Why Rednote ACTUALLY makes the U.S. Government uncomfortable.

So, this might be an uncomfortable read for some and if you feel it might be, maybe don't read it and we can still walk away buddies.

In the wake of the TikTok ban (and the will they/won't they relationship between TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chow and not yet president (at the time of this writing) Donald Trump) millions of Americans have hopped over to the Chinese social media app, Rednote, and found out that not only is it just as good as TikTok, it's also incredibly welcoming.

At the same time, the U.S. Government has gone off, talking about the potential dangers of the app and making it sound incredibly scary. So what I'm going to do real quick is point out the terms of service of the site after talking about my personal experience with the app because I feel both need to be explored.

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My personal experience with Rednote

Being on the app has introduced me to a lot of Chinese culture in the last 48 hours and, I have to say, it is NOT what I thought it would be.

One of the biggest things on the app right now are people welcoming "TikTok refugees". See, there's not a lot of communication socially between China and the United States and because of that not only do we not have a real view into China, but China almost never gets to see us.

So there has been this rapid information exchange as both sides get to understand us. For example, what started out as me creating an account for Pixigonal on there, has turned into me making a lot of Chinese friends who are blown away with finding out about us.

One of the biggest things I've found out is that they thought their government was lying to them about the state of America. They thought the "working two jobs" thing, the "poor access to medical care", the "price of groceries and gas", the "inability to pay for a decent home", were all made up propaganda designed to keep them from leaving the country.

In exchange we're coming to find out that while China is not perfect, it's definitely as equally imperfect as most countries and, in some ways, is honestly kinda nice. In a way that has Google Trends showing that this week has started a growing trend of people starting their mornings researching how to move to China.

Those big spikes are at about 7AM Eastern showing that people are adding researching a trip to China as part of their balanced breakfast.

We're finding out, also, that their social media is filled with positivity and talent. Apparently, if people don't have to spend their entire lives working, they fill that time staying health and over flowing with exciting talents beyond a few second shuffle dance.

Also, the excitement of the Chinese to create videos teaching Americans how to swear in their language is genuinely one of the most wholesome things I've ever seen.

But as the U.S. Government tries to sell us on a narrative that the Chinese live in terrible conditions and our worse off then us, you start seeing OZ behind the certain as you see people showcasing the price of their groceries in the stores, the incredible living conditions and medical care they have access to, and the outstanding infrastructure they got going on.

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Rednote Terms and Conditions

Now for the Terms of Service bit. Nothing gives away the diabolic nature of a site quite like the TOS. And luckily, they have them translated into English so let's look at this "threat to democracy". You can check it out here but I'm going to break down some of the key points that I want to point out.

01) There is a point in the rules that talk about religion. While religious view points are perfectly acceptable on the app, extremism is not. And by that they mean attacking others for their view point and whether or not they agree with the religion you have. Fanaticism. That sort of thing. Anything that uses religion to destroy the unity between the people is banned. Imagine a video in which someone says gay people are going to hell. Nope. Not here you're not.

02) There's a bit about things that promote dangerous things like "gambling, drug use, sensationalizes violence and terrorism, incites crimes or teaches methods of committing a crime". Scam businesses like FanDuel do not exist on Rednote. A president inciting a march on their own capital cannot happen here.

03) Violating the privacy of others. Slandering people without proof and solid evidence being shown in the same post. If you're going to call someone out, you BETTER cite your sources.

04) No copying material from others. That crap we pull here where we just post someone elses funny video with us on the other half of the screen overreacting to it? Nah. Make your own content.

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There are other guidelines that you can read outside the TOS, there are also community guidelines which are amazing.

One of the American users of Rednote broke down a lot of the guidelines here. And it includes things like "posting theories as fact without citing a scientific source for your information". "Using a high amount of filters to make yourself appear unrealistically beautiful without disclosing it." And things of that sort. It's all promotion of healthy lifestyles without discouraging those who have it harder.

The funniest thing about the breakdown is that amount of American users thinking it violates free speech when the big thing on their is just "don't be racist and don't spread misinformation."

One of my personal favorites is how they combat ads. You won't see fake ads on the site because the guidelines rules against prohibited language make it tough for them. Here's a look at the examples of forbidden terms:

Long story short, if you're worried about having your free speech blocked by Rednote, maybe look in a mirror.

All in all though, Rednote is definitely not what the U.S. Government is telling us it is. It's a well established social media site owned by an incredibly successful CEO who works frequently with international clients and is not some sort of bizarre propaganda machine. If anything, it's been helping people understand the misinformation they're being fed by their own countries on both sides.