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TikTok refugees are pouring to Xiaohongshu. Here's what you need to know about the RedNote app

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TikTok refugees are pouring to Xiaohongshu. Here's what you need to know about the RedNote app
News

News

TikTok refugees are pouring to Xiaohongshu. Here's what you need to know about the RedNote app

2025-01-18 08:55 Last Updated At:09:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the fate of TikTok hangs in the balance, U.S. TikTok users are flocking to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, also called RedNote – making it the top downloaded app in the U.S.

Some of the “TikTok refugees,” as they call themselves, say the TikTok alternative, a Chinese app, is being chosen in protest of the TikTok ban. Here's what you need to know about Xiaohongshu.

It is a lifestyle social media app which allows users to post short videos, photos and texts, and it also includes functions like live-streaming and shopping.

A rare wave of U.S.-China camaraderie broke out online in recent days as “refugees” from the popular short video platform TikTok poured onto a Chinese social media platform to protest a likely ban on the service.

They were met with surprise, curiosity and in-jokes on Xiaohongshu — literally, “Little Red Book” — whose users saw English-language posts take over feeds almost overnight.

Americans introduced themselves with hashtag TikTok refugees, ask me anything attitude and posting photos of their pets to pay their hosts’ “cat tax.” Parents swapped stories about raising kids and Swifties from both countries, of course, quickly found each other.

It’s a rare moment of direct contact between two online worlds that are usually kept apart by language, corporate boundaries, and China’s strict system of online censorship that blocks access to nearly all international media and social media services.

Chinese and American users rarely find themselves in the same online spaces, in large part because China’s “Great Firewall” blocks internationally popular platforms like Instagram and X. Even TikTok blocks users in China, directing them to its onshore sister platform Douyin.

But as the deadline approached for a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company, some began migrating to Xiaohongshu.

“When they tell us you can’t have a Chinese app anymore, we go straight to another Chinese app,” said Katie Lawson, a farmer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has posted videos of her chickens and saved many recipes from the app. “We’re going to go explore that country and their values ourselves. We’re going to go straight to the source.”

Although TikTok is owned by a Chinese parent company, the short video platform popular with Generation Z is an international app whose content and users are walled off from those of the Chinese version, Douyin.

Xiaohongshu’s 300 million monthly active users are overwhelmingly Chinese – so much so that parts of its interface have no English-language version. They skew heavily female, often addressing strangers simply as “sister.”

Known for a friendly atmosphere that focuses on user reviews and peer-to-peer advice, it’s one of China’s fastest-growing apps. Foreign celebrities – including Mariah Carey and Elon Musk’s mother Maye Musk -- are longtime users. Kim Kardashian joined the app back in 2018.

The company hasn’t released official data, but the app has reached No. 1 in free downloads on both iOS and Android, remaining in that spot for days.

On the platform, two versions of the TikTok refugee hashtag have over 24 million posts, with related posts appearing at the top of many users’ feeds.

A large number of American users say they’ve received a warm welcome from the community, with #TikTokrefugee. “Welcome the global villagers” remains the top one trending topic on Xiaohongshu, with 8.9 million views on Thursday.

Users from both countries are comparing notes on grocery prices, rent, health insurance, medical bills and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Parents talk about what the kids learn in school in two countries. Some have already joined book clubs and are building up a community.

American users asked how Chinese see the LGBTQ community and got warned that it was among sensitive topics, Chinese users taught Americans what are sensitive topics and key words to avoid censorship on the app. Chinese students pulled out their English homework, looking for help.

Chinese state media, which have long dismissed U.S. allegations against TikTok, have welcomed the protest against the ban.

People’s Daily, China’s biggest national newspaper, said in an op-ed about TikTok refugees on Thursday that says the TikTok refugees found a “new home,” and “openness, communication, and mutual learning are the unchanging themes of mankind and the heartfelt desires of people from all countries.”

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t respond immediately to AP’s interview request.

Cohen reported from Bangkok.

Icons for the smartphone apps Xiaohongshu and TikTok are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Icons for the smartphone apps Xiaohongshu and TikTok are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday told soldiers, police and other law enforcement officials from around the world that armed force can only be used for legitimate defense and must always respect international law.

The pontiff reappeared in public for the first time since he was diagnosed with bronchitis on Thursday to celebrate an outdoor Jubilee Mass for the armed forces, police and security personnel. However, after a few words, he handed off his homily to an aide to read, saying he was having difficulty with his breath.

“I would like to recall the teaching of the Church in this regard: The Second Vatican Council says that those who exercise their profession in the ranks of the army in the service of their homeland should consider themselves as servants of the security and freedom of their people,” Francis said in his final prayer.

“This armed service must be exercised only for legitimate defense, never to impose dominion over other nations, and always observing international conventions regarding conflicts,” he added.

The pontiff launched a new appeal for peace, citing conflicts around the world, including Ukraine, the Middle East, Myanmar and Sudan.

“Let the weapons be silenced everywhere and let the cry of the people asking for peace be heard,” Francis said.

Since being diagnosed with bronchitis on Thursday, the pope had continued his activities and audiences indoors at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lives, until Sunday.

Francis has long battled health problems including long bouts of bronchitis. He uses a walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin.

Speculation about the pope's health is a constant in Vatican circles, especially after Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of tradition and resigned from the papacy in 2013.

Francis has said that he has no plans to resign anytime soon, even if Benedict “opened the door” to the possibility. In his autobiography “Hope” released this month, Francis said that he hadn’t considered resigning even when he had major intestinal surgery.

Italy's Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, right , is flanked by his wife Gaia Saponaro and Italy's Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti as Pope presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, right , is flanked by his wife Gaia Saponaro and Italy's Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti as Pope presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, right , is flanked by his wife Gaia Saponaro and Italy's Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti as Pope presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, right , is flanked by his wife Gaia Saponaro and Italy's Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti as Pope presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Members of the Italian armed forces attend a mass presided over by Pope Francis for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Members of the Italian armed forces attend a mass presided over by Pope Francis for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope blesses as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope blesses as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope touches his eyes as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope touches his eyes as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope prays as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope prays as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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