When Chai Jing (柴静), one of China’s most celebrated investigative reporters, found out that her unborn daughter had a benign tumor — most likely due to China’s horrific pollution problem — she decided that she would turn all of her power and influence into tackling China’s growing environmental disaster and created self-funded documentary Under the Dome.
The video became an instant hit, garnering more than 155 million views on the day of its release. After that, the documentary went viral, spreading first across China — reaching over 300 million views in two days — and then around the world.