At least as of this writing, we’re still waiting for a Supreme Court decision on the future of TikTok, but users of the app aren’t waiting to find out what happens.
In recent days, TikTok alternatives like Clapper, Flip, and TikTok’s own Lemon8 have risen to the top of app store charts. The most popular of all, Xiaohongshu, has made the biggest impression on his more than 700,000 new users.
The exodus, which was sparked by the attempted ban and carried out out of sheer spite, demonstrates how futile the effort to protect Americans from a “dangerous” app, which has taken more than five years, really has been. In fact, the effort has apparently made things worse for those in power.
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Time and time again, the US government has said that its main goal in banning TikTok has always been to protect American users from Chinese propaganda and protect their data.
I think it’s fair to say that, unsurprisingly, the government made a mistake. In a big way.
In just a few days, Xiaohongshu (which means “little red book” in English) has upended US-China relations. The app was founded in 2013 and acts as a sort of Chinese version of Instagram. Not only are Americans consuming videos and images on an app that actively censors Tiananmen Square-related content and shows nothing when they search for “Xi Jinping,” but they are, in retaliation, agreeing to let the app track their data. Overall, the outcome is the opposite of what the US intelligence community wanted.
Many Americans are also giving advice on how to better integrate with Xiaohongshu’s predominantly Chinese user base. A TikTok user posted a video this week asked new American users to “stop saying democracy” on the app. “If you are Taiwanese,” he said, “and you are in Xiaohongshu, you are now Chinese. Sorry.” I couldn’t find a single review in his comments section. In fact, many users thanked him for the advice.
If anything, the attempt to ban TikTok has inspired more interest in China among Americans than anything else. There has been a large influx of TikTok users learning Mandarin by chatting with Chinese Xiaohongshu users or downloading language learning apps like Duolingo.
“I started learning on Duolingo and from creators on Red Note (or Xiaohongshu),” one TikTok user wrote to me. “I even added the Chinese keyboard option on my phone.”
“I downloaded Red Note and had my first Chinese lesson on Duolingo this morning 😂,” said another.
“Ah, so NOW you’re learning Mandarin”, the X account for Duolingo published on tuesday responding to growing interest.
There has been a 216 percent increase in new Duolingo users signing up to learn Chinese, Duolingo spokesperson Monica Earle tells WIRED. When someone signs up for a Duolingo account, they’re asked to fill out a survey explaining how they found the app, and the company has seen “a corresponding increase” in users selecting “TikTok” as the reason they joined. to Duolingo.