Ten days after a deadly blaze in a shopping mall in Tianjin claimed 10 lives, according to official media accounts, doubts are still circulating in China about the true extent and circumstances of the tragedy. Claims on the internet and social media have suggested that the real death toll is 378. The following cartoon, posted to Sina Weibo by artist Xiao Mao (@_小矛) — and constantly shared and deleted, moving from place to place — shows a government official in a suit and tie grinning as he declares: “There is just one body!” The head of one corpse is visible outside a white blanket laid over what is clearly a pile of corpses by a pair of what are probably thugs or government hands. Two news reporters shake and sweat as they report live from the scene.
