Brian Laird on WNYC.

Now I'll wrap up today's show with a look at a social media platform that gained unexpected popularity ahead of the scheduled TikTok ban.

It wasn't a meta app such as Instagram or

Facebook, nor was it X. It was an even more Chinese app than TikTok called Xiaohongshu, otherwise

known as Red Note in English. In the weeks leading up to the TikTok band deadline, disgruntled TikTok users headed

over en masse to Red Note, making it the number one most downloaded free application in the United

States for a while, although in this moment it sits at number six in the Apple App Store. We looked

it up. What originally began as a sign of protest against the

TikTok band became a surprising moment of cultural exchange for many Chinese users of the app

woke up one morning to see, quote, TikTok refugees had joined their social media platform

and filled the platform with welcoming messages such as this.

Today, we don't care where we are from or what makes us different.

Today, we are just friends, like old friends, reuniting after a long time. For so long, we haven't had a chance to really talk,

to truly connect, but now finally, we can. And that means something. This is real. This is special.

This is more than just a moment.

It's a chance for us to understand each other, to share,

and maybe even create something incredible together.

So I just want you to know, you are not just welcome here.

I genuinely, truly hope you to stay because what's happening right now.

I think this is something bigger. This is people reaching across borders, not because they have to, but because they want to.

Choosing to learn, choosing kindness, choosing

connection. I think that's something truly powerful. Welcome. And let's make this something

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