CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala Mascot Embroiled in AI Scandal: Netizens Question Its Authenticity
Before the highly anticipated CCTV 2024 Spring Festival Gala, controversy erupted over the authenticity of the event’s mascot, “Long Chenchen”. The mascot came under fire for its subpar design, with netizens alleging that it was a low-cost “AI mapping” rather than a genuine artistic creation.
The criticisms surfaced when netizens noticed that the mascot’s portrayal was crude and unattractive, with uneven and disproportionate toes on its four feet. This led to widespread speculation that “Long Chenchen” may have been generated using AI technology rather than being hand-drawn by a human designer.
CCTV swiftly responded to the allegations, posting purported design sketches and PSD files on Weibo in an attempt to dispel the rumors. However, their efforts only seemed to further fan the flames, with netizens highlighting the absence of crucial design details in the uploaded files and ridiculing the use of line drawings and color filling as standard AI drawing processes.
The controversy deepened when a promotional poster from China Construction Bank (CCB) surfaced, explicitly stating that “Long Chenchen” was an AI-designed mascot. The poster was promptly deleted from CCB’s official WeChat account after accusations that it was implicating CCTV in the scandal.
As the debate raged on, questions were also raised about the design of the Spring Festival Gala’s theme and logo, with netizens expressing dissatisfaction and even alleging potential political flattery in the choice of characters used.
Amidst the storm of accusations and suspicions, netizens continued to demand answers, refusing to be swayed by CCTV and CCB’s attempts to quell the controversy. The scandal has sparked concerns over the integrity of artistic creations and raised questions about potential corruption and underhanded practices in the design industry.
The authenticity of the Spring Festival Gala’s mascot and associated designs remains a hot topic of discussion, with many eagerly awaiting further developments in this unfolding saga.
(Reporting by Li Chengyu/Editor: Lin Qing, New Tang Dynasty News, Beijing)