Latest news with #RedNote
AFP
15 hours ago
- Politics
- AFP
Footage of parking lot fire in China falsely linked to Iran-Israel conflict
"Iran's fifth attack destroyed Israel's major military base," reads the Burmese-language post shared on June 14, 2025. It shares a video with more than 25,000 views and shows people running away from a massive fire near a square. Image Screenshot of the false post taken on June 18, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The posts emerged after Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military facilities with a barrage of missiles on June 13, killing several top officials and prompting a counter-attack by Iran (archived here and here). The arch rivals have since exchanged attacks in their historical confrontation, fuelling fears of a drawn-out war that could engulf the Middle East. The Israeli prime minister's office said on June 16 that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds wounded by Iran's retaliatory strikes (archived link). Iran said a day earlier that the Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. The video has been shared with the same claim in Burmese, English, Thai, and Hindi. But a combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a video showing the same scene was published on the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote in English, on June 12 (archived link). "Electric scooters on fire in Jiulongpo in Chongqing," the clip's caption in simplified Chinese reads. "Electrical safety in the summer heat is really important." Text on the video largely repeats the caption. Image Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the clip as seen on RedNote Subsequent searches found that Chinese state outlet CGTN used the clip in a video report published on the same day about the fire (archived link). Images of skyscrapers in the area published by Chinese search engine Baidu also match those seen in the false clip (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the frame from CGTN video (L) to the image from Baidu Maps of the surround area with similarities highlighted by AFP The local government said in a press release that the fire was extinguished after 20 minutes with no casualties (archived link). AFP have previously debunked misinformation related to the Iran-Israel war here.
South China Morning Post
21 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Let's understand ‘check-in' culture, not judge mainland Chinese tourists
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification I refer to 'Why are mainland Chinese tourists posing in front of MTR stations in Hong Kong?' ( June 14 ). basketball court in Kennedy Town has seen an influx of tourists not playing basketball but photographing a slice of the sea framed by ageing buildings. Likewise, the former Yau Ma Tei police station has become a must-visit. Your article quotes Professor Song Haiyan as saying: 'For Chinese tourists, the act of posting and receiving likes is more important than the actual experience.' This oversimplifies a much richer phenomenon. RedNote (Xiaohongshu) is one of China's largest user-generated content platforms, with hundreds of millions of monthly active users. For many, the act of 'checking in' is not merely taking a photo for validation; it involves advance planning and making a personalised journey. Reducing this to vanity misses the cultural nuance and economic impact of the trend. The issue is not whether 'check-in' tourism is inferior to in-depth travel, but how both reflect diverse forms of engagement that deserve equal respect. One group may prefer heritage hotels steeped in tradition; the other might opt for trendy boutique lodgings. Neither group is more authentic than the other, they simply reflect different preferences.
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trump extends TikTok ban deadline by another 90 days
President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell the short form video app to an American owner. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order granting a third extension for the Chinese company to sell its video platform so it can continue to operate in the country. "I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said on Truth Social. While aboard Air Force One on Wednesday morning, Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping would be amenable toward a deal selling the wildly popular app. Trump said he believed Xi would have to sign off on a deal if a buyer comes forward. ByteDance is based in Beijing. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the administration wanted to ensure Americans could continue to access TikTok. "As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure," Leavitt said. TikTok has 170 million users in the United States and support for a ban has declined, according to Pew Research. A law banning TikTok initially passed under the Biden Administration over national security concerns, which led the app to briefly go offline ahead of Trump's inauguration earlier this year. However, once Trump signaled he planned to keep the app running in the U.S., TikTok resumed functioning. TikTok has denied that it posed any security concerns to the United States and said American data is not stored in China. After the TikTok ban passed last year, American users began flocking to Chinese social media app RedNote claiming they were indifferent to China accessing their data. Since TikTok was given an extension in the United States, it appears users have returned to the platform and are using RedNote less. Once in office, Trump signed an extension of the deadline to sell the app, giving ByteDance 75 days to find a buyer. That extension ended on April 5. Ahead of the April 5 deadline, some potential TikTok suitors expressed interest in purchasing the app. Amazon made a last-minute bid to buy TIkTok. Others who expressed interest included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who joined billionaire investor Frank McCourt's bid; artificial intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI; and Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary in the first Trump administration. Top Trump officials were confident the app would sell but after sweeping tariffs were placed on China, no deal was made. Trump then gave the app another 90 days, which was set to expire on Thursday. Under the law, ByteDance must sell TikTok to a U.S.-based buyer. ByteDance previously said it would not sell TikTok and has been quiet on whether it has decided to make a deal. A spokesperson for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The position to keep TikTok in the United States is an about face from Trump's first term, during which he signed an executive order banning it. That ban was later overturned by the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Biden era law banning the app unless it is sold to an American owner.
NBC News
a day ago
- Business
- NBC News
Trump extends TikTok ban deadline by another 90 days
President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell the short form video app to an American owner. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order granting a third extension for the Chinese company to sell its video platform so it can continue to operate in the country. 'I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Trump said on Truth Social. While aboard Air Force One on Wednesday morning, Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping would be amenable toward a deal selling the wildly popular app. Trump said he believed Xi would have to sign off on a deal if a buyer comes forward. ByteDance is based in Beijing. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the administration wanted to ensure Americans could continue to access TikTok. 'As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure,' Leavitt said. TikTok has 170 million users in the United States and support for a ban has declined, according to Pew Research. A law banning TikTok initially passed under the Biden Administration over national security concerns, which led the app to briefly go offline ahead of Trump's inauguration earlier this year. However, once Trump signaled he planned to keep the app running in the U.S., TikTok resumed functioning. TikTok has denied that it posed any security concerns to the United States and said American data is not stored in China. After the TikTok ban passed last year, American users began flocking to Chinese social media app RedNote claiming they were indifferent to China accessing their data. Since TikTok was given an extension in the United States, it appears users have returned to the platform and are using RedNote less. Once in office, Trump signed an extension of the deadline to sell the app, giving ByteDance 75 days to find a buyer. That extension ended on April 5. Ahead of the April 5 deadline, some potential TikTok suitors expressed interest in purchasing the app. Amazon made a last-minute bid to buy TIkTok. Others who expressed interest included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who joined billionaire investor Frank McCourt's bid; artificial intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI; and Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary in the first Trump administration. Top Trump officials were confident the app would sell but after sweeping tariffs were placed on China, no deal was made. Trump then gave the app another 90 days, which was set to expire on Thursday. Under the law, ByteDance must sell TikTok to a U.S.-based buyer. ByteDance previously said it would not sell TikTok and has been quiet on whether it has decided to make a deal. A spokesperson for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The position to keep TikTok in the United States is an about face from Trump's first term, during which he signed an executive order banning it. That ban was later overturned by the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Biden era law banning the app unless it is sold to an American owner.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Chinese brain experiment during dance performance sparks goosebumps and aversion
Audience members at a university dance recital have sparked a viral – and visceral – reaction after a social media post with 10 million views showed them taking part in a brain-reading experiment while watching the performance. Advertisement But the scientists monitoring brain response during the show have come out to explain the nature of the experiment and the purpose of the volunteers' electrode-covered 'hats' worn in the theatre that social media commenters said were unsettling and had triggered 'goosebumps' and phobias. Brain-computer interface technology (BCI), such as that used by audience members at Tsinghua University this month, enables direct communication between the brain and external devices. Photo: Handout On June 7, a dance drama performance called 'Wing Chun' was held in a theatre at Tsinghua University. During the performance, eight students who sat together in one row wore futuristic 'hats' covered with threads and white dots. A student dancer from another university in Beijing was so spooked by the apparent cyberpunk scene that she posted photos from the show on the Chinese social media platform RedNote. She asked: 'What kind of mysterious hi-tech organisation is this? I, a dance student, really want to know!' Advertisement The post quickly attracted attention and discussion, with more than 2,300 comments flooding in, many of which expressed horror and bewilderment.
