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TikTok refugees

You might remember it as RedNote migration, Xiaohongshu exodus

The hashtag #tiktokrefugee, used by American and Chinese users alike
A possible copy is known, but ViralWorld has not verified that it is the right one.

Latest internet culture29 of 34

2025·The last few years·informative

Several hundred thousand Americans joined a Chinese app on purpose and started talking to the people there.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
RedNote migration
Spread in
2025
Format
Phenomenon
Era
The last few years
Where it started
Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote
What it said
The hashtag #tiktokrefugee, used by American and Chinese users alike
Origin
No single original
Available
Not held by ViralWorld

What this wasThe story

Facing a US TikTok shutdown in January 2025, users moved to Xiaohongshu — RedNote — and found themselves in conversation with Chinese users, who asked them for a 'cat tax' before answering questions.

The hashtag carried tens of millions of posts. Coverage on both sides treated it as an accidental diplomatic event.

Why it matteredWhat changed

In the week before TikTok was due to be banned in the United States, American users moved in protest to a Chinese app, and made it the most downloaded in the country.

TimelineIn order

  1. Made

    American TikTok users begin signing up to RedNote.1

  2. Record

    RedNote is the most-downloaded free app in Apple’s American store, with millions of new users.1

  3. Taken down

    TikTok suspends its service in the United States, late in the evening.1

  4. Later

    The legal ban ends, having run for four days.1 What else happened on 22 January

LegacyWhat it left behind

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Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast

Where it came fromWhat we know

This spread through many posts rather than one identifiable original. No copy is held here — what it was, when it spread and what people called it is what this page can tell you.

Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Restrictions on TikTok in the United States

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

Keep browsingElsewhere on ViralWorld