Illustration shows RedNote logo · Reuters
Fri, January 17, 2025
By Laurie Chen
BEIJING (Reuters) - From economic pessimism to cynicism about Marxism and fears over the potential for war, Chinese and American users of RedNote took part this week in rare candid exchanges that tested the limits of censorship on the Chinese social media platform.
The app, also known as Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book in China, has seen a surge of new U.S. users at a time of heightened geopolitical tension between the two world powers.
The influx of nearly 3 million U.S. users at the start of this week has been driven by a looming U.S. ban on Chinese-owned TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, on national security concerns.
The wave of American "TikTok refugees" provided China with a public relations win that state media seized upon. China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing supports people-to-people exchanges. People's Daily said American social media refugees had "found a 'new home'".
"Domestically (in China), a popular narrative has emerged: the idea that Americans coming to Xiaohongshu have broken out of their own echo chambers," said Rose Luqiu, a journalism professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Many popular discussion threads on Xiaohongshu in recent days have touched on subjects that are normally taboo in China.
"I feel lost. Trying to find the meaning of life. I don't like my job, but I need salary," wrote one Chinese user.
Another Chinese user answered a question about fears over the future: "Probably not allowed to talk about it here but a lot of us worry about the potential war (over Taiwan)."
Analysts have speculated how much longer this rare loophole can stay open. The platform has been scrambling to boost English-language moderation capabilities, people familiar with the company have told Reuters.
RedNote, a 12-year-old private company seen as a potential IPO candidate, has not commented on the exchanges since the number of American users surged this week.
Posts in recent days have ranged from the trivial to candid discussions of mental health, gender and sexuality, as well as China's current economic downturn, that are usually heavily censored on domestic Chinese platforms such as Weibo.
China controls the internet through a system known as the "Great Firewall" and social media posts are routinely censored when deemed detrimental to national interests. Foreign social media networks such as Instagram and X are blocked, a system that has created a captive market for domestic alternatives.
One English-language post on Xiaohongshu asking Chinese people about their mental health attracted more than 4,000 comments before it was taken down Friday.
"As an undergraduate who has just graduated, my peers are worried they can't find a job or are oppressed at work... in my high school, suicides happen every year," wrote one user.
Rush Doshi, an expert on China and a former senior Biden administration official, wrote on X that RedNote had become "almost a tunnel under the firewall to reach PRC citizens directly," a development he said poses a challenge to Beijing.
'REMEMBER OUR LOVE AND TRUST'
Despite the candour to be seen in some areas, some U.S. users complained on X of being unable to view certain content or having account restrictions after posting about politically sensitive topics, including LGBT issues.
"Americans are used to very clear and transparent rules, and they cannot accept the censorship system within the Great Firewall," wrote former WeChat politics blogger Lao Zhou Heng Mei on X, adding that this was a "honeymoon period" for American users.
Chinese users said they were aware the candid exchanges may be short-lived.
"If there really is a force majeure that cuts off our contact again, we must remember our love and trust in each other at this moment," read one message widely shared on the app in English and Chinese.
"And in the future if there are defamatory insults against each other, we can firmly say to ourselves: 'what we saw is not like this.'"
(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Americans Flood Chinese App RedNote, Discover Its Users Are Obsessed With Luigi
Angela Yang
Updated Sat, January 18, 2025
The Xiaohongshu Technology headquarters in Shanghai on May 23, 2024.
Many new users opening RedNote, the Chinese social media app gaining sudden traction with American users, were greeted by a familiar face plastered across their feeds: Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione achieved notoriety in the United States as many propped him up to be a working-class folk hero, even as others condemned his alleged act of violence. This week, it became clear to Americans on the app, who are searching for a new platform ahead of TikTok’s imminent ban, that even those inside China’s opaque cyberspace have made him a frequent subject in fancams, paintings and latte art.
RedNote, known in Chinese as Xiaohongshu (which translates literally to “Little Red Book”), shot to No. 1 in the Apple App Store earlier this week as American TikTok users migrated to alternative apps. Many posted that they joined RedNote, which is based in Shanghai, out of spite for U.S. officials who cite national security concerns related to TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.
With the surge in international interest, RedNote is now offering many Americans a glimpse at online culture in China, where the internet is heavily censored. Chinese users on the app often display a love of Mangione, cute animals and American media, all of which have provided ample meme fodder.
Reaction images, or humorous pictures meant to depict a specific emotion, are some of the most commonly used memes on RedNote. One popular post — a reaction image pack — features edits of Mangione’s face, wearing a green Luigi (from Nintendo’s Mario franchise) hat, encircled by yellow cats holding hands. The text on each of the cats espouses facetious praise, including an English version with lines like: "Funny and perfect Luigi" and "Kind and lovely Luigi."With around 300 million monthly active users, according to 2024 data from Xiaohongshu brand marketing firm Qiangua, the app is known for being popular among young Chinese women in particular. Much like Instagram and TikTok (both of which are technically unavailable in China), it offers lifestyle, travel and shopping content alongside a variety of other topics.
But this is a Chinese platform that never marketed itself to foreigners. It operates within what is dubbed China’s “Great Firewall,” the country’s legislative and technological internet censorship system working to block topics deemed politically sensitive — such as LGBTQ-related content and discussions of political dissent — making some users’ content prone to removal.
For now, however, many Chinese and American users on RedNote have welcomed the cultural exchange facilitated by this week’s events. Cat memes are among the most common forms of casual humor on the app, as many Americans learned when they were asked by Chinese users to pay a “cat tax” by sharing photos of their cats upon joining.
Just as on Western social media platforms, RedNote also features plenty of “thirst traps,” or fan edits featuring celebrities and influencers. These include numerous fan edits of Mangione, such as a video compilation, set to Usher’s “Hey Daddy,” of him in court. Some men on the app have also cosplayed as Mangione, sharing makeup tutorials and outfit checks.
Western movies and TV shows are also popular on the app, with users often posting content ranging from “Pride and Prejudice” fan edits to funny “Family Guy” clips and reaction images. Jokes that originated outside China sometimes make their way to RedNote as well, as when one user gained tens of thousands of likes after posting the “chill guy” meme alongside a lengthy caption about the misery of making no friends at school abroad.
A trending piece of brain rot on the platform in recent weeks features Plankton from “SpongeBob SquarePants” wearing a wrinkled facial expression and emitting an eerie moan. It’s become a meme template for jokes about the discomfort of running out of toilet paper, “accidentally drop[ping] a mango on your new white shirt,” or getting splashed in the eye with chili oil while slurping noodles.One such video, about the struggles of getting the shower water temperature right again after accidentally shutting off the faucet, got 265,000 likes on X after a user reshared it there, writing, “this post from xiaohongshu literally transcended all language I’m crying.”
It’s led some Americans online to note that despite the language barrier, memes seem to operate as a universal language. As one X user put it: “People are realizing that the Chinese are just as unserious as us.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Social media users flock to RedNote, a TikTok alternative, ahead of the ban in the U.S.
Katie Wiseman and Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
UPDATE: Read about the Supreme Court decision made on Friday, Jan. 17.
As the date for the TikTok ban in the United States is fast approaching, American users are flocking to another platform to continue their endless scrolling: Another Chinese-owned app called RedNote.
Here's what to know.
From USA TODAY: What to know about RedNote, the app that Americans are downloading in case of TikTok ban
What is RedNote?
Launched in 2013, RedNote has become one of China’s fastest-growing social platforms, with a value of over $17 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Known as Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book,” RedNote features a layout similar to Pinterest and is often described as a Chinese version of Instagram. According to TechCrunch, the app’s focus on short-term content, similar to TikTok, has helped it emerge as a viable alternative.
Why is TikTok getting banned in the U.S.?
The U.S. Department of Justice says TikTok, whose owner, ByteDance, based in Beijing, has access to American data and is sharing it with the Chinese government, and could manipulate the content on the app to shape American opinions.
Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company by Jan. 19, 2025.
ByteDance is currently pleading its case to the Supreme Court, but if the Supreme Court doesn't stop the ban and TikTok isn't sold, the nationwide ban will take effect Monday.
Is TikTok getting banned? How to back up your data, just in case
C.A. Bridges and Samantha Neely contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal
People thought the CEO of RedNote was welcoming them to the app. Turns out he's just a guy from Vancouver.
Lindsay Dodgson
Updated Fri, January 17, 2025
Scroll back up to restore default view.
A man from Vancouver caught people's attention because they thought he was RedNote's CEO.
Jerry welcomed new users who had been flocking to the app ahead of a possible TikTok ban.
People got a bit carried away, and it became a viral case of mistaken identity.
Americans flocking to the Chinese app RedNote thought the platform's CEO had left them an encouraging message.
Turns out, he wasn't the CEO. He's just a guy from Vancouver.
Jerry, who shares a RedNote account that has about 31,000 followers with his girlfriend, Dani, posted a video on Monday.
In the video he welcomed US users who'd been signing up ahead of a possible ban on TikTok. He said the app, also known as Xiaohongshu, was mainly Chinese-speaking, and it was a place people largely used for finding restaurants and sharing lifestyle content such as makeup videos.
"But do feel free to speak English and post English content because I believe there are a lot more English-speaking people on this platform nowadays," Jerry said. "We need to build this community."
Mistaken identity
For reasons that aren't entirely clear, some users assumed Jerry was RedNote's CEO.
His video got reposted on TikTok, and the rumor quickly spread around the platform. People thanked him for welcoming them with open arms while the TikTok ban loomed.
Jerry's video was also mentioned at the end of a Fox 5 New York news segment about the ban threat.
"The CEO of RedNote even made a video welcoming new users who speak English to the app, and he also encouraged them to never stop sharing their voice," said Jennifer Williams, a sports reporter for Fox 5 News.
On Tuesday, Jerry and Dani tried to clear up the confusion on their TikTok account, FakeCEORealGF. In the video, Dani showed Jerry what had happened, and he responded with disbelief.
"Guys, I'm not the RedNote CEO, just to be clear," Jerry said.
"I'm just another normal guy in Vancouver," he added. "I didn't expect this post to go viral like this, and thank you for all the comments, but I want to clarify that I'm not the CEO of RedNote."
Jerry said all the points he made were still true, and he hoped new users enjoyed the platform.
Dani, who's Chinese and grew up in North America, and Jerry, who was born in Shanghai and moved to Canada a decade ago, said they'd enjoyed watching Chinese and American cultures merge on RedNote.
"Guys, I hope you guys aren't mad at us," Dani said. "We're really sorry for any misunderstandings this caused."
TikTokers who made the error joked in the comments that Jerry had been promoted.
"We married the first guy to be nice to us," one viewer wrote. Another said: "He said 'welcome' and we said 'THE CEO?!?!'"
Others remarked on Jerry's American accent, remarking, "We have to start using critical thinking skills."
Jerry, Dani, and Fox 5 New York didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The actual CEO of RedNote/Xiaohongshu is Charlwin Mao, a former Bain consultant who cofounded the app with Miranda Qu in Shanghai in 2013.
TikTok faces a January 19 deadline to comply with a divest-or-ban law requiring its US operations to be sold. It remains unclear what the ramifications of the bill could be.
Creators have been highly critical of the ban, saying their small businesses and livelihoods will be destroyed. Black creators, who were instrumental in the platform's growth, could be significantly affected.
Element of trolling
In response, TikTok users have been considering their options and downloading alternative apps, including Lemon8 and RedNote. Both have rapidly climbed the app download charts in recent days.
The influx to RedNote has been helping some of its users learn English, Business Insider reported this week.
There's also an element of trolling going on. Frustrated about losing a valuable resource for their income and ability to mobilize, TikTokers are leaning into downloading other Chinese apps to send a message.
A major criticism of the potential TikTok ban is that it is hypocritical. Many claim it focuses heavily on one app while leaving alone other tech companies such as Meta, which owns Instagram.
Business Insider
Mangione
Noor Al-Sibai
Fri, January 17, 2025
FUTURISM
Pitch Perfect
On China's RedNote social network, alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione has struck a chord.
As folks on X-formerly-Twitter have documented, the so-called "TikTok refugees" preemptively rushing to Chinese social media ahead of the slated banning of the video app in the states are discovering that their China-based counterparts are super into the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
fresh to rednote and I open the app and they're posting luigi like he's beyonce. I love it here!! pic.twitter.com/kQZWWpuhKt
— chelsaya (@chelsaya) January 15, 2025
Affectionately referred to as "Lulu" on the app, Mangione has seemingly become as much of a thirsted-after folk hero in China as he has in the US — and though it's an immense topic with a lot to unpack, the Chinese healthcare system is itself a bit of a mess, where wealth and class transparently buy better care.
As a fascinating side note: the app, which is called Xiaohongshu in Chinese and is sometimes referred to as "Little Red Book," was co-created by a Stanford-educated tycoon named Charlwin Mao. Nominative determinism strikes again — even if the Mao in question worked at Bain Capital.
Sino Sympathy
Still, messages of commiseration are resonating. In a video posted to RedNote that was later shared on X, a user who claims to have lived in the US for five years before returning to China explained why his countrymen "are touched by the story of Luigi."
"It seems American's health system is becoming a tool for those giant companies to [strip] Americans," the user said. "Now in China, the government bears large shares of the medical expenses for us, and we only need to pay around, like, 100 US dollars per month — but you guys are paying, like, a giant part of your monthly income."
"I can't even imagine how anxious you guys are when you get sick, and that's not right," he continued. "You should have to feel safe and secure when you are the most vulnerable... and [that's] the basic responsibility for those healthcare insurance companies to bear as human beings."
"I really feel for you guys," the user declared. "Yes, you have every right to fight for yourself at the end."
For the stateside users flocking to RedNote and other Chinese apps, that solidarity seems welcome — though it's anybody's guess if those apps won't get banned alongside TikTok.
More on RedNote: Man Named Mao Who Started Chinese App Called "Little Red Book" Was Actually Inspired by Stanford University and Mitt Romney
Luigi Mangione, cats and moaning Plankton: Inside the app spurned TikTokers are embracing
Fri, January 17, 2025
FUTURISM
Pitch Perfect
On China's RedNote social network, alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione has struck a chord.
As folks on X-formerly-Twitter have documented, the so-called "TikTok refugees" preemptively rushing to Chinese social media ahead of the slated banning of the video app in the states are discovering that their China-based counterparts are super into the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
fresh to rednote and I open the app and they're posting luigi like he's beyonce. I love it here!! pic.twitter.com/kQZWWpuhKt
— chelsaya (@chelsaya) January 15, 2025
Affectionately referred to as "Lulu" on the app, Mangione has seemingly become as much of a thirsted-after folk hero in China as he has in the US — and though it's an immense topic with a lot to unpack, the Chinese healthcare system is itself a bit of a mess, where wealth and class transparently buy better care.
As a fascinating side note: the app, which is called Xiaohongshu in Chinese and is sometimes referred to as "Little Red Book," was co-created by a Stanford-educated tycoon named Charlwin Mao. Nominative determinism strikes again — even if the Mao in question worked at Bain Capital.
Sino Sympathy
Still, messages of commiseration are resonating. In a video posted to RedNote that was later shared on X, a user who claims to have lived in the US for five years before returning to China explained why his countrymen "are touched by the story of Luigi."
"It seems American's health system is becoming a tool for those giant companies to [strip] Americans," the user said. "Now in China, the government bears large shares of the medical expenses for us, and we only need to pay around, like, 100 US dollars per month — but you guys are paying, like, a giant part of your monthly income."
"I can't even imagine how anxious you guys are when you get sick, and that's not right," he continued. "You should have to feel safe and secure when you are the most vulnerable... and [that's] the basic responsibility for those healthcare insurance companies to bear as human beings."
"I really feel for you guys," the user declared. "Yes, you have every right to fight for yourself at the end."
For the stateside users flocking to RedNote and other Chinese apps, that solidarity seems welcome — though it's anybody's guess if those apps won't get banned alongside TikTok.
More on RedNote: Man Named Mao Who Started Chinese App Called "Little Red Book" Was Actually Inspired by Stanford University and Mitt Romney
Luigi Mangione, cats and moaning Plankton: Inside the app spurned TikTokers are embracing
Angela Yang
Updated Sat, January 18, 2025
The Xiaohongshu Technology headquarters in Shanghai on May 23, 2024.
Many new users opening RedNote, the Chinese social media app gaining sudden traction with American users, were greeted by a familiar face plastered across their feeds: Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione achieved notoriety in the United States as many propped him up to be a working-class folk hero, even as others condemned his alleged act of violence. This week, it became clear to Americans on the app, who are searching for a new platform ahead of TikTok’s imminent ban, that even those inside China’s opaque cyberspace have made him a frequent subject in fancams, paintings and latte art.
RedNote, known in Chinese as Xiaohongshu (which translates literally to “Little Red Book”), shot to No. 1 in the Apple App Store earlier this week as American TikTok users migrated to alternative apps. Many posted that they joined RedNote, which is based in Shanghai, out of spite for U.S. officials who cite national security concerns related to TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.
With the surge in international interest, RedNote is now offering many Americans a glimpse at online culture in China, where the internet is heavily censored. Chinese users on the app often display a love of Mangione, cute animals and American media, all of which have provided ample meme fodder.
Reaction images, or humorous pictures meant to depict a specific emotion, are some of the most commonly used memes on RedNote. One popular post — a reaction image pack — features edits of Mangione’s face, wearing a green Luigi (from Nintendo’s Mario franchise) hat, encircled by yellow cats holding hands. The text on each of the cats espouses facetious praise, including an English version with lines like: "Funny and perfect Luigi" and "Kind and lovely Luigi."With around 300 million monthly active users, according to 2024 data from Xiaohongshu brand marketing firm Qiangua, the app is known for being popular among young Chinese women in particular. Much like Instagram and TikTok (both of which are technically unavailable in China), it offers lifestyle, travel and shopping content alongside a variety of other topics.
But this is a Chinese platform that never marketed itself to foreigners. It operates within what is dubbed China’s “Great Firewall,” the country’s legislative and technological internet censorship system working to block topics deemed politically sensitive — such as LGBTQ-related content and discussions of political dissent — making some users’ content prone to removal.
For now, however, many Chinese and American users on RedNote have welcomed the cultural exchange facilitated by this week’s events. Cat memes are among the most common forms of casual humor on the app, as many Americans learned when they were asked by Chinese users to pay a “cat tax” by sharing photos of their cats upon joining.
Just as on Western social media platforms, RedNote also features plenty of “thirst traps,” or fan edits featuring celebrities and influencers. These include numerous fan edits of Mangione, such as a video compilation, set to Usher’s “Hey Daddy,” of him in court. Some men on the app have also cosplayed as Mangione, sharing makeup tutorials and outfit checks.
Western movies and TV shows are also popular on the app, with users often posting content ranging from “Pride and Prejudice” fan edits to funny “Family Guy” clips and reaction images. Jokes that originated outside China sometimes make their way to RedNote as well, as when one user gained tens of thousands of likes after posting the “chill guy” meme alongside a lengthy caption about the misery of making no friends at school abroad.
A trending piece of brain rot on the platform in recent weeks features Plankton from “SpongeBob SquarePants” wearing a wrinkled facial expression and emitting an eerie moan. It’s become a meme template for jokes about the discomfort of running out of toilet paper, “accidentally drop[ping] a mango on your new white shirt,” or getting splashed in the eye with chili oil while slurping noodles.One such video, about the struggles of getting the shower water temperature right again after accidentally shutting off the faucet, got 265,000 likes on X after a user reshared it there, writing, “this post from xiaohongshu literally transcended all language I’m crying.”
It’s led some Americans online to note that despite the language barrier, memes seem to operate as a universal language. As one X user put it: “People are realizing that the Chinese are just as unserious as us.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Social media users flock to RedNote, a TikTok alternative, ahead of the ban in the U.S.
Katie Wiseman and Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY NETWORK
Updated Fri, January 17, 2025
Updated Fri, January 17, 2025
UPDATE: Read about the Supreme Court decision made on Friday, Jan. 17.
As the date for the TikTok ban in the United States is fast approaching, American users are flocking to another platform to continue their endless scrolling: Another Chinese-owned app called RedNote.
Here's what to know.
From USA TODAY: What to know about RedNote, the app that Americans are downloading in case of TikTok ban
What is RedNote?
Launched in 2013, RedNote has become one of China’s fastest-growing social platforms, with a value of over $17 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Known as Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book,” RedNote features a layout similar to Pinterest and is often described as a Chinese version of Instagram. According to TechCrunch, the app’s focus on short-term content, similar to TikTok, has helped it emerge as a viable alternative.
Why is TikTok getting banned in the U.S.?
The U.S. Department of Justice says TikTok, whose owner, ByteDance, based in Beijing, has access to American data and is sharing it with the Chinese government, and could manipulate the content on the app to shape American opinions.
Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company by Jan. 19, 2025.
ByteDance is currently pleading its case to the Supreme Court, but if the Supreme Court doesn't stop the ban and TikTok isn't sold, the nationwide ban will take effect Monday.
Is TikTok getting banned? How to back up your data, just in case
C.A. Bridges and Samantha Neely contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal
People thought the CEO of RedNote was welcoming them to the app. Turns out he's just a guy from Vancouver.
Lindsay Dodgson
Updated Fri, January 17, 2025
Scroll back up to restore default view.
A man from Vancouver caught people's attention because they thought he was RedNote's CEO.
Jerry welcomed new users who had been flocking to the app ahead of a possible TikTok ban.
People got a bit carried away, and it became a viral case of mistaken identity.
Americans flocking to the Chinese app RedNote thought the platform's CEO had left them an encouraging message.
Turns out, he wasn't the CEO. He's just a guy from Vancouver.
Jerry, who shares a RedNote account that has about 31,000 followers with his girlfriend, Dani, posted a video on Monday.
In the video he welcomed US users who'd been signing up ahead of a possible ban on TikTok. He said the app, also known as Xiaohongshu, was mainly Chinese-speaking, and it was a place people largely used for finding restaurants and sharing lifestyle content such as makeup videos.
"But do feel free to speak English and post English content because I believe there are a lot more English-speaking people on this platform nowadays," Jerry said. "We need to build this community."
Mistaken identity
For reasons that aren't entirely clear, some users assumed Jerry was RedNote's CEO.
His video got reposted on TikTok, and the rumor quickly spread around the platform. People thanked him for welcoming them with open arms while the TikTok ban loomed.
Jerry's video was also mentioned at the end of a Fox 5 New York news segment about the ban threat.
"The CEO of RedNote even made a video welcoming new users who speak English to the app, and he also encouraged them to never stop sharing their voice," said Jennifer Williams, a sports reporter for Fox 5 News.
On Tuesday, Jerry and Dani tried to clear up the confusion on their TikTok account, FakeCEORealGF. In the video, Dani showed Jerry what had happened, and he responded with disbelief.
"Guys, I'm not the RedNote CEO, just to be clear," Jerry said.
"I'm just another normal guy in Vancouver," he added. "I didn't expect this post to go viral like this, and thank you for all the comments, but I want to clarify that I'm not the CEO of RedNote."
Jerry said all the points he made were still true, and he hoped new users enjoyed the platform.
Dani, who's Chinese and grew up in North America, and Jerry, who was born in Shanghai and moved to Canada a decade ago, said they'd enjoyed watching Chinese and American cultures merge on RedNote.
"Guys, I hope you guys aren't mad at us," Dani said. "We're really sorry for any misunderstandings this caused."
TikTokers who made the error joked in the comments that Jerry had been promoted.
"We married the first guy to be nice to us," one viewer wrote. Another said: "He said 'welcome' and we said 'THE CEO?!?!'"
Others remarked on Jerry's American accent, remarking, "We have to start using critical thinking skills."
Jerry, Dani, and Fox 5 New York didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The actual CEO of RedNote/Xiaohongshu is Charlwin Mao, a former Bain consultant who cofounded the app with Miranda Qu in Shanghai in 2013.
TikTok faces a January 19 deadline to comply with a divest-or-ban law requiring its US operations to be sold. It remains unclear what the ramifications of the bill could be.
Creators have been highly critical of the ban, saying their small businesses and livelihoods will be destroyed. Black creators, who were instrumental in the platform's growth, could be significantly affected.
Element of trolling
In response, TikTok users have been considering their options and downloading alternative apps, including Lemon8 and RedNote. Both have rapidly climbed the app download charts in recent days.
The influx to RedNote has been helping some of its users learn English, Business Insider reported this week.
There's also an element of trolling going on. Frustrated about losing a valuable resource for their income and ability to mobilize, TikTokers are leaning into downloading other Chinese apps to send a message.
A major criticism of the potential TikTok ban is that it is hypocritical. Many claim it focuses heavily on one app while leaving alone other tech companies such as Meta, which owns Instagram.
Business Insider
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