"I Love the Internet Again": Exploring the Interaction Inception of "TikTok Refugees" Flocking into RedNote

The U.S. government’s announcement to ban TikTok in January 2025 led an influx of TikTok users to migrate to RedNote, a Chinese user dominant social media platform. These migrants, self-identified as “TikTok Refugees,” engage directly with Chinese natives, overcoming cross-cultural communication barriers. This platform migration provides a unique opportunity to examine the communication behaviors and strategies employed when users from the Western culture integrate into communities primarily composed of users from the Eastern culture. In this study, we analyze 3,510 RedNote posts (mainly posted from America (47%) and China (39.3%)) to characterize how TikTok migrants blend into the platform. Through open coding, we identified 12 cross-cultural communication strategies manifested in newcomers’ posts. We also discuss the critical role of friendly content quality in facilitating successful interactions and the challenges of maintaining sustainable engagement. Finally, we offer design implications for social media platforms to enhance cross-cultural communication.