TikTok refugees fled by the tens of millions to RedNote, a Chinese language app, in response to the TikTok ban, which went into impact Jan. 19, 2025. The corporate shut down the app shortly earlier than midnight on Jan. 18.
By means of cat memes, shared jokes concerning the ban and trustworthy conversations about normally averted matters, former TikTokers and RedNote natives are bridging years of U.S.-China digital separation. This spontaneous convergence recollects the web’s unique dream of a worldwide village. It’s a glimmer of hope for connection and communication in a divided world.
I’m a researcher who research Chinese language and transnational digital media. I’m additionally a Chinese language one that lives within the U.S. I’ve been a RedNote consumer since 2014.
On Tuesday morning, Jan. 14, 2025, my normal RedNote morning scroll revealed a remodeled For You Web page. Combined in with my typical TV drama, movie star and make-up content material have been new posts from self-proclaimed “TikTok refugees,” with U.S. IP addresses. As I continued scrolling, the advice algorithm flooded my feed with increasingly more of those posts from new U.S. customers looking for to rebuild their group on RedNote.
Fast inflow
The phenomenon exploded quickly: inside 24 hours, the hashtag #TikTok Refugee# on RedNote had garnered 36.2 million views and sparked tens of millions of discussions. RedNote topped Apple’s App Retailer’s free app charts.
This cartoon posted on RedNote illustrates how native customers of the app skilled the inflow of Western TikTok customers.
screenshot by Jianqing Chen of RedNote consumer @蒜香排骨’s submit
In response to these TikTok refugees, with the Jan. 19, 2025, ban looming, customers feared dropping not simply their platform entry however their content material and earnings streams as effectively.
Somewhat than switching to U.S.-based options like Meta’s Instagram or X, they selected to flee to a different Chinese language platform as their protest towards U.S. tech giants, whom they blamed for lobbying for the ban. Their platform of selection was RedNote.
As a substitute of segregating customers by geographical areas with completely different variations as TikTok’s mum or dad firm, ByteDance Ltd., did, RedNote – known as Xiaohongshu in Chinese language – offers entry to the identical platform globally. ByteDance relies in China however launched TikTok as a U.S. subsidiary in 2015. TikTok partnered with Oracle in 2022 to deal with People’ consumer information to deal with information safety considerations. In distinction, RedNote proprietor Xingyin Info Expertise Ltd. is a Shanghai-based firm and so stays free from direct U.S. oversight.
RedNote’s world accessibility
This world accessibility aligns with the unique imaginative and prescient for Xiaohongshu. The identify Little Pink Guide – its literal English translation – typically leads folks within the West to attract parallels with Mao’s revolutionary textual content, suggesting a communist focus. But the platform’s true aspirations couldn’t be extra completely different.
The app, created in 2013, emerged with a moderately bourgeois focus. The app’s founders, Qu Fang and Mao Wenchao, met whereas buying within the U.S. They positioned Xiaohongshu as a platform that mixed social media, life-style content material and e-commerce, all centered round world journey and buying.
Although RedNote has developed to draw a broader demographic, its core consumer base stays worldwide college students, Chinese language abroad communities and worldwide vacationers. Its identify exhibits the platform’s promise to be a “red” – that means in style in Chinese language – information for overseas journey and buying. It features as each a journey bible for Chinese language vacationers and a style curator of glamorous overseas existence.
The app has been influential in reworking lesser-known areas into Chinese language vacationer locations. It turned Düsseldorf, Germany, right into a foodie vacation spot for Chinese language vacationers in 2023 and highlighted hip scenes and public restrooms in Paris throughout the 2024 Olympic video games.
For me, as a local Chinese language individual residing overseas, RedNote has develop into a necessary every day platform for looking evaluations, sharing life’s moments and staying related with Chinese language communities. Even earlier than the TikTok refugee inflow, Xiaohongshu had attracted customers from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and different Sinophone communities.
From memes to open dialog
A TikTok refugee pays the ‘cat tax’.
screenshot by Jianqing Chen of RedNote consumer Lauren Elizabeth’s submit
I nervously lurked within the dialogue sections, anticipating potential friction and conflicts between TikTok refugees and RedNote natives, or “red sweetpotatoes” as they name themselves. But the primary encounters have been surprisingly heartwarming and playful.
When TikTok refugees posted introductions with out pets, RedNote customers would reply with a meme: a cat holding a gun with the caption “Hello, I am a spy. Show me your cat.” This joke caught on shortly. “Chinese spy” quickly turned one other strategy to say “Chinese friend.” TikTok refugees even requested “do you want to be my Chinese spy?” as a playful dialog starter.
The ‘I’m a spy, present me your cat’ meme on RedNote.
screenshot by Jianqing Chen of RedNote consumer dialog
By means of cute memes and witty jokes, each teams ridiculed the TikTok ban. They mocked how the ban twists information privateness points into dated narratives of Chilly Conflict rivalry and espionage, moderately than treating them as shared digital age challenges that each one people face collectively.
After these greetings, RedNote natives and TikTok refugees typically exchanged questions on varied matters. A few of these matters fearful me as a result of they might simply flip into conversation-breakers. For instance, A TikTok refugee requested about LGBTQ life in China, and a RedNote native inquired about U.S. incomes.
However as an alternative of making awkward stress as I feared, these exchanges led to significant dialog. Chinese language customers defined their questions on U.S. earnings: they have been curious as a result of Chinese language “American dreamers” – Chinese language who speak of transferring to the U.S. – typically paint an exaggerated image of American salaries and residing requirements. People have been stunned to be taught that whereas same-sex marriage stays unlawful in China, town of Chengdu is named the nation’s “gay capital.”
Recalling the web’s misplaced promise
As I documented these interactions, they continued to develop and evolve. What began as textual content discussions prolonged into livestreaming conversations. This uncommon second of direct interplay between American and Chinese language social media customers reveals that they’re not as completely different as they could have thought. On-line, they have been sharing the identical pursuits: cute memes, “thirst traps” and humorous feedback. Offline, they face related every day struggles to make ends meet.
How would possibly this finish? Will TikTok refugees go away as soon as their enthusiasm fades, or will regulators from both aspect step in? As somebody who has researched U.S.-China media exchanges for years, I’m struck by this second’s significance, nonetheless non permanent it could be. This represents a significant reconnection between U.S. and Chinese language web customers after years of digital separation.
That separation was induced and bolstered by Google’s withdrawal from China, China’s Nice Firewall and the U.S. compelled segregation of ByteDance’s U.S. and Chinese language platforms. As well as, digital platforms and advice algorithms more and more lure folks in their very own data bubbles.
To me, the second recollects the utopian imaginative and prescient as soon as shared by California’s web pioneers and Chinese language tech innovators and customers: a digital agora and world village.
It’s additionally a silver lining within the cloud of worldwide divides. Even in a world more and more fractured by platforms, misinformation and political divisions, sudden connections can nonetheless blossom. Seemingly inconceivable linguistic, cultural and digital divides may be crossed when folks strategy one another with respect, sincerity, a contact of humor – and maybe the help of AI translators.