As Supreme Court justices mull over the fate of TikTok in the United States, a growing number of American social media users have opted for an unexpected alternative: Xiaohongshu, a highly popular social media app in China. The app, known as “Little Red Book,” often shortened to RedNote by U.S. users, soared to the top of Apple’s U.S. App Store on Tuesday. Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is one of China’s largest social media platforms, boasting 300 million users, according to research firm Qian Gua. Described as China’s equivalent to Instagram, the app has gained traction particularly for sharing travel, makeup, and fashion tips. Despite its dominance in the Chinese market, it has not garnered much attention outside the Chinese-speaking world. Until now. Why is Xiaohongshu suddenly everywhere? Xiaohongshu has surged in popularity globally during the same week TikTok could potentially go offline in the U.S. A growing number of American TikTok users have started to appear on the platform, often claiming to be defying Washington’s attempts to control TikTok. As of Tuesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” had amassed nearly 60 million views and over 1.7 million comments. “If our government thinks we’ll just stand by and accept this TikTok ban, they’re out of their minds,” said a user named Heather Roberts in a video message on Xiaohongshu, which has received over 45,000 likes. “We’re just going to a new Chinese app, and here we are.” Another self-proclaimed “refugee” commented, “This is so much better than TikTok. Americans are coming here… So sorry you’ll hate us, but I promise we’ll do our best.” CNN has reached out to Xiaohongshu for comment.
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