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 Looking for my spy': The jokes Americans and Chinese are sharing on 'alternative TikTok

A looming TikTok ban has connected Chinese and American citizens like never before, as they swap jokes and memes in what one user described as a "historic moment".

It's all unfolding on a popular Chinese social media app called RedNote, or Xiaohongshu (literally translates as Little Red Book), which doesn't have the usual internet firewall that separates China from the rest of the world.

It has been drawing self-professed US "TikTok refugees" seeking a new home on the internet - despite the fact that their own government is seeking a TikTok ban because of national security concerns.

Americans now find themselves in direct contact with 300 million Mandarin speakers in China and elsewhere – while in the real world, Beijing is bracing for a tumultuous Trump presidency that could strain its fragile ties with Washington.

At the heart of the US ban is the fear that China is using TikTok to spy on Americans.

The app has faced accusations that user data is ending up in the hands of the Chinese government - because of a Beijing law that requires local companies to "support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work". TikTok denies this has ever happened, or that it would happen.

But the possibility doesn't seem to worry some US users - 700,000 new users have signed on to RedNote in the last two days, making it the most downloaded free app in the US App store.

"The reason that our government is telling us that they are banning TikTok is because they're insisting that it's owned by you guys, the Chinese people, government, whatever," said one new RedNote user, Definitelynotchippy.

He goes on to explain why he is on RedNote: "A lot of us are smarter than that though so we decided to piss off our government and download an actual Chinese app. We call that trolling, so in short we're here to spite our government and to learn about China and hang out with you guys."

TikTok, although owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is headquartered in Singapore and says it is run independently. In fact, China's version of TikTok is another app called Douyin. RedNote, on the other hand, is a Chinese company based in Shanghai and among the few social media apps available both in China and outside.

So Washington's fears over TikTok would extend to RedNote as well.

That's why American users on RedNote are referring to themselves as "Chinese spies" - continuing a TikTok trend where people have been bidding farewell to their "personal Chinese spy" who has allegedly been surveilling them over the years.

RedNote is now full of posts where ex-TikTok users are in search of a replacement. One post says: "I'm looking for my Chinese spy. I miss you. Please help me find him."

And Chinese users have answered: "I'm here!"

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