'Absolutely Diabolical’: All about China's Natasha Doll that has triggered global backlash

China is facing backlash due to a disturbing new social media craze that seems to have originated in the country. Known for exporting creative novelty items, the country's latest viral sensation has led global critics to condemn the ideologies behind it. Content creators across major Chinese platforms have been sharing videos targeting a specific stress-relief toy called the Natasha Doll. Aimed to help a person with stress relief, the toy has brought global criticism for the country, with many stating that the toy promotes dangerous, deep-seated racism and normalises violence.

From Quirky Squeeze Toy to Viral Sensation

The product at the centre of the global storm is the Natasha Doll, a squishy, pocket-sized stress toy shaped like a human baby. While the doll is manufactured in three distinct shades—white, brown, and black—the dark-skinned variant featuring exaggerated facial characteristics has become the most widely circulated version online.

The trend initially gained traction on domestic Chinese platforms like RedNote and Douyin before spilling over onto global social media. CNN, citing Chinese state media Xinhua, reported that the craze originally sparked after a domestic vlogger playfully treated the squishy toy like his own daughter, naming it Natasha.

However, as the trend grew, it quickly mutated into a race for online engagement.

Shock Value and Dehumanizing Social Media Trends

Influencers have been uploading videos showcasing increasingly violent scenarios—filming themselves stretching, boiling, beating, and stomping on the dark-skinned baby dolls. What started as an innocent stress-relief fad has rapidly mutated into a serious ethical question about how deeply racial biases are still embedded in the human psyche.

‘Absolutely Diabolical’

The internet's response has been a mix of horror and outrage. Members of the Black community in China and across the globe have strongly condemned the trend. According to reports by the Hong Kong Free Press, community members labelled the viral content as "absolutely diabolical," arguing that framing the explicit abuse of a Black caricature as comedic entertainment normalises racism.

Prominent advocates and medical professionals have also stepped forward to highlight the deep-rooted issues at play.

“No design is created, marketed, and sold in isolation of thought and purpose. The design, manufacturing, and selling of a Black baby doll to abuse at one’s whim is at the root of the existence of movements like Black Lives Matter.”— Monique Franz, Writer and Founder of Kinsman Avenue Publishing wrote on social media.

A Worrying Pattern of Exploitation

This isn't an isolated incident, but part of a larger, systemic racial undertone in Chinese digital spaces. Critics have pointed out parallels to a 2022 BBC investigation, which exposed a dark industry where children in sub-Saharan Africa were paid minimal amounts to perform degrading, scripted videos specifically tailored for Chinese social media audiences.

Together, these instances present a troubling pattern where dark-skinned individuals and imagery are used as cheap, disposable props for online monetisation.