Chinese social media app RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu, gained nearly 3 million U.S. users in one day earlier this week as a flood of self-proclaimed “TikTok Refugees” joined, according to new data from analytics firm Similarweb.
The Chinese-language app had about 3.4 million daily active users across both iOS and Android devices in the United States as of Monday, up from fewer than 700,000 the day prior, and around 300,000 the week prior, according to the Similarweb estimate.
The influx of users has been driven by a looming U.S. ban on TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, on national security concerns.
The data suggests an even larger shift to RedNote by U.S. users this week than was previously known, explaining its dramatic rise to the top of U.S. app store download rankings. Reuters reported on Tuesday that more than 700,000 new users had joined the app in only two days.
Meanwhile, U.S. usage of TikTok declined ahead of the ban, down 2.1% week over week to about 82.2 million daily active users, Similarweb said.
Is any reporter going to actually look into this? I have serious doubts that a slew of English speaking TikTok users who can barely use their phones to begin with are going to mass migrate to a Chinese language app just to watch lame ass videos. This really feels like some sort of propaganda campaign.
They literally can’t live without the lame ass videos though.
unhinged conspiracy theory? check. condescending smugness? check. absolutely no effort to do any research before commenting? check.
well if it isn’t lemmy.world
Fake news! 😂 Such copium.
Trump promoting the best commie coffee
I just checked it out today and it seems like at least a third of the active users are american. I’m sure that will die down some after the curiosity dwindles but there is absolutely a massive surge of English speakers on there.
Most of the activity is in the comments. Lots of culture shock happening as I type this.
There are English speakers on Lemmy too. And some of them post Chinese propaganda. I wouldn’t doubt if a lot of this “surge” is manufactured/faked.
Most of the English speakers on Lemmy post Five Eyes propaganda. They don’t mean to, they just don’t know any better. It’s all they’ve ever known. I try to point them toward developing real media literacy.
has it ever occurred to your racist ass that we don’t have to be chinese to not hate china?
Instead of assuming, why not check the app yourself to see if they are real people?
“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
You can download the app and see for yourself ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
you’re malding
The saddest downvotes are the “shoot the messenger” downvotes. I find this fact inconvenient so ⬇
i need to figure out how to make the rick & morty “your boos mean nothing to me; i’ve seen what makes you cheer” meme more accessible somehow for this exact reason. lol
Isn’t that similar to how Americans and Russians were interested in knowing more about each other during Cold War?
Everybody there is so nice
Not for me but seems like a win overall? People are generally far less willing to hurt/fight people they know well compared to some nebulous concept of a nation. If American and Chinese people get to know eachother in a social setting it can only be a good thing.
It’s shockingly easy to agitate over there, being a leftist on the western internet and especially reddit is like training your arguing skills in a high-gravity environment. I’m accustomed to maneuvering around such unrelenting hostility that the friendliness of rednote is shocking to me.
It honestly sounds a lot like Hexbear. Made a rednote account today, but I’ve never used tiktok or instagram before, so the entire thing was kinda inscrutable for me lol, but I’m so glad that this is where the tiktok exodus is heading.
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Looks like they’re starting to geolock some users, so americans mostly see posts/comments made from the US
Can't people just not be racist
At least the chuds are screeching though lol
no, it’s literally rednote: as in the name the official company chose
even then, based
Uhmmmm no thanks lol WTF
If only there was a no button…
But why would any legitimate app ask for a permission for which there is practically no legitimate use? I thought Rednote was a social media thing, not a Caller application, so why does it need to make and manage phone calls on my behalf?
What else is it doing that it doesn’t need to ask permissions for? Please think critically.
And yes before someone mentions It, yes this can be used for getting a phone number automatically, but It can just prompt for my phone number (which it doesn’t need anyway, unless you post), no legitimate need to ask for such a broad permission.
More to the point, why tf are y’all so chill about this? Surely this is like literally a sign of malware 101? Like I’m only a compsci & cybersec grad so what do I know, but this to me is equivalent to opening “not a virus.exe” from “veryrealmoviedownload.com”. Literally first malware I got as a kid on Android was like this.
I thought awareness of this was pretty commonplace. The below image is literally a Facebook-tier meme that even grampa probably knows.
Are y’all just that desperate for a win? Sorry, good things don’t actually happen in our hell world.
Is this a normal thing for apps to do these days? I don’t use any other SM apart from Lemmy and only F-Droid FOSS apps so i’d legitimately like to know. Does tiktok also prompt for making and managing phone calls?
Basically every mainstream social media apps do want your contacts these days, yes. Obviously bad for OPSEC so you should avoid them if you’re worried about that even after blocking those permissions.
“Contacts” is a very very different permission from making and managing phone calls, and is prompted for separately.
The former harvests data, the latter can be used to steal money directly via the same mechanism we used to text numbers to buy ringtones and J2ME apps back in the day.
Now I’m not saying that Rednote is definitively malware and I actually kinda like some of the content I saw, which I couldn’t say for TikTok (I’m way too ADHD for short form videos, it’s very unstimulating), but maybe just keep it in mind.
Rednote isn’t tik tok. You’ll absolutely be monitored on there. That’s an implicit agreement for all Chinese apps that has Chinese citizens as users. In fact they do what US government keeps accusing tik tok of but tik tok doesn’t do. If your worried about the Chinese government getting your info, absolutely do not use rednote. It wasn’t made for you to begin with. Accusing them of doing what they promised they would do however is a bit strange to me.
lmao what the fuck
Thousands of people download this shit too.
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It’s for collecting phone number, network cell data etc. It’s basically the most sensitive permission and usually not needed for apps to request.
If an app only needs a phone number, it can ask it with user input instead.
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I wanted to see if I could run it through an emulator but if it needs a phone number then no thanks. People are way too careless with their data.
Meirl
Just so you know, PRC is not a very inclusive place. Have a look at this article for more info.
A crowd sourced encyclopedia is only as trustworthy as the editors that control the page. I wouldn’t trust wikipedia for anything to do with geopolitics or current affairs any more than I would trust any other mainstream media source.
That’s why encyclopedia’s list their sources?
He’s a tankie he doesn’t know what that is.
Yeah they have a long way to go like most of the world; wish they’d just copy Cuba and the GDR on that.
Also you’d be better served with a specific documentary like this one instead of just lazily linking to wikipedia.
As of at least 2023, Chinese public attitudes towards the LGBTQI community continues to become increasingly favorable.
Literally all that “article” says is that China has its issues but is making progress in the right direction.
The important thing is that LGBT people in China can and do currently live free, safe, and open lives, and that the state is consistently moving towards providing queer people with further right and protections.
The fear is ridiculous. Yes it’s somewhat sanitised, all social media is sanitised. Shit even on lemmy large instances are going to remove a video of me showing how to inject heroin or, for a more moderate thing, explain how trans people can DIY hormones.
It is good when people from different cultures share stuff. It is good when state barriers break down and people see how we’re all so similar at the end of the day.
Yes it’s somewhat sanitised, all social media is sanitised.
And it’s all sanitized for good reason - the closest places to unsanitized, such as freespeechextremist, are literally just spambots, molesters, troll neo-nazis and people mechanically incapable of holding a conversation without bursting into nonsense screeds in all caps. Effectively, just the people no-one else wants to talk to.
As for the RedNote sanitizing, some of the ones I’ve seen newcomers getting tripped up on are rules which would make our local social media better. They seem aimed at countering grifters/influencers, sexualization for popularity (not being a prude, rather, there are plenty of other places for that content) and similar negative trends associated with TikTok.
Yes please everyone from the banned app move to an app that has a solid chance of being banned for the exact same reason. Unbelievably dumb but I guess we are talking about the tictok user base so I shouldn’t be surprised.
That’s the point? It’s people signalling they’re not dumb enough to believe the US’s “national security” shit and would trust China’s products over american ones like Meta or Xitter
It’d also be so fucking funny if the US forces people to use a VPN to access Xiaohongshu. How the turntables.
Soon we’ll be routing our internet connections like flight paths to get around sanctions.
This already happens.
Despite China history with the Uyghurs, child labor, and many other human rights violations and completely ignoring the fact that the people of China have a mile long list of apps they’re not allowed to download and a longer list of things they’re not allowed to speak about. These people sure know how to signal.
There’s more child labor, both legal and illegal, in the United States than in all of China.
That is factually not true and you should feel bad for making that sentence.
It is in fact true, despite what you’ve been propagandized to believe.
I just did the math, there were around 3,800 child labor violations in america last year. There were 12 million in china. It must be hard being a wolf warrior diplomat and always being this wrong. Why can’t you people chill out and leave the world alone?
Lmao. Sure there was. I’m sure you’re getting that data from a non biased source not aligned with American interests, right? There’s more than 3,800 child laborers in my state alone. In fact, they’re legally working much of the time. Many states have lowered the legal working age, and constant reports come out about children working in horrific conditions doing dangerous work such as slaughterhouses.
Got any data to support your claim?
That’s debatable but either way doesn’t make it right. It’s like everyone has decided they’ll join the #1 oppressor of free speech in order to protest their own loss of free speech? I don’t see how that makes any sense. If rednote becomes popular enough it will be covered by the same act that is allowing the ban of tictok. If people want to protest American companies then they should stop using them, and I mean completely. Nothing will speak louder than a missing user base.
Repression of hate speech is objectively a good thing. “Free speech” in our society is a dog whistle for allowing far right to spread conspiracy and lies without any repercussions. Western media heavily suppresses speech that cuts against their interests. Say “free luigi” on Facebook or instagram and see what happens. Say “free Palestine” on instagram and see what happens. Yet, literal fascists are allowed to (and even further spread by people like musk) to spread antisemitic conspiracies and objectively false and misleading pseudoscience without issue. Hundreds of left leaning journalists were banned on X in one day, for nothing more than being ideologically opposite to Elon Musk.
Put simply, the illusion of “freedom of speech” in the west is just that, an illusion. China does not suppress the majority of speech, they just don’t allow ideologues to sew conflict and falsehoods.
You are confusing free speech with private areas. You can absolutely go to the courthouse and scream “free luigi” All day long. You can’t do it in someone else’s business. Online spaces are someone else’s business. Go to China and scream " free tiawan" and see what happens.
Then let’s talk about the brutal assault and suppression of the pro Palestinian protests last summer. On public property, assaulted by agents of the state, hundreds arrested and charged with felonies for speaking their mind, threatened constantly by public officials, laws made to criminalize criticism of the client state of Israel. Or the hundreds of journalists, veterans, and protestors assaulted for daring to speak out against the current regime during press conferences and rallies. Just today, multiple journalists were assaulted during a press conference with Blinken.
This is the first time americans are talking directly to chinese people en masse like this, no? The state department must be scrambling to get things in order. I don’t think they expected the ban to backfire this bad lol
Wonder how long it’ll last before it’s closed off.
For many Chinese, this is also their first time talking to Americans. There are a ton of stories of them asking us if school shootings and medical bankruptcy are real or if it is just CCP anti-US propaganda. It is gut wrenching when we have to tell them that all the terrible things they have heard about the US are not only true, but worse than they imagine
While those things are bad, is anyone asking Chinese people if they’re actually putting Uyghurs in concentration camps and forcibly sterilizing them or is that just propaganda from the rest of the world?
If the question didn’t get removed completely, they would likely face punishment for answering.
American general population are not intelligent enough to posit this. Signed, an American
I think this is actually why history repeats itself… the majority of people just aren’t smart enough to learn from past mistakes.
It’s less about intelligence, implying some innate talent or skill, and more about indoctrination and education, but I agree with the sentiment we are ill prepared for the recurring challenges we keep inflicting on ourselves.
There’s a lot of evidence out there from American journalists that the Chinese are in fact, not forcing sterilization on the Uighur population or putting them in concentration camps. https://medium.com/@braisedporkblog/debunking-the-uyghur-genocide-a-resource-list-a31dd0ea3d87
So their government is extremely critical of the topic and sensors it because it’s not happening and all is well?
Also, see a pattern? https://medium.com/@braisedporkblog
You’re using an ad hominem fallacy by saying the messenger is the problem and not refuting the evidence itself.
The USA is banning tiktok because it can’t control the platforms messaging in case misinformation is being spread in the USA. Why is it that China can’t also control the spread of this misinformation? Feels like you might be a chauvanist 🤷♂️
That’s China. They censor everything that could be viewed as an attack on something. Regardless of its veracity. It’s something the west doesn’t understand. They’re not censoring to hide something, they just censor regardless.
Now I don’t know what to believe.
I guess I should look at all the foreigners who think the US is some lawless wasteland and not be surprised Americans have similar misconceptions about other nations.
When you consider the school shootings, mass shootings, insane medical debt, and the fact that we have 8x the traffic fatality rate per capita of many developed nations, etc, I don’t blame people for seeing the US as being a lawless dumpster fire.
If you disagree, next time you are out driving try to estimate how many drivers actually follow the law (drive below the speed limit, stop at crosswalks, slow down even more when visibility is poor or there are pedestrians or children nearby, etc).
Also, how many people drive small cars that are cleaner and safer for our communities vs giant Wankpanzers? People who are willing to make our cities more polluted and more dangerous for everyone overall just to make themselves slightly safer are morally bankrupt even if they technically follow the law they don’t value the spirit of the law.
This is a textbook example of non-Americans not realizing how big and diverse America is.
He is clearly an American, as he used “we” in the first paragraph talking about Americans.
This is a classic case of Americans thinking they are a uniquely big and culturally diverse country, despite the fact there are a number of countries that are bigger(including mine), and the US is not culturally diverse at all compared to many, many other countries(including mine).
You should leave your country once in a while.
Yes, I’m well aware of Americans who live on forums like these also having a very distorted view of America.
They should leave their houses every once in awhile.
Chinese Rednote users actually seem to have a relatively utopian view of the US. I’m seeing alot of posts asking if it’s true that most Americans can afford to own a house and being corrected by americans in the comments; stuff like that.
Also they really like Luigi Mangione lol, even before americans came into the app.
Scepticism is great but don’t forget Rednote and all other Chinese media is very restricted. Guaranteed you will always see only what the Chinese government wants you to see and anything critical of Chinese and especially it’s government will be removed almost if not instantly.
Guaranteed you will always see only what the Chinese government wants you to see
Uhh… no. That’s not “guaranteed” and I feel sorry for you if you believe otherwise.
Is there a word for people who believe propaganda without a second thought?
Link me to a single Chinese article critical of the Chinese government or Xi? I’m always willing to reconsider but if what you say is the case then why the Chinese censorship? There’s too much to explain it all away by saying it’s all propaganda.
Or better yet have a conversation with someone on Rednote about anything painting the Chinese government in a negative light and let’s see it . Snap a screen shot.
If you asked an American if we use child labor they would say “of course not!” but we keep mysteriously finding kids in meat packing plants and auto manufacturing plants and farms and….
My point is that just because the average citizen doesn’t know about bad things doesn’t make the bad things non-existent.
Interesting indeed, both countries’ governments don’t want truths out
They keep underestimating how simpleminded people can be.
The consent machine is pulling triple shifts to convince people this is dangerous, and some people even on this site have so thoroughly doomer-pilled themselves that they can’t see the positives. I’ve been on there a lot this week and there is a real cultural exchange taking place, a lot of people asking questions about what it’s really like to live in each country. Just in my little slice I’ve seen dozens of comments from USians expressing that they are surprised to learn the reality of life in China and that they feel they have been deliberately mislead.
The consent machine is pulling triple shifts to convince people this is dangerous
seeing it nakedly displayed live on colbert, the daily show, and kimmel was mind blowing to me; are they panicking?
I’ll look around to see if I can find those show segments online, but as for ‘are they panicking?’, mass media has a vested interest in influencing public opinion (that’s effectively the only reason a private business bothers with news) and therefore control over public opinion. If the people who own the show and the channel give orders, the writers and actors probably won’t risk getting fired. (oh, and obligatory quick clip to demonstrate what ownership looks like, for those who haven’t seen it: “This Is Extremely Dangerous to Our Democracy”)
So, with that in mind, recall the reactions of almost all mass media to the UnitedHealthcare assassination: consistent critique and denouncement. Surely this wasn’t how all the news anchors felt, given how positive general opinion was! The people with ownership and executive power over these media channels obviously don’t want the idea of citizens shooting the dangerously rich and powerful to get popular, so we saw their ideas echoed in all the news.
Compare that to here: media channels outside of China don’t really want that counter-narrative to gain traction. It goes against their inherent interest of influencing public opinion, it’s a competitor which all the biggest media companies can agree to call bad news. So I have no doubt this unexpected and surprising turn would make them panic.
edit: the clips I found from Colbert and The Daily Show were a surprisingly mixed bag. For example, this Daily Show clip comes off more as a satirical jab at the US than any panic.
you’re preaching to the chior and the daily show was the closest to being subtle. colbert’s was the most stunning and it was last week.
Honestly since I’ve learned about how the Chinese people seem to be taking it and really like the interaction with “us” I’ve been more interested in checking out weibo. That seems more similar to this and is more about communicating instead of pictures and videos of specific topics.
Just can’t make an account for some reason lol keep getting errors in Chinese even though I’m using the international site lol
Yeah seems like Rednote is specifically centered around lifestyle and art while Weibo and Baidu are for general use
DON’T 👏 INSTALL 👏 小红书 — It gave me third degree Havana syndrome, which my health insurance won’t cover.
If the CIA agents in Havana don’t get Cuban healthcare benefits, they should just quit.
