"They're cosplaying Luigi Mangione on RedNote" — Internet reacts as TikTok clone app continues to foster US-China camaraderie online

A Chinese social networking site called RedNote is currently trending in the USA as anticipation surrounding the fate of TikTok in the country continues to loom. Also called Xiaohongshu, the app has emerged as an alternative of TikTok, which is expected to get banned on January 19, 2025.

Self-described “TikTok refugees” are moving on to Xiaohongshu, seemingly fostering the US-China online camaraderie. On January 13, 2025, RedNote even rose to number one on the U.S. Apple App Store attracting 700,000 American users.

Meanwhile, a section of 170 million TikTok users in the USA have also started a new trend called, “Goodbye to my Chinese spy” in the wake of the replacement. Netizens are now reacting to the ongoing popularity of RedNote as an alternative to TikTok.

For instance, X user @airbagged1 replied to @alyssa_merc’s post featuring screenshots from Xiaohongshu where UHC CEO Brian Thompson’s suspected killer Luigi Mangione is trending, among other US-based news reports.

While the original post was captioned, “Luigi Mangione is beloved on RedNote,” @airbagged1’s comment read:

“They’re cosplaying Luigi Mangione on RedNote.”

Many people joined the conversation and shared similar reactions on the platform.

“Looks like Luigi's got the whole RedNote community wrapped around his finger!” a person wrote.

“Luigi talk died down and RedNote lit the fire again,” one person wrote.

“China cosplaying Luigi who was cosplaying Oswald is the wildest thing I’m likely to see today,” wrote another.

Others continued to chime in.

“Wtf is RedNote? Mao Twitter?” a netizen asked.

“This app is peak,” another netizen wrote.

“For real. I just want to learn and share ideas! The community over there is cool. I feel like it’s breaking down walls of years of propaganda on both sides,” a user wrote.

“Americans out there reuniting with their Chinese spies,” wrote another.

For those unaware, in April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law seeking change in ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations from the current China-based parent company, ByteDance.

During January 10’s Supreme Court hearing, the majority of the judges reportedly talked about upholding the law. A final decision is expected by January 19, which will decide whether TikTok will be banned in the USA or not.

Meanwhile, a January 14 report by The Guardian states that Chinese officials allegedly held preliminary talks about potentially selling off TikTok’s US-based operations to Elon Musk. The X CEO has not commented on the same.

TikTok authorities on the other hand told the publication that the rumor was “pure fiction” and the social networking company had no intention to sell its US branch. As per The Conversation, ByteDance may also argue that the ban is unconstitutional or divest its American counterpart of TikTok.

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All you need to know about RedNote amid reports of TikTok ban

RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu or "Little Red Book," is a popular Chinese social media app founded in 2013 by Stanford alumni Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu Fang. It is now owned by Xingyin Information Technology in Shanghai.

With over 300 million monthly active users, mainly from China, Xiaohongshu combines elements of Instagram and Pinterest but features a TikTok-like content style and algorithm, along with a strong community-based focus.

Notably, Xiaohongshu stores the personal information of its users in China which is in accordance with the country’s data protection and cybersecurity policies.

Meanwhile, RedNote is not the only alternative that has surfaced. Another ByteDance-owned social media app called Lemon8 also surged at number 2 on the Apple App Store this week. Dubbed as a “lifestyle community,” Lemon8 was founded in Japan in 2020 and enables TikTok users to migrate their account handles as well as data.

If the TikTok ban comes into effect this coming weekend, it remains to be seen if Xiaohongshu or any other alternative becomes a viable and long-term alternative. However, at the time of writing, it has become popular with at least 250 million views and 5.5 million comments using the hashtag “TikTok refugee” have emerged on Xiaohongshu.

Valued at $17 billion, the stocks of Xiaohongshu continue to rise by over 20 percent. As per The Conversation, the app has recruited content moderators to better deal with English-based users. Chinese users are also helping their American counterparts by making tutorial videos about how to use the app.