U.S. TikTokers flock to Xiaohongshu, baffling and bonding with Chinese users
American high school student Venus Rios sparked a flurry of chatter when she posted this week on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshui Xiaohongshu Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book” in Chinese, is a lifestyle e-commerce and social media platform.READ MORE , writing in Chinese characters.
“Hi Chinese netizens! I am American, if you need help with your English homework, please tell me!” Within a day, the 17-year-old had received nearly 2,000 comments. Rios is among the thousands of “TikTok refugees” who have flocked to Xiaohongshu after TikTok influencers called for a migration to the app to show their opposition to the U.S. government’s crackdown on TikTok. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on a law that requires TikTok to be divested from its parent company ByteDance by January 19, or face a ban in the U.S.
Dubbed “RedNote” by TikTokers, Xiaohongshu, which had not previously targeted American users, was the most-downloaded app on Apple’s U.S. App Store as of Tuesday. For Rios, using the app is more than an act of rebellion, she told Rest of World. “I just wanted something that could replace TikTok, and also it was sort of an act of protest against our government,” the Texan said.
