Americans think this random Canadian is the CEO of RedNote

At least 700,000 US TikTok users have switched to a Chinese-owned app called Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, according to the Guardian, as the US government is poised to ban TikTok from Sunday. But if you’re watching videos about a RedNote executive telling you how to use the platform, don’t be fooled. Some guy went viral this week for his RedNote welcome video, but people seemed to think he was the head of the company. The video was even featured on local TV news in New York. But this is just a random RedNote user from Canada.

The video posted earlier this weekfeatures a man sitting at a table who says he wants to make a short video about Xiaohongshu “introducing you to this platform.”

“So tip number one, we basically use this platform to search for suggestions like restaurants, like shopping malls, even like makeup tips,” the man says.

To be clear, he never claimed to be the CEO of RedNote in the video, and it’s hard to see why people assumed that. The video goes on to explain that most people at RedNote speak Chinese, but you should feel free to speak English if you wish.

“I mean, never stop sharing your voice because platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, YouTube, Xiaohongshu should never be banned,” the man says. “Like people sharing their actual voice out there, like about the L.A. wildfire, about Gaza and a lot of other things, right?”

The person continued by emphasizing that it is important to continue creating content on social media platforms.

“These are real people’s voices. More importantly, we never stop creating content. So yes, welcome to Xiaohongshu. Tell me what you think, tell me what you care about. I speak both Chinese and English, so feel free to ask me any questions.”

The video is nice, and maybe it was so clear that it gave a sense of authority, like something a tech CEO might post, but he’s not the CEO. RedNote was actually co-founded in Shanghai in 2013. by Miranda Ku, the current president of the platform, and Charlevin Mao, the current CEO, according to Reuters.

Local TV news station Fox5 in New York ran a segment that ended with a claim that RedNote’s CEO had sent a welcome video. But the way it was described made it clear that the news outlet had been misled.

“Americans on RedNote are now jokingly calling themselves TikTok refugees,” reporter Jennifer Williams said on Monday’s broadcast. “RedNote’s CEO even made a video welcoming new English-speaking users to the app. And also encourage them to never stop sharing their voice.”

“The voice and all that data,” the host replied with a laugh.

Who is this guy everyone mistakes for the CEO? His name is Jerry and he shares a RedNote account with his partner Danny, according to Business Insider. Jerry actually lives in Vancouver, Canada and by all accounts has no real idea why everyone thinks he’s the CEO of RedNote. He even posted a video on a new account created for TikTok, FakeCEORealGF in an attempt to show other people that he does not control RedNote.

“I’m just another normal person in Vancouver,” Jerry said. “I didn’t expect this post to go viral. Thank you for all the comments, but I want to clarify that I am not the CEO of RedNote. But whatever I said in that welcome video remains true. I really hope you can enjoy this platform.”

Jerry says in the video that he grew up in Shanghai and came to Canada about a decade ago, while Dani says she is Chinese and grew up in California before moving to Canada.

TikTok ban from US set for January 19a day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, but the US Supreme Court is expected to rule before that actually happens. Most court observers believe that based on the oral arguments made last weekSCOTUS will rule against TikTok and allow the ban to go into effect. But no one knows for sure until we get a solution. And we don’t know exactly when that might come. It could be tomorrow or it could be the weekend, right at the last minute for all we know.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Americans are giving RedNote a shot as one big screw-up of the US government. TikTok users really don’t like the idea of ​​being told they can’t use an app they like, and the migration to apps owned by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg is extremely unpleasant for those who see the Meta CEO as a Trump ally .

But US policymakers are clearly wary of turning to RedNote. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat, expressed his frustration with the surge in RedNote registrations in a post on Bluesky.

“I am concerned that Americans are flocking to a number of social media platforms owned by an adversary. We still need a comprehensive and risk-based approach to assessing and mitigating the risks of foreign-owned applications,” Warner wrote. Tuesday.

But America’s ruling class will have to get used to the fact that Americans don’t just roll over when their favorite toys are taken away. Because they can argue that China threatens the “way of life” that America holds dear all day long. But that lifestyle seems increasingly desperate and strained, between the cost of living and the fact that a convicted felon is about to become the most powerful man in the land. Again. The most powerful man in the country again.