Tactics of the Weak: Digital Resistance and Identity Reconstruction of TikTok Refugees on RedNote

The migration of U.S. TikTok users to RedNote following a nationwide ban has created a unique context for examining digital resistance within the framework of algorithmic governance. Drawing on critical cultural theory and de Certeau’s concept of the tactics of the weak, this study explores how displaced U.S. users on RedNote engage in various resistance tactics, shaped by the platform’s technological infrastructure. Through an analysis of 426 videos produced by TikTok refugees, three primary tactics are summarized: emotional mobilization that builds solidarity but faces algorithmic co-optation, carnivalesque performances that sustain engagement at the cost of political dilution, and infrastructural resistance that redirects followers while remaining platform-dependent.