China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) announced a one-month nationwide campaign, starting 1/1, to address the misuse of artificial intelligence in media. The initiative, detailed in a WeChat post on 31/12/2025, specifically targets videos that "destroy, distort, and defile classic films, animations, and other content" through AI manipulation.
The NRTA asserts that such videos violate the core spirit and character imagery of original works, often containing violent, sensational, or vulgar content. These distortions promote false values, misrepresent Chinese culture, and negatively affect national identity. The administration highlighted that these practices contradict the values of television and film works, infringe on copyrights, harm industry development, and interfere with the proper cultural awareness of minors.
The campaign will focus on cleaning up AI-altered videos. Additionally, the NRTA requires online audio-visual platforms to fulfill their responsibilities by strengthening censorship, removing illegal content, and addressing problematic accounts. Following the campaign, the NRTA plans to summarize its experiences and continue developing comprehensive management measures.
The crackdown comes after numerous incidents where classic Chinese dramas were significantly altered. According to Ifeng, examples include a scene where Lin Daiyu (played by Lin Xiaoxu) cries by a willow tree in "Hong Lau Mong" (Dream of the Red Chamber) being changed to her uprooting the entire tree. In "Chan Hoan Truyen" (Empresses in the Palace), some imperial concubines were AI-edited to be riding brooms and flying in the air.
These AI-generated videos have elicited mixed reactions; some find them humorous, while many consider the content ridiculous and damaging to the original works. Legal expert Chen Pingfan stated that using AI to modify and distort classic television dramas is fundamentally unauthorized, as it violates the adaptation rights of the original work.
The rise of artificial intelligence has been a prevalent theme in film, television, and literature in recent years. In 7/2025, Netflix announced its first use of generative AI to produce the series "El Eternauta". Meanwhile, film editors in Hollywood face the risk of losing jobs to Sora, OpenAI's technology for generating videos from text and images.
In Vietnam, the film "Chot Don" used AI to replace images of beauty queen Thuy Tien after she was temporarily detained. While leveraging AI to restore old films is encouraged, many experts advise caution when using AI, as it can go against social and ethical standards.
Phuong Linh
