Chinese AI memes mock American workers, Trump, tariffs

Online Chinese accounts have flooded social media with memes and videos meant to mock President Donald Trump and American consumers as tensions grow between the US and China over tariffs.

AI-generated content shared by Chinese TikTok users shows grim portrayals of Americans, now depicted as re-industrialized with overweight workers sewing low-cost clothing. One such video racked up millions of views before spreading to users on X.

Chinese state media picked up on the trend, the Daily Mail reported. Viral memes depicted penguins affected by Trump’s tariffs after the Trump administration placed tariffs against uninhabited islands near Antarctica.

Beijing Business Daily showed an AI-created image of a penguin wearing a red cap that said, “Make America Go Away.” The news clip shared to Weibo included a cartoon penguin asking in Mandarin: “We have to pay taxes too?”

The Chinese report deemed the policy a “glorified back-of-the-napkin calculation. And not even a good napkin.”

Another Chinese state outlet, CGTN, posted a nearly 3-minute AI-generated music video called "Look What You Taxed Us Through (An AI-Generated Song. A Life-Choking Reality)."

The song included the lyrics: “’Liberation Day,’ you promised us the stars. But tariffs killed our cheap Chinese cars.”

English and Chinese subtitles claimed the new tariffs hurt American buyers the most. CGTN added in a comment: "For many Americans, ‘Liberation Day’ hailed by Trump administration will mean shrinking paychecks and rising costs."

Trump’s 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports kicked in just after midnight, officials confirmed. The move is expected to do damage to China, while also shaking up global supply chains.