Question about "memes" of Chinese government officials

I have some questions about the "funny memes" about President Xi as Winnie the Pooh or Chairman Mao as a cat (I'm sure there are many more, for example I heard some people call President Xi an "accelerator in chief", a very narrow minded and rude term in my opinion).

I basically only know the western narrative about those memes, I want to learn about how they are regarded in China, if they are actually illegal and/or "censored" and why, what their origins are, what they mean (I know from my scarce knowledge of Hanyu that Mao also means cat for example), and who made them.

I am trying to "de-propagandize" my mind, since I grew up only being taught the opposing side's narrative. I don't want to be disrespectful, and if I am please tell me, it is not my goal to be rude.