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At least as of this writing, we’re still waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on the future of TikTok, but users of the app aren’t waiting around to find out what happens.
In the past few days, TikTok alternatives like Clapper, Flip and TikTok’s own Lemon8 have risen to the top of the app store charts. The most famous of them, Xiaohongshumade the greatest impression on him More than 700,000 new users.
The exodus, fueled by the attempted ban and carried out in open spite, proves the futility of efforts to protect Americans from the “dangerous” program that took more than five years. In fact, these efforts seem to have made things worse for those in power.
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Just desserts!
The US government has repeatedly said that its main purpose 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 the government is involved. Big time.
Xiaohongshu, which means “Little Red Book” in English, has upended US-China relations in a few short days. The application was created in 2013 and functions as a Chinese version of Instagram. As Americans consume videos and images on an app that actively censors Tiananmen Square-related content and shows nothing when searching for “Xi Jinping,” they retaliating for the app to track their data. All in all, the opposite of the outcome desired by the US intelligence community.
Many Americans also offer advice on how to better integrate with Xiaohongshu’s largely Chinese user base. A TikTok user posted a video this week asking new American users to “stop saying democracy” on the app. “If you’re Taiwanese,” he said, “and you’re in Xiaohongshu, you’re Chinese now. Sorry.” I couldn’t find a single criticism in his comment section.In fact, many users were thanking him for the tips.
If anything, the attempt to ban TikTok has caused more interest among Americans in China than anything else. There is a large influx of TikTok users learning Mandarin by chatting with Chinese Xiaohongshu users or by downloading language learning apps like Duolingo.
“I started learning from creators on Duolingo and Red Note (or Xiaohongshu),” one TikTok user told me. “It even added a Chinese keyboard option to my phone.”
“Downloaded Red Note and had my first Duolingo Chinese lesson this morning 😂,” said another.
“Oh, NOW you’re learning Mandarin” X account for Duolingo published on Tuesday responds to increased interest.
Duolingo spokeswoman Monica Earle told WIRED that the number of new Duolingo users signing up to learn Chinese increased by 216 percent. 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 “relevant increase” in users choosing TikTok as their reason for joining Duolingo.
