Has (not) been upstaged

[Ostap]

The tussle puts a spotlight on the significance of Mickey Mouse — financial and sentimental — amid Disney’s growing slate of intellectual properties, which includes enduring characters from the “Star Wars,” Marvel and Pixar franchises. Today’s Disney watcher might ask: Who still cares about Mickey Mouse? Has the character that launched a global media brand been upstaged by Yoda, R2-D2, Elsa, Stitch, Buzz Lightyear and Iron Man?
link

Hello, everybody!

I think what the writer really meant is either of the following:

Hasn't the character that launched a global media brand been upstaged by ...?

Has the character that launched a global media brand not been upstaged by ...?

Am I correct?

 

[5jj]

I don't see why you feel the need to make a negative form of the question to show what the writer 'really meant'.

 

[Rover_KE]

Ostap, instead of a link saying 'link', it would have been more helpful if it had said 'Los Angeles Times'.

 

[Ostap]

I don't see why you feel the need to make a negative form of the question to show what the writer 'really meant'.

Because I believe it's this case:

You may also express your opinions in a more polite way by changing them into negative questions.

Wouldn’t it be nice to paint that wall green? (More polite than ‘It would be nice to paint that wall green.’)

Negative questions

Contracted and uncontracted negative questions have different word order. Uncontracted negative questions are usually used in a formal style. Aren't you coming? (Contracted - auxiliary

www.englishgrammar.org

Likewise, "today’s Disney watcher" belives that Mickey Mouse has been upstaged by the aforementioned characters. Without "not", it sounds like an ordinary question, and the original meaning is lost.