Photo Credit: RedNote
TikTok users in the United States are fleeing the platform for another Chinese-owned app called RedNote (Xiaoshongshu in China). More than 700,000 new users have flooded the app since TikTok appears to be shutting down in the United States.
TikTok has more than 170 million users in the United States, so the 700K influx is a relatively small drip compared to active users. Many Chinese users of RedNote have posted welcoming messages to ‘TikTok refugees’ while answering questions about China, tourism, and China’s birthing policies. One user, Jacob Hui, a translator in Hangzhou says “there were not many such opportunities to directly interact with Americans in the past.”
Reuters reports that Chinese state media has approved of the trend of migrating from TikTok to RedNote. State broadcaster CCTV said TikTok users were finding a new home on the app, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying the use of social media is a “personal choice.” “China has always supported and encouraged strengthening cultural exchanges and promoting mutual understanding among the peoples of all countries,” Guo said.
China’s ‘Great Firewall’ prevents American social media companies like Meta (Facebook & Instagram), and X (Twitter) from operating inside the country. Instead, China has kitted out its own social media networks Weibo (Twitter) and RedNote (Instagram) limiting these apps to Chinese residents and nationals. Even ByteDance runs a Chinese-only version of TikTok called Douyin. In 2020 when Clubhouse was the new hotness, Chinese nationals were joining the platform before it was blocked by censors in Beijing.
Americans who are joining RedNote also seem to be testing the censorship limits of these apps. Some posted on X(Twitter) about their inability to discuss the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and other topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese government. Reuters says RedNote is currently scrambling to build out more moderation tools for English-language content and to build better English to Chinese translation tools for the massive influx of new American users.