草泥马

One of the "Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures", a hoax set of entries on Baidu Baike in early 2009 whose names are obscene puns; Global Voices noted the exact origin is hard to trace, and the earliest traceable sign is a January 2009 post. 草泥马 (cǎonímǎ) differs only in tone from the profanity 肏/操你妈 (cào nǐ mā), which is why it slipped past word filters. The creature lives in the "Ma Le Gobi" desert (another pun) and fights the river crabs (河蟹, a pun on 和谐/"harmonious"). A "Song of the Grass Mud Horse" spread online and the New York Times covered the phenomenon on 11 March 2009; the creature became a mascot of netizens opposing internet censorship. The name is intentionally vulgar.