Koji Watanabe's short sci-fi story "Jijou no Kuuron" (Idle Speculation): In a certain country, there was a vicious dictator who had long been hostile to major powers. The internet was flooded with bad reviews and criticism of the dictator. However, the dictator suddenly formed an alliance with the major powers. Immediately, all the negative information about the dictator vanished completely from the internet, and instead, it was suddenly filled with information portraying him as an immaculate, ideal leader who had always been that way since the past. The information had been falsified. The protagonist's friend was furious about this and tried to lodge protests in various directions. The protagonist tried to call his friend to stop him, but for some reason, the call wouldn't go through. Thinking something might be wrong, the protagonist searched for information about his friend online. Information about his friend certainly existed on the internet. However, right before the protagonist's eyes, that information began to disappear. His friend had vanished. No, the protagonist thought, it was more like "he had never existed in the first place."
Speaking of which, there is a manga called "Ride-On King." It's a story where Putin (a character modeled after him) is reincarnated into another world and goes on adventures, but I feel sorry for it because it seems like it might get cancelled for being inappropriate in times like these. Or rather, it's probably already been cancelled. I haven't read it so I don't know.
It's still ongoing. The promotion for the latest tankobon volume in the magazine was quite big. By the way, here is a line from Plutinov (the Putin-model character) in last month's issue: "I have always been confident in the volume and strength of my hair." (While having his hair grabbed) "I made a vow when I founded a small country long ago... That I would not imitate dictators who play around with overwhelming military power... That I would not seek authority for the sake of control, nor reject mutual slaughter for conquest... Every human being has their own shape of happiness they wish for... That shape should not be unilaterally decided and forced upon them by those in power. Expanding territory and plundering wealth is a foolish act that robs others of happiness and reduces the total amount of happiness, But a country that respects the happiness of others and makes trust with others its own territory holds a value superior to any great empire." (After being asked, "Will you become our king?") Call me crazy, but there seemed to be more statements warning against dictators than usual.
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