Luigi Mangione, cats and moaning Plankton: Memes are a universal language on RedNote

With the surge in international interest, RedNote is now offering many Americans a glimpse at online culture in China.

Many new users opening RedNote, the Chinese social media app gaining sudden traction with American users, were greeted by a familiar face plastered across their feeds: Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione achieved notoriety in the United States as many propped him up to be a working-class folk hero, even as others condemned his alleged act of violence. This week, it became clear to Americans on the app, who are searching for a new platform ahead of TikTok’s imminent ban, that even those inside China’s opaque cyberspace have made him a frequent subject in fancams, paintings and latte art.

RedNote, known in Chinese as Xiaohongshu (which translates literally to “Little Red Book”), shot to No. 1 in the Apple App Store earlier this week as American TikTok users migrated to alternative apps. Many posted that they joined RedNote, which is based in Shanghai, out of spite for U.S. officials who cite national security concerns related to TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.

With the surge in international interest, RedNote is now offering many Americans a glimpse at online culture in China, where the internet is heavily censored. Chinese users on the app often display a love of Mangione, cute animals and American media, all of which have provided ample meme fodder.

Reaction images, or humorous pictures meant to depict a specific emotion, are some of the most commonly used memes on RedNote. One popular post — a reaction image pack — features edits of Mangione’s face, wearing a green Luigi (from Nintendo’s Mario franchise) hat, encircled by yellow cats holding hands. The text on each of the cats espouses facetious praise, including an English version with lines like: "Funny and perfect Luigi" and "Kind and lovely Luigi."With around 300 million monthly active users, according to 2024 data from Xiaohongshu brand marketing firm Qiangua, the app is known for being popular among young Chinese women in particular. Much like Instagram and TikTok (both of which are technically unavailable in China), it offers lifestyle, travel and shopping content alongside a variety of other topics.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/rednote-app-chinese-online-culture-memes-rcna187849

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