Why RedNote’s influx of US ‘TikTok refugees’ could be a double-edged sword for Beijing
The authorities will be hoping new users of the app will get a favourable impression of China – but may be unnerved by some of their posts
As of Thursday afternoon, the topic “TikTok refugee” attracted more than 800 million views and 14.7 million discussions as new users, mostly with IP addresses in the United States, started posting on the app.
The content – mostly lighthearted material such as cat videos, or people playing music or dancing – also included some users saying they wanted to “take down the American dictatorship” and to give their data to Chinese authorities – one of the main concerns expressed by US lawmakers.
The discussions, largely conducted in English, also offered the chance for Chinese users to correct misconceptions about the country – for example, the extent to which people eat cats and dogs – or offer passionate commentary on what they thought the Western media got wrong about China.
US and Chinese users also had the opportunity to discuss the relative problems with their health systems – with some of the latter taking comfort in the notoriously high charges many Americans face.
