WeChat User Reports Restrictions After Mbappé Drink Photo

A WeChat user said their account’s social functions were temporarily restricted four minutes after they posted a photo of a drink bearing Kylian Mbappé’s portrait, according to an October 30 post by the Chinese-language X account Li Laoshi Bushi Ni Laoshi (@whyyoutouzhele).

The account relayed the unnamed user’s claim that the photo, shared on WeChat Moments, showed a bottle of Bushuila, an electrolyte drink brand under Dongpeng Beverage. The allegation has not been independently corroborated. The reported timing does not establish that the photograph caused the restriction.

What the WeChat user reported

According to the X post, the user described all of the account’s social functions as temporarily restricted. The specific functions affected, the length of the restriction and whether access was restored remain unclear. The user’s location and identity were not established.

The user’s original Moments post and any platform restriction notice were not available. There is no established official explanation for the reported action, and the account’s retelling does not demonstrate a platform-wide prohibition on images of Mbappé.

A separate dispute over the footballer’s image

The claim emerged amid a controversy involving Mbappé and Chinese brands. Radio Free Asia reported on October 28 that Dongpeng Beverage and Bushuila had announced the termination of all cooperation with the footballer on October 27.

RFA also reported that a Dongpeng group office employee confirmed its official flagship store had removed material featuring his portrait. That report concerned promotional content; it did not establish a nationwide ban on selling the drinks.

RFA linked the brand controversy to an interview on The Bridge in which Mbappé discussed an online image combining his face with Mao Zedong’s. According to the broadcaster, a clip circulated on Chinese social media on October 26.

The brand dispute provides context for the photograph described in the user’s account, but it does not corroborate the alleged WeChat restriction or explain its cause. The central claim remains a secondhand report of one user’s experience.