With a lot of people figuring that TikTok is about to be banned here in the United States, folks are looking for alternatives. Apparently, YouTube and Rumble aren't enough. Neither are short-form videos on Instagram, X, or Facebook.
They have to have something Chinese, apparently. RedNote, which is similar to TikTok, seems to be getting a lot of that content, including some gun content that the Chinese government may be less than thrilled about.
You see, we live in a world where 3D printing exists and it's possible to print guns, which is what some Americans are posting on RedNote:
A small but growing number of American firearm enthusiasts are joining RedNote, an app known in China as Xiaohongshu, in an effort to teach native users how to build 3D-printed guns.
One such advocate, known online as “YZY,” signed up on Tuesday, part of an American influx ahead of Sunday’s looming TikTok ban.
“Us Americans have a moral obligation to download RedNote and show the Chinese how to build unserialized ghost guns,” YZY wrote in a post on X.
On his RedNote profile, YZY has already shared numerous videos of 3D-printed weapons alongside links to “The Gatalog,” a community-driven platform that hosts 3D-printed firearm blueprints and related files.
“Learn to 3d print guns like an American,” one video’s caption says in Chinese.
YZY says that after joining RedNote, several of his fellow enthusiasts quickly followed.
“The point for us is always to spread the signal of DIY small arms,” YZY told the Daily Dot. “RedNote is no exception, just a new frontier.”
Unlike many others, however, YZY did not come from TikTok. In fact, YZY said he only used TikTok once years prior but was given a strike almost immediately after posting a single video of a non-3D-printed AK-47 rifle.
Interactions on RedNote have been minimal so far. YZY said he received some positive feedback from Chinese users. Many users have left the comment “666” under his videos, which, in China is a positive slang term meaning “cool,” “awesome,” or “well done.”
One friend of YZY, known on X as @albert9x19, has begun to share 3D-printed firearm content on RedNote as well.
“Wish me luck,” said @albert9x19, a follower of YZY, when joining RedNote.
Now, some RedNote users are concerned that the Chinese government may segregate users into a section of content for China and one for the rest of the world, which is very possible.
I should also note that the files to 3D print firearms fall under US weapon export restrictions, so that's something that needs to be considered.
However, I also find it absolutely glorious that Americans are handing Chinese people the tools necessary to overthrow the communist regime. They'll need to get ammunition, but that's a bit easier to get in most places than firearms themselves. It's also easier to smuggle at least some into the country if necessary.
An armed society will never be an oppressed society, even if the people are armed illegally.
Should Chinese citizens get these files somehow, even if it violates federal law, it's really only a matter of time before the source ammunition somehow and when that happens, the Communist Party will need to have what we here in the South call "A come to Jesus moment" or Tiananmen Square will look like a cocktail party, only the roles will be reversed.
