China Issues Odd Animated Lego Video Attacking Trump’s COVID-19 Response

In the growing war of words month-long coronavirus blame game between Beijing and Washington, China has gone on a media blitz, now responding with a state media produced animated LEGO video.

Yes that’s right… Legos. And it’s titled “Once Upon a Virus”:

The short animation state propaganda video is focused on mocking Trump Administration claims of an initial Chinese COVID-19 coverup, and features dialogue between a Chinese warrior or soldier and doctors on one side, and a Statue of Liberty Lego figurine on the other.

“It will magically go away in April,” said the Statue of Liberty character, in a clear echo and mockery of a prior statement by Trump. 

The video has gone viral this week, and was featured through multiple Chinese embassy social media accounts, including the Chinese embassy in France among others.

Once Upon a Virus… pic.twitter.com/FY0svfEKc6

— Ambassade de Chine en France (@AmbassadeChine) April 30, 2020

The American side is presented as naive, reckless, and blindly accusatory: “It’s only a flu …Don’t wear a mask,” the Statue of Liberty said while blasting China on human rights while it tried to battle the disease.

It also took the US to task over withdrawing funding for the World Health Organization (WHO).

China: We discovered a new virus.
America: So what?

China: It’s Dangerous
America: It’s only a Flu

China: Wear a Mask
America: Don’t wear a Mask
… pic.twitter.com/Qxugv8z73J

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 30, 2020

Trump previously stated of the WHO’s failures to adequately warn about the pandemic: “The WHO failed to investigate credible reports from sources in Wuhan that conflicted directly with the Chinese government’s official accounts,” he had said at the time.

Adding to the bizarre saga, it prompted a statement out of The Lego Group distancing the company from the production: “We weren’t involved in making the animation in any way. As a toy company, we’re focusing on bringing play to children and families,” the Lego company said.

Critics fired back at the animation propaganda, noting that while many of the quotes are real, they’re presented out of context and not according to a proper timeline.

Conveniently absent from the state media ‘narrative’ is the glaring and scandalous fact that China arrested the very doctor who was the earliest to try and warn his country as the severity. We’d like to see a Lego cartoon about that one.