"Voices of April" creator urged users to stop sharing it

The creator of a viral video about Shanghai’s Covid-19 lockdown that sparked a rare show of defiance on China’s social media has urged users to stop sharing it, saying he worried about his work being taken in directions he did not wish to see.

On last Friday, Chinese internet users shared a six-minute video called “Voices of April” that documents some of the most challenging public moments the city has experienced in the nearly month-long lockdown.

The video is presented without commentary and is shot mostly in black and white. The ending card of the video reads: “Get better soon, Shanghai.”

The video blanketed WeChat timelines before it was abruptly removed by censors Saturday.

“Voices of April'” creator, who goes by his online moniker Strawberry Fields Forever, said in a post that the quick spread of the video was “unexpected” to him, and he was “touched” by messages received from fellow internet users.

“However, I don’t wish this video to be distributed in the directions I don’t want,” he added. “I hope everyone stops sharing, or please asking people you know to stop sharing.”

It was taken down from the internet shortly after publication, but continued to spread on WeChat.