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On Sunday, January 19th, TikTok will shut down if the app is not sold. A federal ban was upheld by the Supreme Court this week and Gen Z is registering its anger by flocking to a new Communist Chinese app.
We’re told by the uniparty in Congress and the administrative state that the TikTok ban is essential for national security and protecting Americans’ privacy. For nearly two years now, I’ve maintained that the ban is about neither safety nor privacy; the purpose of the ban is social control, and Gen Z agrees.
In a digital rebellion against the ban, hordes of young American “TikTok refugees” are currently flocking to a Chinese social media platform called Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, in English. Nearly a million new users have reportedly joined the Chinese app in just two days.
The RedNote migration is an act of rebellion, with users comparing themselves to defiant colonists in the Boston Tea Party and learning Mandarin out of spite. One user did a spoof of the final scene of “The Breakfast Club” to convey why the RedNote rebellion is a “stick it to the man” moment.
RedNote’s Chinese name translates literally to “Little Red Book”—an unsettling historical callback. In the 1960s, “The Little Red Book” was a central tool of communist propaganda in China. It symbolized unwavering loyalty to Mao Zedong and served as a key instrument during the brutal Chinese Cultural Revolution.
“The Little Red Book” was not only a collection of Mao quotes; it was a weapon of ideological control. People were forced to memorize its contents, carry it at all times, and even use it to justify violence. It epitomized absolute submission to Mao’s regime.
Now, Americans are migrating to a platform named after one of the most notorious symbols of communist indoctrination. This reality isn’t lost on young people, myself included.
Yes, I downloaded RedNote, and here’s why: The TikTok ban is a troubling indication that America is mirroring Chinese tactics of social control. Downloading RedNote isn’t an endorsement of China or communism; it’s a bold act of defiance against American leaders who have betrayed the First Amendment.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LOOMING TIKTOK BAN
American social media companies are riddled with former U.S. intelligence officials. Mark Zuckerberg himself admitted that Meta created a special portal for the Biden administration and left-wing NGOs to censor speech unfavorable to the federal government.
Data from platforms like Facebook have already been sold to China and other entities. If the U.S. government truly cared about protecting Americans’ privacy, it would pass robust data privacy laws—not ban a single app.
This isn’t about privacy or national security; it’s about control of information. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (a subsidiary of DHS), openly states that her agency’s primary goal is to protect “cognitive infrastructure,” meaning our minds.
Even Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly has openly acknowledged that the TikTok ban is about controlling public discourse.
This aligns with the government’s broader agenda: managing the narrative under the guise of national security. According to deep state whistleblower Mike Benz, the Western intelligence apparatus fearmongers about so-called “disinformation” and justifies censorship because they fear rising populism, which they perceive as a threat to their power.
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Ironically, China itself bans the international version of TikTok, allowing only a CCP-approved version to operate domestically. Why? Because they’re communists. But at least they admit they’re controlling the narrative. Our government gaslights us into thinking this is about privacy.
Critics are rushing to label the Gen Z “TikTok refugees” as naive or communist sympathizers for downloading RedNote. This couldn’t be further from the truth. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, my family was robbed, murdered, and nearly destroyed by communists. One extended family member, a Catholic priest, was forced to dig his own grave and was buried alive simply because of his faith. Communism isn’t just theft; it’s demonic.
It’s precisely because I understand the dangers of communism that I oppose the TikTok ban. This isn’t about loving TikTok or China; it’s about recognizing an assault on free discourse. The RedNote migration symbolizes an entire generation rightfully losing faith in the government’s commitment to upholding the Constitution.
The feds have thrown the First Amendment out the window. Conservatives know this better than most. The Biden administration has jailed pro-lifers, infiltrated traditional Catholic communities, censored dissident voices, and even instigated the mass social media ban of President-elect Trump.
The TikTok ban rebellion isn’t just about an app; it’s a referendum on whether Americans will tolerate a federal government that seeks to control public discourse under the guise of national security. Gen Z’s revolt—both serious and satirical—is a resounding rejection of this overreach.
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