Manimatana Lee has built an unlikely following on TikTok by sharing mundane moments of her life, including vacuuming her house while her daughter naps. As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether TikTok can be banned in the US over national security concerns, Lee and other American creators are turning to Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media app.
Xiaohongshu has become the most downloaded free app in the US Apple store, with over 300 million users mostly in China. Americans are drawn to the app as a way to show they don’t share concerns about TikTok’s ties to China. The app allows users to share short videos and text-based posts, and its proprietary algorithm recommends a constant stream of content.
Lawmakers have warned that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to access data about US users or spread false information. However, Americans on Xiaohongshu say they’re not deterred by concerns over the app’s Chinese origins. Instead, they see it as a way to escape reality and connect with others online.
A group of American creators has sued the government over the proposed law that could see TikTok forcibly sold or banned in the US. Meanwhile, users on Xiaohongshu have created a community under the hashtag #TikTokRefugee, which has sparked over 2.5 million discussion threads.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/business/tiktok-rednote-xiaohongshu-app.html