What is happening:
Due to massive grassroots backlash to the looming TikTok ban in the US, millions of users are currently creating accounts on Xiaohongshu aka “Little Red Book”. It is currently the top trending app in the Apple App Store.
Why it is special:
This is truly an unprecedented development. Never have regular American and Chinese netizens had the ability to mingle so freely. Even more unprecedented is the fact that most of this early conversation will be regarding backlash to the US itself. This presents us with an opportunity to appeal to a large swath of (mostly young) Americans at the same time.
What the goal is:
We have recently had several chats on this site about how to actually turn posting/effortposting into something positive. Several ideas have been floated regarding Agitprop and how to encourage the creation of engaging content, and many people agreed on the idea of Agitprop contests. That is what we will be trying to do here for the first time ever.
The contest/rules are quite loose here and definitely open to change, so feel free to give your input:
‼️In an effort to help shepard the rapidly growing disgruntled and pliable new English speaking audience on Xiaohongshu, the leftist post or comment for English speakers on Xiaohongshu that garners the most interactions before January 19th at 5PM GMT will be featured on c/agitprop.‼️
Simply submit by linking the post or comment in the replies of this post. Please try to include some kind of watermark that identifies it as a Hexbear user. Ideally if you can link back here we can foster a few new users as well. Good luck my fellow posters
As of now there are no submissions, so if you’d like to participate just comment a link to your post! Of course, feel free to reuse your own Hexbear posts, and if you want to use somebody else’s post reach out and ask permission first.
The patriot act did this, which is hilarious. Younger millennials and gen z never grew up expecting their data to have any privacy, so the “China is stealing your data” thing doesn’t really work on them. They also generally are saying “well what is China going to do with it anyway? I don’t care”
Truly though. Like, let’s set aside the fact that I personally trust the Chinese government waaaaay more than the US government. We’ll assume I’m an average American. I still trust China with my data more than the US for the simple fact that I don’t live in China. What can they do about it?
If the US doesn’t like what I’m posting they have the ability to send armed thugs to my door. China does not have that ability.
Right if given the choice between the Chinese or the US govt having my data, I will take China, thanks. The US gov will probably use it to imprison me for thought crimes. The Chinese gov will just use it to market more treats to me on AliExpress.
And I like Chinese treats, what can I say?
Legitimately what is China going to do with it? Beyond just selling it like every other tech company.
I highly doubt the PRC cares enough to keep track of random US citizens, but the US government definitely does. My data is safer in Chinese hands than American.
I'm sure they think their data is blackmail material, like Xi is going to call them up and tell them they have to be a spy for the PRC or they'll tell their wife about their search history
The only Americans who have any need to worry about Chinese espianoge are red-blooded imperialists, and they tell on themselves every time they act like this is some widespread public concern.
Also if China wanted, they could just buy it from meta or whoever. And really, does the PRC have any control over TikTok's US data? Last I heard they had to give it all over to oracle or someone, but idk I can't pay attention to all this shit
I particularly love the "social credit score" bit.
So China built a panopticon to try to improve civility? Anerica built a panopticon to precision-price debt and insurance. Which is the better use of the resources and social compromises?
The amount of projection with the social credit score is amazing. In reality, the social credit systems were a unified public background checks for people and businesses. There was no score because that's not useful. Neither is the score Americans see. Its just an abstraction so they can tell you how you're doing without exposing the insane amount of data they have on you and how they analyze it.
😤
I remember it constantly being beaten in my head as a kid, and at school, them telling me "Anything you say on the Internet can be tracked to you. Potential future employers might see photos of you in a party before a job offer, and then revoke your offer, you might get fired for one small complaint about your employer, colleges might rescind your acceptance for it, and your friends and family will disown you!" Given that they put that whole panopticon on us, and how one small post can ruin our career, our education, and our relationships (even if it WAS a bit exaggerated), "Some foreign government in some country full of people you never have met and likely never will meet might have your data and do... something(?) with it" doesn't really hold a whole lot of weight.
that is so funny. when I was growing up in the 90s, nobody was thinking about the internet like that. but we had the same story told to us.
sometimes it was some kind of "book" kept by the school. your "permanent record". other times, it was just the memory of the teacher. I remember a teacher telling us that a former student of hers was trying to get some really prestigious job, and as part of a background check the potential employer came to ask her how was he like as an 11 year old. it was of course many years later so all she could remember was that he hit another kid once. so, sadly, he didn't get the job.
I had thought that with the internet, you maybe couldn't get such a stupid story by kids. like I always thought it probably wasn't true but it was hard to be sure because I had no source of adult information that didn't have a vested interest in keeping me in line. but I guess the internet didn't help things.
What a fucking snitch.
Idk would you really consider a teacher a snitch? to my mind (as a child) she is an authority figure who is structurally in opposition to one's interests. not so much a snitch a class enemy. "snitch " is a term applied to an equal.