the game.

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