TikTok users in America, opposing the U.S. government’s ban on the app, flocked to another Chinese platform, RedNote. However, the reality has been far from smooth for those who have made the switch as they grapple with suspended and banned accounts for various reasons.
RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, initially rose as a prospective TikTok substitute, given its emphasis on short-video content. However, the app serves not just as a TikTok alternative, but also as a local recommendation platform, akin to Yelp or Google, listing nearby connections along with video feeds.
Popular TikToker Bethenny Frankel, amongst others, experienced penalties and outright account suspensions after their first RedNote postings. TikTok users have cited several reasons for these bans, including TikTok watermarking issues and violations of RedNote’s Community Guidelines.
Account verification problems also surfaced as issues, as some had difficulty verifying their accounts using U.S.-based phone numbers. The misunderstanding led to suspensions on suspicions of bot activity. However, some suspensions remain unexplained.
The primary issue appears to stem from language barriers, as the Community Guidelines are written in Mandarin, creating difficulty for non-Mandarin speaking users to adhere to them.
While users are appealing against the bans, the on-going situation is unclear. Meanwhile, TikTokers might likely return to other platforms such as Meta and Google that assure larger-scale monetization opportunities.
Original source: Read the full article on TechCrunch
