On Eve of TikTok Ban, Chinese App RedNote Surges in Popularity, Delighting Chinese State Media (go.com) 70
Chinese social-networking site RedNote became the #1 most-downloaded app in America, reports the Associated Press, with some new users considering it a way to protest America's possible TikTok ban.
So what happened next? 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... Xiaohongshu's 300 million monthly active users are overwhelmingly Chinese — so much so that parts of its interface have no English-language version... [Press reports suggest about a million of TikTok's 170 million users tried switching to RedNote this week...]
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 [the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party], 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."
Making the most of the moment is Jianlu Bi, who is apparently a senior content producer for Beijing's state-run China Global Television Network, which Wikipedia describes as "under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party". Friday Jianlu Bi crafted an article claiming "surprising" and "stark contrasts" were revealed: While the United States is often portrayed as a land of limitless opportunity, many American netizens have shared their struggles with high living costs, particularly in urban areas. One common theme is the exorbitant cost of healthcare. "I just got a simple bill for a routine checkup and it was over $500," shared one American user. "I can't imagine what a serious illness would cost! I feel like I'm constantly on the brink of financial ruin due to medical expenses." In contrast, Chinese netizens often express surprise at the affordability of many goods and services in their home country. For instance, the cost of housing, particularly in smaller cities, is often significantly lower in China compared to the United States.... This disparity is often attributed to factors such as government policies, economic development, and cultural differences...
Traditional media narratives often present simplified and often biased portrayals of China and the United States. For example, the U.S. is often portrayed as a land of opportunity with limitless possibilities, while China is sometimes depicted as a country with limited freedoms. Xiaohongshu, on the other hand, provides a platform for ordinary people to share their authentic experiences and perspectives... A Chinese student studying in the U.S. shared, "I was surprised to learn that many of my classmates are working part-time jobs to cover their tuition and living expenses. This is very different from the image of affluent American students I had in my mind. It really opened my eyes to the realities of life for many young people in the U.S."
"As social media continues to evolve, these platforms will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role in shaping global perceptions..." the article concludes.
Article suggested by long-time Slashdot reader hackingbear.
So what happened next? 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... Xiaohongshu's 300 million monthly active users are overwhelmingly Chinese — so much so that parts of its interface have no English-language version... [Press reports suggest about a million of TikTok's 170 million users tried switching to RedNote this week...]
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 [the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party], 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."
Making the most of the moment is Jianlu Bi, who is apparently a senior content producer for Beijing's state-run China Global Television Network, which Wikipedia describes as "under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party". Friday Jianlu Bi crafted an article claiming "surprising" and "stark contrasts" were revealed: While the United States is often portrayed as a land of limitless opportunity, many American netizens have shared their struggles with high living costs, particularly in urban areas. One common theme is the exorbitant cost of healthcare. "I just got a simple bill for a routine checkup and it was over $500," shared one American user. "I can't imagine what a serious illness would cost! I feel like I'm constantly on the brink of financial ruin due to medical expenses." In contrast, Chinese netizens often express surprise at the affordability of many goods and services in their home country. For instance, the cost of housing, particularly in smaller cities, is often significantly lower in China compared to the United States.... This disparity is often attributed to factors such as government policies, economic development, and cultural differences...
Traditional media narratives often present simplified and often biased portrayals of China and the United States. For example, the U.S. is often portrayed as a land of opportunity with limitless possibilities, while China is sometimes depicted as a country with limited freedoms. Xiaohongshu, on the other hand, provides a platform for ordinary people to share their authentic experiences and perspectives... A Chinese student studying in the U.S. shared, "I was surprised to learn that many of my classmates are working part-time jobs to cover their tuition and living expenses. This is very different from the image of affluent American students I had in my mind. It really opened my eyes to the realities of life for many young people in the U.S."
"As social media continues to evolve, these platforms will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role in shaping global perceptions..." the article concludes.
Article suggested by long-time Slashdot reader hackingbear.
So stupid (Score:3)
They're just gonna ban rednote. Stop selling out to governments that spy on you. If you don't like Facebook/Google/X then stop using their crap too!
Re: (Score:2)
I agree with you, but I am really tempted to create an account just to see what it is like. I'm so curious what an actual Chinese social media network is like. After all, our cultures are so different. OTOH, I wonder if there's a need to sandbox myself first? Maybe I'll install it on an Android emulator like Bluestacks instead of my phone and use false information for everything.
Re: (Score:3)
They're walling off American users so that they can't influence the Chinese userbase. Without a really clever VPN, you'll never know. Chinese TikTok is vastly different though.
Re: (Score:2)
https://www.ccn.com/news/techn... [ccn.com]
Re: (Score:2)
They're banning Americans for posting skin or gay stuff.
No tolerance for that inside China. You'll be ok with wholesome content.
They just arrested a woman in Turkey for a lewd online stunt too.
Pendulum swings back and forth.
Re:So stupid (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: So stupid (Score:2)
The Tencent production of Three-Body Problem was quite good. Not great, but on the whole a much better (closer) translation of the novel.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
They're banning Americans for posting skin or gay stuff.
There's at least 19 states in the USA salivating at the idea of being able to do exactly the same thing. We've got far more in common with China than we'd like to admit. It's time to drop the high and mighty saviors of free expression act, because the mask just fell off and there's no Deus ex machina coming to save the day. We live in a country that banned foreign social media app because our leadership believes our citizens need to be coddled like children, which puts us firmly in the same club as... we
Re:So stupid (Score:4, Insightful)
One thing that caught my eye was the level of opulence of the surroundings compared to most major cities in the US (Las Vegas notwithstanding. A block off The Strip is barbed wire and vomit and needles), Even in the country. And it made me wonder...
WHERE THE HELL DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?
For being the wealthiest country ever in the history of the world, the US is a pretty shabby affair. And given how GDP is spread across over a billion people, where does the money go?
Re: (Score:2)
Money in China is highly concentrated. Way more than the US and other Western countries.
There's a reason so much of our manufacturing was shipped to China: it's cheaper there, even after you include the cost of shipping back to the US. Why is it cheaper? Staff is a huge cost to every company and in most/many companies the highest cost. People there make less. A lot less than Westerners.
Certain things are cheaper in China but not everything. The average Chinese living in a city can get by, eat, have
fact check: False (Score:2)
Re: So stupid (Score:1)
I think your views on China are a little outdated. The reason China is advantageous wrt manufacturing is little-to-nothing to do with low salaries, and increasingly skill, technologies and supply chain efficiencies. Maybe a decade or two ago...but not for a while.
Re: (Score:3)
The money goes to Gates, Trump, Bezos, and their ilk. China redistributes and has slave labor. Some good, and a lot of bad.
Re: So stupid (Score:2)
A lot of what you're seeing is malinvestment, which is draining the Chinese economy of any dynamism and increasingly putting them at serious risk of collapse. Essentially, due to capital controls, housing became the one investment that people could put their money into. This created a massive housing bubble which now threatens to take down the economy. There are entire cities with skyscrapers and parks and really nice infrastructure, but they're ghost towns.
So, essentially all that great infrastructure (whi
Re: (Score:2)
Where the hell does all the money go? (uncapitalized due to lameness filter fail)
Pick-up trucks.
Re: (Score:2)
They're just going to segregate it like Tiktok was
Re:So stupid (Score:4, Interesting)
You must have missed the authoritarian developments in the past 5 or 10 years or so and how it switched into fully autocratic mode.
PR of China today is in a political state no better than the PRC of the Tian an men days. Economically and in terms of the direction for the future it is worse. That makes its full putinization in a few short years inevitable.
But be my guest, choose freely among one of the two little red books available: https://i.imgur.com/0HNuQnE.jp... [imgur.com]
For the US, you can pick any brown book you like.
Re: (Score:3)
Can't have foreign ideas polluting Xi's harmonious society!
Re: So stupid (Score:1)
Unfortunately, most of the prevailing opinion on "Tian'anmen" is still misinformation proliferated by western intelligence agencies and media. Hardly anyone has bothered to look up what actually happened, according people who were actually there, and even if they do, minds have been so indoctrinated that it is a challenge to read reports with an open mind, or ask oneself questions without having assumed the answer one way or the other.
More stupid than you think (Score:2)
They're just gonna ban rednote.
It's stupid for that reason, yes, but to me seems even more stupid to jump from a platform that we all know sent as much info about you to China as it could, to a platform that probably collects even MORE data!
It's like people are thinking they are going to "stick it to the man" by giving away even more private data to China.
On a side note with access to all of these videos you have to wonder what kind of amazing social connection graph China is building just by running face
Re: (Score:2)
Young folks using Red Note are mostly doing it as a way to give Zuckerberg the middle finger.
No they are the same (Score:1)
As opposed to your own country's dark forces through X, Facebook etc.
They also collect all the same data, so what I am saying is why go to another app that just sends that data to China again? At least with a U.S. company hoovering all your data you may get some slight benefit like relevant ads or good coupons. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Chinese businesses can do nothing to you.
The US? Just imagine if you're an immigrant trying not to get deported.
Re: More stupid than you think (Score:1)
"we all know"
As soon as I read that, I know I can reliably ignore the rest of the message.
Re: (Score:2)
China is building just by running face recognition on every single person seen in every person every appearing in the background of TikTok videos.
Ironically, since I live in Florida I've discovered that some porn sites are now doing face scans ostensibly as a means of determining age. Seems like a great way to build a database of people who are looking at porn, which I'm sure will never be used for nefarious purposes. Oh right, I forgot, when US-based companies shit all over your privacy that's just fine. Silly me.
Re: (Score:3)
They're just gonna ban rednote.
Well "they" can't exactly ban tiktok. The only thing "they" can do is order US companies to delist it from app stores. Which is an odd thing actually because these apps already violate the rules of said app stores, just the companies that run them selectively enforce their own rules. Regardless, you can still obtain the app any other way so long as you actually own the computer you're installing it on. Pretty much the only people who don't own their computers are apple users, even though they pay up the ass
Re: (Score:2)
You can sideload it on Android devices but not on iPhone. Also with Oracle shutting down the back end services TikTok used, the app may slow to a crawl.
The web interface will probably still be usable. It may require a VPN.
Re: So stupid (Score:1)
Could you use a vpn (or roaming sim) to use the EU app store, to get updates from there (or a 3rd party store)?
I don't know why the US gov couldn't force Oracle to shut the services down, as well as the two app stores.
What about the other android stores?
Re: So stupid (Score:2)
Oracle has in fact turned them off.
Re: So stupid (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I've seen two stories about the influx to RedNote (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
https://www.thefp.com/p/jay-so... [thefp.com]
Of course TikTok is an apparatus of the PRC.
Re: (Score:2)
1. It is a legally registered company in China.
When the Chinese government tells a company to do something they do it and they are not allowed to disclose that they were told to. If you don't your company will disappear, shortly after you disappear.
For businesses in China this is all just routine. You try to keep a low profile but if you come to their attention you do what is asked and then get back on with business.
Re: (Score:1)
Are you really such a brain washed idiot?
Did you actually ever had a brain?
Re: (Score:2)
We have the same thing here, called National Security Letters.
Why do you think they don't do what we do?
Re: I've seen two stories about the influx to RedN (Score:1)
Why do you think they do what you do?
Imo, that's a common mistake of people in the USA, especially their government and security services.
Surely the Chinese gov can see the mess the USA has become and doesn't want to end up that way, and is very discerning what aspects to emulate and what to throw away as the crap it is.
Re: (Score:1)
Such a letter goes to everyone, and not a single company dictating her what to do.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: I've seen two stories about the influx to RedN (Score:1)
I have lived in China for over 20 years, and worked for a few companies too, even as the main IT guy, and we never had such as you describe. Perhaps there was a good reason you were targeted. It sounds like they caught a few violations too, so fair enough.
Rights are totally manufactured ideas and vary everywhere. People have rights in China too, but not the BS rights you value in the USA...at least not when they come to subversion and destabilising social harmony.
Maybe you were in China longer ago than my 2
Re: (Score:2)
And what rights that people in the USA have do you consider to be BS, and why?
Re: (Score:2)
In the case of the raid and imprisonment I think the trigger was a Chinese company complaining about our company, a foreign competitor to them.
Regardless with your experience you m
Re: (Score:2)
They would never force Meta to push anything. Meta will do it voluntarily, as will X, Google and all the major media outlets. I have not been to enough tropical islands filled with teenage girls to know how they accomplish this feat.
When was the last time you heard about a whistleblower about the government from inside China?
If there had been a whistleblower incident and the government handled it correctly, we'd never know. Media in the US generally doesn't cover Chinese internals, especially not news that make the Chinese government look good.
Re:I've seen two stories about the influx to (Score:1)
Oh, what has the nonsense you write now to do with your previous post?
How to tell if a Chinese company is an apparatus of the state:
1. It is a legally registered company in China.
And now this nonsense you write again?
What the funk do you think is happening to a Chinese in Europe or USA if his "paperwork is not okay"???
I know Germans that got detained at an US airport, because the officer did not believe the lady in question has 6 weeks holidays, and is visiting her cousins, and is NOT WORKING.
They put her i
Re: I've seen two stories about the influx to RedN (Score:2)
China is not a communist country. At times, itâ(TM)s far more capitalist than the US is. It is an authoritarian and once again an increasingly autocratic country. Thereâ(TM)s a difference: most communist countries were/are authoritarian; not all authoritarian countries are communist.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: I've seen two stories about the influx to RedN (Score:2)
That comment was a waste of time. Typical waste of space from you. Are you so pathetic and insecure that you have to go around calling people idiots? Do you think that actually accomplished anything other than undermining yourself? How about trying to be an adult and post constructive comments? If you think theyâ(TM)re wrong, explain why and provide evidence. Otherwise, STFU.
What's that up in the sky? (Score:2)
What is that up in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? No! It's the BAN HAMMER. Coming straight down on the next Chinese state social media operation to infest America.
Re: What's that up in the sky? (Score:1)
You lot pretend to like freedom, but actually prefer to be dictated to.
Re: (Score:2)
Your talking points would feel much better if wadded into nice tight (but BIG) ball and shoved all the way up your ass until they touch your tonsils. Get back to me when you have completed that assignment and I will give you another one.
YouTube says ... (Score:2)
"I am forgotten."
Re: (Score:2)
Re: YouTube says ... (Score:1)
Well, Google left, so they stopped serving China altogether. Don't blame China for that...totally Google's choice.
Re: (Score:2)
On the other hand Microsoft was happy to comply. The difference was stark. Google maps worked really will in the Chinese city I lived if I used a VPN. Without a VPN if wouldn't load. Microsoft maps worked fine without a VPN. It showed the city I was in had two roads, the major highways that joined in at a T junction. The problem was the
Re: (Score:2)
"I am forgotten."
Most of what's on YouTube shorts and whatever the hell it is that Facebook calls their TikTok clone, are just reposts from TikTok. Without TikTok, the well is probably gonna run dry.
Which propaganda do you want? (Score:2)
Re: Which propaganda do you want? (Score:1)
The Internet used to be based on protocols and the end client software was something you could choose. Nowadays, it's more like you get the whole thing and you get what you're given. It's not a good thing, imo.
Ooops Cold War 2 not gonna fly (Score:2)
Rednote Makeover (Score:1)
Re: Rednote Makeover (Score:1)
Iinm, they give people the option to filter out English language posts...well, I read such, but who can you believe?
Which part of the elephant? (Score:2)
There are unsurprisingly pros and cons for both the US and China. Also unsurprisingly, it makes a huge difference whether you are privileged or not, and this is the same for the US and China.
Healthcare is generally cheaper in China, but care and wait times for some services can be substandard. Job prospects for young people can be daunting in the US, but they can be soul crushing in China, especially for those who weren't privileged to go to the top schools or be networked to the right people or who happen
Misrepresentation (Score:3)
As the author of the original post which, as usual on any posts with slightly positive views on China, was heavily edited by the slashdot editor, I would point out key contents I deem important in my original post:
While American opinion elites have raised concerns of politicized issues such as free speech and social values, down-to-the-earth netizens are conducting mutual “audit” of life from cat photos to stuff that matters such as ...
I deem these important because the reality in China are that
1. Most social issues are not political, rather they are just like the ones you face in the States: high costs in housing and education, lack of good jobs, etc.
2. Most social issues are hotly discussed online everyday. You don't know Chinese are discussing them because your media has negative motivation to let you know those can be discussed in China. you can learn Chinese and read up in Chinese media [toutiao.com] (the linked page in Chinese is the search result of "social problems" in Toutiao News by ByteDance.)
3. Even political topics are generally (*) moving toward open discussion. For example, these are the results searching "tragedies of Cultural Revolution" [toutiao.com] in Toutiao.
4. While nobody cares if you scold at Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Democrats, or Republican in the US, public outcries on issue often lead to serious reform in China. For example, the public outcry of a patient receiving excessive medical bill in 2005 [translate.goog] started the country's healthcare reform [nih.gov] resulting in significant progress in universal healthcare in the country.
(*) Sure, there are topics such as Tiananmen Square incident are censored in China. But you don't really have full free speech in the West either:
* public racist comments will get you in serious troubles;
* criticism of Israel is considered “antisemitism” [medium.com] in the US
* merely denying holocaust would land you in jail [mtsu.edu] in Europe.
Why does China need to censor speech? Because of Tiananmen Square incident! Before June 4, 1989, China was opening up steadily in both economy and political system. Yet the reward of that effort was the massive protest in Tiananmen that forced the government to forcible crackdown which subsequently led to major international sanction against then fragile Chinese economy. Tragedy of such magnitude must not be repeated. If another massive protest were to break out, the Chinese government could not afford (**) to crack down again because the USA is watching. Hey the US itself cannot avoid such massive protest ad its action is to open fire on the first days [wikipedia.org] to suppress the riots. And it is guarantee that nobody in the world can do a thing to sanction the US. That's the key difference between US and China. So what can China do to avoid cornering itself? The only logical choice is that contain any serious speech that could incite social unrest. And the only way to achieve that is through a strict enough censorship regimen.
(**) This can be shown during the 2019 Hong Kong riot:
Re: (Score:1)
>Why does China need to censor speech? Because of Tiananmen Square incident! Before June 4, 1989, China was opening up steadily in both economy and political system. Yet the reward of that effort was the massive protest in Tiananmen that forced the government to forcible crackdown which subsequently led to major international sanction against then fragile Chinese economy. Tragedy of such magnitude must not be repeated. If another massive protest were to break out, the Chinese government could not afford (**) to crack down again because the USA is watching. Hey the US itself cannot avoid such massive protest ad its action is to open fire on the first days [wikipedia.org] to suppress the riots. And it is guarantee that nobody in the world can do a thing to sanction the US. That's the key difference between US and China. So what can China do to avoid cornering itself? The only logical choice is that contain any serious speech that could incite social unrest. And the only way to achieve that is through a strict enough censorship regimen.
(**) This can be shown during the 2019 Hong Kong riot: the Hong Kong police didn't kill a single rioter [wikipedia.org] in the half year long protest; if that happened, much much severe sanctions would be imposed by the US and Europe amid heighten geopolitical competition between the two superpowers.
Yes, the CCP was the real victim of the Tiananmen massacre. The government of China didn't want to crackdown violently on the civil rights protest. What happened wasn't the fault, of the government, it was the citizens at the protest made them do it. That's akin saying the Civil Rights Act was the wrong outcome of the protests and riots and violence that happened in America leading up to it. It wasn't the government that wanted to abuse black citizens, they were forced to do it. If they has just followed th
Re: (Score:2)
Yet the reward of that effort was the massive protest in Tiananmen that forced the government to forcible crackdown
no, they were not "forced" to do that. They chose to do that, instead of a civil response to the demands of the protesters.