As a result of the brief TikTok ban, a Meta boycott is now underway. After the changes to the app, such as its new rules about what can or cannot be searched using the search function, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe announced a week-long boycott of all Meta apps from Jan. 19-26 called “Lights Out Meta”.
This encourages all people, or more specifically protestors, to boycott and log out of all Meta apps including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, Whatsapp, Giphy, Meta Quest, and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
As a way to boycott, people have spread to other platforms such as RedNote and YouTube shorts. RedNote, aka Xiaohongshu, has seen an increase in 3.4 million daily active users per day since the ban. This surge in users was incredibly unexpected, especially since it started at 700,000 daily users just days before the ban occurred.
