In the wake of TikTok’s impending ban, Americans flocked to the new Chinese Communist Party-controlled social media app Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), which is teaching the app’s Chinese users how to 3D print guns. .
After news broke that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to uphold a ban on the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok (which the court voted to uphold on Friday), so-called “TikTok refugees” Red Note flooded Chinese social media. video app.
While some, like former Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz, welcome the communist state in its transition to a new platform, Chinese people who have historically oppressed American values ​​of freedom and independence Some people use it to spread the word. (Related: Ellie Honig talks about how President Trump will ‘buy time’ before banning TikTok)
Scores of Americans posted videos of themselves pulling out weapons and shooting, while others showed videos of 3D printing firearms and shared instructions on how to copy them to Americans in China.
“This is how it’s done in America,” user Brad PrintZ captioned it. video He was photographed shooting a colorful weapon he described as a Decker 380. In the comments, he shared information about the Black Lotus Coalition. Website Share your 3D printing and ghost gun blueprints.
another social media user said “Americans have a moral obligation to download Red Note and teach the Chinese how to make non-serialized ghost guns,” X’s followers argued.
The same user, yzy, posted an exchange with a person who appeared to be a Chinese national, explaining how to get around China’s firewall and access a website with instructions on how to 3D print firearms.
— yzy (@yzy_is_who) January 16, 2025
Yzy claimed that the app flagged one of her videos as illegal content and removed it.
They already deleted one of my videos.
I just filed an appeal. In Chinese.
I can’t speak Chinese.
2025 is amazing. https://t.co/qC9CmSlo9k pic.twitter.com/xKG5snKPXp
— yzy (@yzy_is_who) January 15, 2025
China has strict laws against gun ownership. Only police, security personnel, and a select number of hunters and sport shooters are allowed to own firearms. According to On CNN. But despite strict laws, China remains an important source for Americans of silencers and switches, parts that turn semi-automatic handguns into fully automatic machine guns. According to to the U.S. Department of Justice.
