A doll known as “Natasha” has become one of China’s most controversial viral phenomena in recent weeks.
The toy, marketed as an anti-stress item, depicts a black baby and is designed to be squeezed, stretched, and deformed. However, what has sparked outrage is not the product itself, but the way thousands of users have begun using it on social media.
Videos shared on Chinese platforms show people hitting, trampling, throwing, crushing, and even pouring boiling water on the doll as a form of entertainment.
The controversy intensified because, although versions in different colors exist, the black variant is the one that appears most often in this type of viral recording. Activists and members of the Afro-descendant community in Hong Kong have denounced that the trend promotes dehumanization and normalizes violence against black bodies.
The criticism was quick to spread beyond China. Various commentators and experts pointed out that the problem is no longer a simple anti-stress toy, but the message it conveys when a childlike figure is used as a target of aggression to generate viral content.
As the debate continues to grow on social media, the Natasha doll has become an unexpected symbol of a much broader discussion about racism, representation, and the limits of entertainment on the internet.
Here is a controversial clip: