Duolingo Reports Massive Spike in Mandarin Lessons As Americans Fleeing TikTok Embrace Chinese Social Media Apps

While TikTok's future remains in limbo, Americans are running to RedNote, China's version of the social media app, and learning Mandarin to assimilate.

Duolingo, a language learning app, revealed on Wednesday that it has seen a massive spike in users learning Mandarin for the first time.

"Learning Mandarin out of spite? You're not alone. We've seen a ~216% growth in new Chinese (Mandarin) learners in the US compared to this time last year," the Pennsylvania-based company revealed in an X post.

The Biden administration and several lawmakers feared that TikTok, which was created by Chinese tech entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, posed a national security threat because of its ties to China. In April 2024, Biden signed a law effectively banning the app unless it is sold, setting a deadline for Jan. 19.

Now, the administration is looking for ways to potentially keep the app available for 170 million Americans, and President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering signing an executive order to keep save the social media platform, according to the Washington Post.