People are fucking stupid. I don’t think there’s any point in banning TikTok but they’re not wrong when they say it pushes Chinese propaganda and they’re probably not wrong when they say that they’re using it to spy on people.
So angry TikTok users want to make that worse for themselves out of spite?
Idiots.
Half the population thought the US government was trying to kill them with a vaccine and a face mask while they coughed themselves to death.
You’re absolutely right, people are fucking stupid.
The us population voted the Cheeto in a second time, kinda says it all really.
Every time this comes up I’m gonna say it, yes there are a lot of stupids. But it takes less than half the US to elect that asshole, and indeed less than half of Americans voted for him.
But more than half we’re stupid enough to let that happen.
I literally had a friend breaking down over it and I suggested Fediverse alternatives and they looked at me like I had sprouted an extra head.
I even explained that US companies aren’t doing anything materially different than Tiktok (propaganda and spying on people), and they’re all bad. Still looking at me like I’m some kind of maniac.
Everyone bitches about corporations but so few want to actually stop sucking on their fucking teat.
People hate thinking. It blows my mind, but it’s the only thing I know for sure.
For most people, the personal consequences of China being able to spy on them are nonexistent. The government that can actually abuse such power against them, e.g. prosecute them for out of state abortions, is the US.
So protesting the US banning an app and trying to force people to use their own spyware social media makes some level of sense.
It’s still obviously better to use privacy preserving and/or federated services, but that’s not something most people know about or understand.
Individually, sure it’s mostly meaningless. As a group? Did you see who won the latest election? The actions of the collective are always what matters. China (and everyone else) doesn’t care about you as an individual, but they do want to nudge society.
I didn’t say they don’t, but again, that is the same for US based social media and even more so for traditional media. Almost everyone is pushing an agenda these days.
Most people believe that they are smart enough to not fall for propaganda. Unfortunately, most, if not all of them are wrong.
Yes, and they also don’t care if they’re spoon-fed propaganda by their own choice. Because they’re idiots.
As if the other socials did not feed you propaganda.
“They do it too” does not make it okay.
I am not saying it is ok. I am saying it is not a factor when choosing between Chinese and US based social media.
Ah yes, the U.S. and China, the only two countries in the world, or at least the only two with social media platforms.
(Please don’t pay attention to the fact that you’re using a website for social interactions with a server in the Netherlands or this would be an issue for you.)
What are you even talking about?
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¿ wuuuuuuuuuht- ?
Maybe they were only in it for the propaganda?
I do love that some of the “refugees” (lol) are just moving to an even more Chinese app though. I don’t think it’s all that many but the propaganda pointing toward propaganda is hilarious.
I think a lot more who move will find out that it’s not as simple as spending a few weeks on Duolinguo learning some very basic Chinese to successfully make their way around a Chinese language app with most users also posting in Chinese.
It’s a big reason why I think they’re just falling for more propaganda and why I’m absolutely tickled.
Eh there’s a lot of English posts actually but half of rednote is posts about all the Americans flooding it rn so i dunno how normal that is. Probably not normal. Eh i learned how to say “hello” and “awesome”, that’s probably enough Mandarin
Honestlyyyyy and yet when I speak about actually ethical alternatives, ppl then be like nah cba, too difficult, too much effort or too complicated when it only takes five mins or less to make an account and yet these same god damn ppl expect you to always listen to them.
We honestly truly live in a society.
People only want to make a difference if it only gives them good social points, not actual change or things that enable for them to actually think critically and change their viewpoints.
Feels pretty hopeless tbh esp as this is only the beginning of 2025 as well but hey at least there’s some logical people on here (though you do get the occasional dumbass on lemmy/mbin)
Not once, not one single time while using the app, have I ever come across the app pushing Chinese propaganda.
I understand a lot of you, who have never even tried to give TikTok a chance mind you, don’t fully understand that once YOU curate YOUR algorithm, it becomes 90% only what YOU want to see. Trust me, I used to be one of you. I thought it was the dumbest thing to get on an app to watch people do dumb things, or to dance.
I had a partner at the time who would send me TikToks, and one day they sent me something that really impressed me. It was a very well done explanation of an animal, I can’t recall which right now. I was VERY impressed by his explanation of this animal I had never even heard of. So, I made one and followed this person.
I got LOADS of dumb shit thrown my way at first, but I told the algorithm I didn’t want to see these videos, and then… I get 90% of videos targeted towards things I like such as: activism, home improvement tips and tricks, tech related (videos about networking, good alternatives to programs that are ran by shitty people, etc.), skits that I find funny, and others who feel the same way I feel about this world and the way it is currently running. I had always felt like I was one of very very few people who care about these things, but TikTok showed me others who felt the same. People sharing their woes, people actually raising valid points like the Hong Kong protests and even getting millions of views. There is so much more out there than I can type out.
So, while I understand your face palm moment with this person, it is quite funny to always see these arguments of “TikTok bad” when you haven’t even tried to use it, and are only going off of the dumb people who use it and show/like dumb things. Dumb people post on YouTube, but no one talks about how stupid that is. God forbid an app I’ve never used do that too!
No hate, as like I said, I was once someone like you. There’s dumb shit on every platform, even here. You could’ve found out that there were plenty of videos that you would enjoy if you had given it a chance.
And to those who automatically get all patriotic about data and shit, the American social medias are not only worse, but use YOUR data in worse ways than a foreign country can. Not once did TikTok ask me for my location, and only the first time upon opening the app did it request permission for the camera and mic, which I denied, and it never asked again. As far as I know, Facebook/Messenger/Snapchat/Instagram CONSTANTLY want you to give them permissions even if you denied them before.
I don’t expect anyone here to care, because “TikTok bad”, but it is what it is.
I agree with this take, mostly.
I think it’s highly likely the app collects far more data than it should on you. And there are probably subtle things they can do to manipulate the broad sentiment without entirely changing everyone’s feeds. That being said, yes, the algorithm really is just what you make it to be.
I just imagine if there’s something that the government doesn’t like they identify, it disappears. But TikTok is so big it’s hard to catch everything I’m sure. Even with AI etc…
I was scrolling rednote today and there are a lot of forms of propaganda.
I noticed a lot of the videos are geared towards showing how great life is in China versus the US. That seems innocuous but it is a form of propaganda.
At the end of the day our government is stupid because they aren’t taking care of their citizens. That’s not chinas fault. They are simply attacking our weakness which is poor governance.
I’ve literally been paid to make TikTok videos. I gave it a chance and found it wanting, but at least I was paid.
Anything on the rest of the points I made…?
Since you began with a silly assumption that I didn’t even know anything about TikTok, I see no reason to continue.
Right…
Great convo, FlyingSquid. You used to be one of my favorite people on here, but after Trump got reelected, you’ve gone quite a different direction.
I hope the rest of your day gets better, man.
You used to be one of my favorite people on here
Did I or did you have a picture of me in your mind that wasn’t real since it included the assumption that I’m some sort of internet illiterate?
Since you began with the silly assumption that the words “a lot of you” specifically signaled you out, when I was speaking generally, I see no reason to continue.
Have you actually ever tried using tiktok? Or do you maybe think everybody on there just does silly dances?
You could have scrolled down the tiniest bit…
Oh. Didn’t see that. Sorry. Anyway, I’m not quite following what you wanted to say with “So angry TikTok users want to make that worse for themselves out of spite?”. What are you proposing here? That people come back to USA owned social networks, because RedNote is “chinese” so it’s bad? Is there even a distinction between the twos? One stoles your data, the other one does the same. On RedNote they censor you, sure, but the same could be said about Meta apps, that for example censor Palestinian content. Anyway… i think i kinda lost the plot. Imma head to bed.
It’s possible to use social networks that are not in the pockets of any governments. Or are even commercial ventures at all. You would be using one right now.
Yes actually. And I kind of like rednote. Nothing wrong with learning mandarin.
Political content is entirely banned on the app so your assertion that it pushes political propaganda when it refuses to host anything political at all is kind of reactionary fake news.
Who defines what is political content? Who controls it? Since when is all propaganda political?
Is a video talking about China’s terrific business opportunities political? No. Is it propaganda? Yes.
(Also, “political content is entirely banned” = no photos of the tank man or cartoons of Winnie the Pooh.)
Is a video talking about China’s terrific business opportunities political?
Yes it is. And it’s not allowed. Would be banned. I have never seen anything remotely close to what you describe here. :)
I have seen a lot of that on Instagram, though. Instagram has a surprisingly broad tankie community!
Are you really claiming praising China is not allowed and talking about how great it is would get the account banned? Because I do not believe you at all.
And if you’re right, why the hell would anyone want to use a platform where they literally can’t say how great the place they are is? Is only trivial and unemotional conversation allowed?
(I note you never actually said what defines political content or who controls that. I wonder why…)
You clearly came into this conversation with your mind made up so I am under no obligation to answer all your questions :P This is why people don’t like engaging with you
Flying Squid: “is ice cream with waffles good?”
me: “literally all my experience shows that the answer is yes”
Flying Squid: “i do not believe you at all”
No one forced you to engage with me in the first place. You didn’t have to respond to my initial comment if you don’t like engaging with me.
And, of course, nothing you said justifies refusing to give answers to very basic questions which happen to be critical of a platform you apparently like.
Source?
Also… ok boomer. lol
Source of what?
And I’m 47. I’m not even sure what age has to do with this.
You made a factual statement about the app pushing Chinese propaganda. I was wondering what the source was for that claim? Sorry I wasn’t clearer.
Also, lol. I wasn’t making fun of your age, I meant it as more of a statement of on your way of thinking. It’s very boomer-like - that is to say, you seem quite close-minded and stubborn and unwilling to consider that you might be wrong.
I am constantly wrong. I have probably been wrong in the past year more than you ever have in your entire life.
Also, you’ve insulted me and now lied about me, claiming I never am willing to consider I’m wrong, so why the fuck would I show you a source for any claim I ever make at this point?
I realize I deserve to be treated like shit but that doesn’t mean I am going to accept lies about me.
I never insulted you, bud. Sorry if what I said hurt you. Hopefully we can work through this.
You certainly don’t deserve to be treated like shit, and I still think you’re pretty cool.
Hoping you get this and haven’t blocked me! lol
I never insulted you, bud.
You one post ago:
you seem quite close-minded and stubborn and unwilling to consider that you might be wrong.
Those weren’t meant as insults bro.
It’s something many/most of struggle with. It’s not a death sentence or a stain on your character or some kind of moral flaw.
It’s just how you communicate. It’s not conducive for true connection with others. That’s all I’m saying
I only started realizing it about me like the last 2 years. I never used to actually try and connect with people… like I’m doing now. Sucks it under these circumstances, but that’s life
I’m free all day man
If it helps, I just went along this comment chain and I think they’re honestly trying to provide constructive criticism. I don’t see bad intent. A lack of tact, though? Yeah. Definitely.
Also, I see you’re going through some shit. I’ve seen some of your posts and know you’re also dealing with chronic illness. If you need to chat by phone or online, I’m available. Even if you don’t take me up on it now, the offer stands, any time. It’s tough to deal with even when it doesn’t seem like the world is so unstable, so we’ve all gotta stick together.
Telling people your age in response to a boomer joke is such a xoomer thing to do
imagine being THIS attached to brain rot apps
That’s what happens when you have some of the best user experience people and engineers in the world specifically designing for addiction. Facebook is no different, but their most successful demographic is. My grandma is hopelessly addicted to scrolling FB reels and my fiancé is hopelessly addicted to scrolling IG stories. Different target demographic, same goals
posted on Lemmy, a Reddit clone
Not that I disagree, but let’s not throw stoves in brass houses
Because of the conduction?
I imagine it would be very loud
Good way to get a hernia.
A point for irony, NGL. ⬆️
If you want to learn a language, Duolingo is pretty much the worst way to do so. Seek out community-created resources for your target language.
Ew but then I have to talk to actual people
/s
Thats /s feels unnecessary honestly. Introversion is on the rise globally.
That’s fair. Though I do think there’s some irony in wanting to learn a new language only to avoid communicating with people who use it (though I do also understand the utility of knowing a language isn’t exclusive to talking directly to people).
It depends on the language tbh. Several languages on duolingo are decent ways to dip your toes in the water for language learning, I’ve heard good things about the Spanish, German, and Mandarin courses. But it’s really dependent on the language, I tried Duolingo’s Irish course and it was so bad that I’m still trying to unlearn a good amount of misinformation, really soured language learning for me even though I eventually got a good course elsewhere.
I did both the Spanish and French trees completely, I do think I learned some things along the way, and some of it stuck. Every language learning method is not perfect, you need to immerse with multiple things. I was living in country, doing duolingo, listening to pimsleur, listening to radio in language, going to classes and hanging out with native speakers, and my fluency still is not great. It takes years of being a child before you get anywhere and no system is going to solve it alone
Soon Duolingo will be teaching you phrases like “Down with the imperialist scum!”
I don’t think CCP would like people being against them in Mandarin
All the women in my office said everyone is moving to Lemonade. They said, “why would we move to another Chinese app? That’s dumb.”
No idea who owns Lemonade but it was interesting to me that they were not interested at all in Rednote.
Lemon8 is owned by the same company as TikTok, they’re literally trading one Chinese app for another anyways.
If you want to drop that bombshell at the office LMAO
Love it. Can’t wait to!
Keep us posted!
Any updates?
lol, not yet. Too busy to really talk to any of my office mates today.
Lemonade is an insurance company, yeah, they moving their car insurance ti Lemonade.
It’s actually Lemon8
Is that not also shutting down?
Powered by tictok? What does that mean?
Lemon8 is a social media app owned by Heliophilia Pte. Ltd., a Singaporean company connected to the Chinese internet company ByteDance. It was launched in 2020 and modeled after Xiaohongshu, which was released in 2013.
[…]
The U.S. launch of Lemon8 coincided with scrutiny over ByteDance and TikTok’s operations in the country;
so just tiktok with glasses and a mustache?
🤷🏼♂️
deleted by creator
This news is brought to you by the company of China 🇨🇳
A 216% increase sounds impressive, but probably isn’t because the starting number is very small.
Except Duolingo regularly releases these numbers. In July 2024 it was reported to be slightly above 9m monthly chinese learners…
So quite significant rise.
9m monthly Chinese learners in the USA? That’s pretty crazy.
No that’s global.
That makes more sense. I’d be interested to know the absolute increase in the number of learners in the USA but I guess the point remains that the ban caused some kind of uptick. As someone who’s been learning Mandarin off and on for many years I can only say good luck to them.
Duolingo:
Jokes on you I’m using it to learn Spanish.
Jokes on you I’m using it to be disappointed in myself.
Honestly I had that app on my phone for 3 months before I actually started using so I feel you there. It’s not that bad to start off with and it starts super slow. And fuck streaks and notifications and all that shit I just do it when I’m bored instead of scrolling and refreshing pages on my social media of choice.
I am using it to learn French. I also appreciate the lesson structure as it relates to available time. I use it on breaks, or in the morning before i start work. I hope, once i finish the duolingo course work, i can get some tutoring to really learn it. I agree it is a beneficial use of time, as opposed to social media.
i knew that damn owl was going to get involved in corporate lobbying at some point
I wounder if tik tok gave trump a million what will happen.
Realistically, how much duolingo would one need to do to be able to use RedNote in chinese?
The owl will have you study “the man has a red scarf” for two years before you get to words like “save” or “add to watchlist”.
The dog paid for all the groceries in cash.
Fucking trash app being steadily more and more enshittified by “AI” and somehow adding another level of subscription every other month.
I’ve been doing Spanish at the same level for over 400 hours.
I learned more about Spanish from 30 minutes of language transfer than in nearly 1000 days of Duolingo.
It’s a trash app if you want to learn another language.
Duolingo gains money by keeping you hooked, not by being effective
Does this mean they’ll finally give us lessons beyond HSK3? Because those final 6 repeating lessons are driving me absolutely insane T-T
All part of the plan… er sorry 都是计划的一部分
Big Language works in timescales unimaginable.
