VERA FILES FACT SHEET: Barbie and China's nine-dash line

The new Barbie movie was banned in Vietnam because of the map that allegedly included China’s illegal nine-dash line claim. But here in the Philippines, the MTRCB said, there is no sufficient basis to ban the film because China’s “nine-dash line” claim is not shown here.

In an interview with Variety, Warner Bros. Film Group explained: “The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing… The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement.”

What is China’s nine-dash line claim? Why is it important to understand this?

Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to VERA, the truth bot on Viber.

Sources

On the ban of “Barbie” in Vietnam

BBC News, Barbie movie gets Vietnam ban over South China Sea map, July 3, 2023
Reuters, Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ movie over South China Sea map, July 3, 2023
Tuoi Tre News, Vietnam upholds ban on ‘Barbie’ over China’s invalid 9-dash line, July 8, 2023

MTRCB official Facebook page, STATEMENT REGARDING THE FILM, “BARBIE”, July 12, 2023

MTRCB official Facebook page, STATEMENT OF THE MOVIE AND TELEVISION REVIEW AND CLASSIFICATION BOARD REGARDING THE FILM, “BARBIE”, July 4, 2023

Variety, ‘Barbie’ Map Controversy: Warner Bros. Explains the Drawing That Got the Film Banned in Vietnam (EXCLUSIVE), July 6, 2023

Permanent Court of Arbitration, PCA Case Nº 2013-19 IN THE MATTER OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ARBITRATION, July 12, 2016

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Press Release, STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE SHOWING OF THE DISPUTED CHINA’S 9 DASH LINE IN BARBIE MOVIE, July 4, 2023

CNN Philippines, MTRCB looking into calls to ban live-action ‘Barbie’ film in PH, July 4, 2023

Senate of the Philippines, Press Release – Statement of Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada on the Vietnam-banned ‘Barbie’ movie, July 4, 2023

Freepik.com, Free Photo | Rows of red seats in a theater

Freepik.com, Free Vector | Movie theater

Incompetech.com, Aggressor Kevin MacLeod, Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)