As US TikTok users move to RedNote, some are encountering Chinese-style censorship for the first time

Hong Kong (CNN) — Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, has been hiring for a surprising position in recent days: English-language content moderators.

That’s because a growing number of US users are creating new accounts there, driven in large part by a looming ban on TikTok, which is due to take effect Sunday.

The sudden influx of overseas users, many of whom call themselves “TikTok refugees,” is posing a new challenge for the app, which must now strike a balance between satisfying China’s stringent content moderation rules while also providing a positive experience for its non-Chinese-speaking newbies.

Many are having a good time. Heather Roberts, an American artist with more than 32,000 followers on TikTok and a new account on RedNote, said she enjoyed using the Chinese app because “everyone is being so nice, so kind.”

“We’re finding that the Chinese people are not so different from us,” she told CNN. “This is really bringing us together. It’s a beautiful thing – it really is.”

But for an increasing number of American users, the honeymoon has been short-lived.

Just days into using RedNote, some have started to express frustration over the censorship rules, which go far beyond what they’re used to. It’s not just violent content, hate speech or pornography that is off-limits. China’s internet is famous for censoring an ever-growing list of terms deemed sensitive, either politically or otherwise.

And while Chinese authorities set the censorship rules, their enforcement is generally left to the platforms, which often employ sizeable teams of moderators to remove content that violates the guidelines. These platforms are compelled to enforce the censorship rigorously, as non-compliance could lead to fines, suspensions, or even shutdowns.

Leaving the platform

One American user, who identified themselves as “non-binary” on RedNote, was censored after publishing a post on Tuesday asking if the platform welcomed gay people. The post was removed within hours, the user told CNN.

The next day, they uploaded a new post saying they will quit the platform over the decision but was soon on the receiving end of homophobic comments, with some users accusing them of cultural imposition.

In a separate post, a male user expressed frustration after RedNote censored a photo of his upper body. “Why can’t I post photos of my fitness and abs?” he asked, adding he had “never had such a problem on TikTok and Instagram.”

A Chinese user suggested that he try covering his nipples, as Chinese social media platforms generally impose restrictions on displaying them when it is perceived as sexually suggestive.

A few RedNote users also noted that posts about the Japanese anime My Hero Academia, which faced censorship in China since 2018 due to controversial references to Japan’s wartime history, have since been removed from the platform.

When asked if China would step up the review of content uploaded by overseas users, a spokesperson for Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called social media use “a personal choice.”

“China has always supported and encouraged strengthening people-to-people and cultural exchanges with other countries to promote people-to-people connections,” Guo Jiakun told a daily press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

A commentary published by China’s state-run People’s Daily said the influx of overseas users was indicative of Beijing’s growing soft power. “Without doubt, this was due to China’s profound historical and cultural accumulation … the openness of the country, the friendliness of the people, and the tolerance of our society,” the newspaper wrote on Thursday.

Urgent need

The influx of users unfamiliar with China’s internet rules has sent RedNote scrambling to hire English-speaking content moderators familiar with Western culture.

Since the beginning of this week, RedNote has surged to the top position on Apple’s US App Store. While it is one of China’s biggest social media platforms with 300 million users, it hasn’t gained much prominence beyond the Chinese-speaking world until now.

The company has been “scrambling to find ways to moderate English-language content and build English-Chinese translation tools,” Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the company.

According to Yangcheng Evening News, a state-run newspaper, RedNote has posted “urgent” job advertisements for moderators focused on managing posts in English. One such post, which first appeared on a Chinese recruitment platform, had since been removed by Thursday. It is unclear why it was deleted, and CNN has reached out to RedNote for comment.

Another post, which still appears on RedNote’s official website as of Thursday, shows that the company is looking for new “innovation operation interns” who will help with “promoting the healthy development of the content community ecosystem” in English.

Some Chinese RedNote users have also posted reminders for their American counterparts on navigating the censorship system. For example, some have openly called on the newbies to accept China’s sovereignty over Taiwan.

China’s Communist Party claims the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to take control of it, by force if necessary, despite having never controlled it. Taipei strongly opposes that claim, and says the island’s future can only be decided by its people.

Ivy Yang, a China tech analyst and founder of consulting firm Wavelet Strategy, said while the influx of new American users could pose challenges for content moderators on the app and the Chinese government, it is still considered “a big win” for China.

“It’s a self-selective cohort of curious users who are open to learning about the other side of the digital firewall, and they are leaning into the possibility of (being) proven wrong about China and its people,” she said.

“If China is serious about the people-to-people exchange, then perhaps there is a possibility for this kind of organic engagement to blossom for a while longer.”

That’s been the case for Jeremy Fraga, a father of three from Fort Worth, Texas, who said he has been addicted to RedNote since downloading it on Monday, and has introduced the platform to his children.

“Getting on RedNote and talking to these people one-on-one for hours, it’s just shown me a different side of China. And it’s challenged my worldview,” Fraga said. “I do believe that I’m going to make that my new home, even if TikTok doesn’t get banned.”

The-CNN-Wire
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