US users seek refuge on ‘alternative TikTok’ amid ban rumours: ‘Looking for my Chinese spy’ | Trending

As the United States inches closer to a potential TikTok ban, a surprising cultural exchange is unfolding on a Chinese app called RedNote, or Xiaohongshu. The platform, which lacks China’s typical internet firewall, has become a refuge for U.S. TikTok users, fostering an unusual connection between Americans and Chinese citizens. A rumour of China selling TikTok to Elon Musk sparked social media buzz but was denied.(Pexel) Described one user as a “horic moment,” the app has drawn thousands of Americans, whom some are calling “TikTok refugees,” looking for a new online space after their government’s push to ban the popular video-sharing platform over national security concerns. Americans seek new connections onlineIn the last two days, RedNote has witnessed a surge of 700,000 U.S. users, making it the top free app in the U.S. App Store. This influx has put Americans in direct contact with RedNote’s 300 million Mandarin-speaking users, creating an unexpected cultural exchange amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. Also read: TikTok being sold to Elon Musk? MrBeast joins the bid: ‘Okay, fine, I’ll buy it’ “The reason that our government is telling us that they are banning TikTok is because they’re insing that it’s owned you guys, the Chinese people, government, whatever,” said Definitelynotchippy, a new American RedNote user. She added, “A lot of us are smarter than that, so we decided to piss off our government and download an actual Chinese app. We call that trolling… we’re here to spite our government and to learn about China and hang out with you guys.” While TikTok’s parent company, teDance, denies allegations that user data is accessible to the Chinese government, concerns pers. A Beijing law requires companies to “support, ass and cooperate with the state intelligence work,” further fueling fears in the U.S. However, these concerns haven’t deterred many Americans from joining RedNote. ‘Looking for my Chinese spy’U.S. users have carried over their TikTok humor, with some jokingly calling themselves “Chinese spies” and bidding farewell to their “personal Chinese spy” who they claim had been surveilling them on TikTok. RedNote is now buzzing with posts from Americans searching for a replacement platform. “I’m looking for my Chinese spy. I miss you. Please help me find him,” wrote one user, to which a Chinese user replied, “I’m here!” The interactions on RedNote are bringing the two cultures closer together, even if inadvertently. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for “strengthening people-to-people cultural exchanges” may not have anticipated this unconventional form of connection, but RedNote users are embracing it wholeheartedly. “You don’t even need to travel abroad, you can just talk to foreigners here,” said a Chinese user in a video that garnered over 6,000 likes. They added, “It’s honestly insane, no one would have expected that we could meet like this one day, openly communicate like this.” Topics of conversation range from food and entertainment to education. Posts like “Is life in America similar to how it looks on [the U.S. TV show] Friends?” are met with eager responses, while others jokingly demand a “cat tax” from Americans. “Cat tax from California,” replied one U.S. user, posting pictures of their pets. “Here’s my offering – the shorthair is a boy named Bob and the calico is a girl named Marley.” Chinese users have also taken the opportunity to seek help with English. One post read, “Dear TikTok refugees, could you please tell me the answer to question 53? Is the answer T (true) or F (false)?” The question quickly received over 500 responses. Also read: Unemployed people rent office spaces to ‘pretend to work’ to avoid societal stigma in this country