Emily Yuan, a high school student in Guizhou, lives a double life on the Chinese internet. On her main social media accounts on WeChat and Weibo, Yuan shares photos of herself and posts about school events, like a recent debate competition, for her friends and family to see. But on her alternative accounts, on Douban and Xiaohongshu, Yuan goes by the username “momo,” paired with a profile picture of a pink cartoon dinosaur. Under this alter ego, Yuan posts controversial commentary on everything from K-pop to feminism.
On a Xiaohongshu post about the health risks of childbirth for women, Yuan, or “momo,” commented, “If you truly love someone, why would you want them to undergo something as harrowing as childbirth?” Under the post, two more users jumped into the conversation, agreeing with Yuan — both were named momo.
Yuan is just one of tens of thousands of Chinese social media users who have adopted momo the pink dinosaur as their online alias, as a way to speak more freely, evade harassment, and protect their privacy. Today, you can find momos in all corners of the Chinese internet — from Douban forums on youth unemployment to Xiaohongshu posts recommending New York restaurants to Weibo threads discussing new TV shows. Douban’s momo group has over 11,000 members, while Xiaohongshu has over 10,000 users named momo, according to Chinese social media analytics site NewRank.
Momo was originally the default username for new accounts on Douban or Xiaohongshu. It then became popular in Douban communities like Goose Group — members used it to safely gossip about celebrities without being harassed by competing fandoms.
Ding Ran, a 25-year-old product manager based in Beijing, first adopted momo as her Douban username in 2023. She wanted to post about her favorite Taiwanese actor, Danson Tang, on social media, without being attacked by fans of Tang’s rivals. “Fandoms are filled with rage and vitriol,” Ding told Rest of World. A post can quickly spiral into a thread of personal attacks against everyone involved. Ding said the momo identity was liberating because she could shield herself from rabid fans by adopting a more inconspicuous persona.
In February this year, famous Chinese actor Chen Feiyu filed a defamation lawsuit against a Douban user named momo, for accusing him of being involved in an inappropriate relationship with a fan. In response, many Douban users changed their usernames to momo, and adopted “We are all momo” as a rallying cry.
“There are so many speech-based restrictions these days that nothing feels okay to say anymore, but momos get it.”
Users named momo now appear not only in Douban gossip circles, but also across other discussion forums on the platform. They discuss everything from cooking to the struggles of big city life. When Steve Sui, the administrator of a Douban humor group, tried to ban a user named momo in 2021, he discovered more than 10 users with the same username. Momos tend to be “very online,” and “share deeper thoughts, because they don’t have to worry about being identified,” Sui told Rest of World. He decided to create his own momo account.
Some social media users have come to see fellow momos as a community of like-minded people, looking for a more tolerant and inclusive space of discourse on the Chinese internet. “Being a momo makes me feel safe from judgments and gives me a sense of belonging,” Yuxuan Che, a college student who goes by momo on Xiaohongshu, told Rest of World.
Young professionals have also adopted the momo alias to avoid being identified by their employers outside of work. Cheryl Lin, an employee at a state-owned enterprise, told Rest of World she “became a momo” because her employer discovered a video she posted on Douyin, in which she had complained about workplace stress. Lin said she was asked to delete the video and never post anything so negative again. Shortly after, she created her new momo account.
Penny Zhu, a senior at a college in Beijing, told Rest of World she uses momo to evade surveillance and punishment by authorities. Officials from the Communist Youth League have threatened to punish students who discuss their employment struggles online, she said, because it would make the school and country look bad, and spread “negative energy.”
“There are so many speech-based restrictions these days that nothing feels okay to say anymore,” said Zhu. “But momos get it. They speak their mind.”
