Users oppose ban: "TikTok refugees" switch to "Chinese Instagram"

By Jörn Petring

Beijing - Faced with the threat of a TikTok ban in the USA, numerous users have started looking for alternatives - and have come across the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu.

Translated, the name of the app means something like "little red book", and the color is also reflected in the app icon.
Translated, the name of the app means something like "little red book", and the color is also reflected in the app icon.  © Johannes Neudecker/dpa

In China , users of the app were astonished to see so many Americans suddenly flocking to the app, which translates as "Little Red Book".

Unlike TikTok , which also originated in China but is designed as an international platform, Xiaohongshu only has a version for the Chinese market.

Xiaohongshu, originally launched in 2013 as a shopping platform , has developed into a popular social media app in China that includes photos, videos and written content.

It is often referred to as a Chinese Instagram . The vast majority of content is written in Mandarin.

Chinese users offer language courses - Americans do their homework

Many TikTok users from the USA are currently switching to the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu.
Many TikTok users from the USA are currently switching to the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu.  © Robert Michael/dpa

However, this has not stopped the "TikTok refugees", as the new US users on the platform call themselves, from making a splash. Within a short space of time, the Chinese app rose to the top of the download charts in Apple's US App Store.

Some of the new US users introduced themselves with short videos and stated that they had switched to Xiaohongshu in protest against the TikTok ban. A lively cultural exchange began.

Curious Chinese users welcomed the Americans and offered them Chinese lessons. US users, meanwhile, appeared to be doing English homework for Chinese users who had posted.

Some users began posting videos that had both Chinese and English subtitles.

"TikTok refugees" are warned about censorship of political posts

Zhang Yiming (41, right) is the founder of ByteDance Ltd. and therefore also the owner of TikTok. His app is to be blocked in the USA in a few days.
Zhang Yiming (41, right) is the founder of ByteDance Ltd. and therefore also the owner of TikTok. His app is to be blocked in the USA in a few days.  © Uncredited/CHINATOPIX/AP/dpa

However, US users were also quickly warned not to post sensitive political content, as this would violate Chinese law.

The user flight to China comes against the backdrop of a possible ban on TikTok in the USA. The company is threatened with a ban, which could come into force on January 19 if the Supreme Court does not give the company more time.

While US platforms such as Facebook , Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) have long been blocked by censors in China, US citizens are able to access Chinese platforms.

Similar to the West, a wide range of topics are shared there, but criticism of the political leadership is rigorously censored.