From red scare to RedNote: TikTok refugees and the rejection of U.S. digital hegemony

Using digital sovereignty and intercultural competence as theoretical frameworks, this study examines the migration of TikTok refugees to RedNote (Xiaohongshu) following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2025 TikTok ban. Based on a content analysis of 387 videos, we find that users navigated RedNote in ways that contested U.S. digital authoritarianism and generated spontaneous cross-cultural exchange with Chinese users. We argue these interactions constitute a theoretically meaningful site for applying Deardorff's intercultural competence model to examine brief platform-mediated encounters. Findings reveal a compressed, digitally mediated form of intercultural contact, extending scholarship on platform migration, digital sovereignty, and intercultural competence.