What Americans are saying about RedNote in China: How Americans are Using the Platform to Stay Up-To-Date and Communicate with the Government
But many TikTokers are equally curious about RedNote users in China, too. Pictures of your meal or snacks are appreciated by Chinese friends. Curious to see what you typically eat,” one user writes. Another asks, “I’m American. Do you like us? We know y’all not the enemy. Can we all be friends?”
Many of the viral video app’s 170 million U.S.-based users are looking for somewhere other to go because of that. RedNote seems to be the platform of choice.
As noted by CNN, the name Xiaohongshu translates to “little red book,” which “could be seen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to a red-covered book of quotations from the founding father of Communist China, Mao Zedong.” The US government has banned TikTok but many US users are using the Chinese platform to stay up to date.
“Did the U.S. government forget our founding principles? We are a nation that is built on spite according to a user on TikTok who has over 200,000 followers. We are providing our information directly to the Chinese government. The communists have our information because of what you did.
Many of the American newcomers are calling themselves TikTok refugees, a term frequently used on the app in live chat and in comment sections. And the app’s Chinese users appear to be welcoming them with open arms, asking for cat photos and help with their English homework.
Duolingo, the language learning app, tweeted on Wednesday that it has seen a whopping 216% increase in Mandarin learners in the U.S. compared to this time last year — adding that people “learning Mandarin out of spite” are “not alone.”
Plus, since most of the app’s content is in Mandarin, subtitles are suddenly rampant — as are posts from Americans who want to learn the language, including by exchanging translations of popular slang phrases with Chinese commenters.
Those include some 546 derogatory nicknames for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as well as discussion of events such as labor strikes, geographic discrimination, student suicides and criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.
RedNote’s new American users are confronting the potentially taboo topics of privacy and censorship head-on. Users — from both countries — are joking about finally meeting their “Chinese spies” and willingly handing over data (including the aforementioned “cat tax”).
Do not talk about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer community. Thank you! wrote a user in Beijing, in one example reported by Newsweek. The Advocate reported that some American users have had their content removed or accounts suspended, including one woman who was banned for wearing a low-cut top in one video and mentioning “trans plight” in another.
In a group chat this week, people discussed how to avoid being banned for bringing up politically sensitive topics and shared tips on how to be more discreet about it.
Mobile downloads of RedNote in the U.S. and Google Play during the December-January 21-28 Update, as reported by Sensor Tower
RedNote says that more than 20% of its total app downloads this month have come from the US, compared to 2% in the same period during the previous year.
It says U.S. mobile downloads of the app increased more than 20 times over the seven-day period beginning Jan. 8, compared to the previous week, and are up more than 30 times compared to the same period last year.
The start of the week saw a surge in internet searches and social media posts related to Red note, as well as its move into the top spot on the Apple App Store’s “free apps” chart. The market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told NPR that its data indicates RedNote is also the top-ranked social app on the Google Play store on Wednesday — a big jump from #162, where it stood this time last year.
It launched in 2013, originally named “Hong Kong Shopping Guide,” and Reuters reports that it aimed at Chinese tourists looking for local recommendations.
“For so long we really haven’t been able to connect or talk with each other like this, but now we finally can, and it feels so special,” one Chinese user, who identified himself as Abe, said in a now-viral post. “This is such a real chance for us to get to know each other and maybe create something amazing together … I hope you will stay because you are not just welcome here.