www.cnn.com - Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana Syndrome - CNN, 2026-01-13

|------- The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially known as Havana Syndrome, according to four sources briefed on the matter.

A division of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, purchased the device for millions of dollars in the waning days of the Biden administration, using funding provided by the Defense Department, according to two of the sources. Officials paid "eight figures" for the device, these people said, declining to offer a more specific number.

The device is still being studied and there is ongoing debate " and in some quarters of government, skepticism " over its link to the roughly dozens of anomalous health incidents that remain officially unexplained. ...
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If you've seen several 60 Minutes reports on the subject of Havana Syndrome, you may now understand why USGOV was reluctant to confirm the weapon capabilities, as officially the "investigation continued" but was for the most part "dismissed" as psychological in nature.
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nypost.com - Trump-backed deal to 'save' TikTok faces lingering security questions for Congress: 'It's a smokescreen' - NYP, 2026-01-23

In any case, the importance of TikTok has never really been its ownership ("China, China, China!") or that the user data could've been exploited by CCP (again, "China, China, China!") because all their servers and pipes have been either in the US or under US datacenter companies control for years.

That panic was artificial, mostly part of Putin/Trump-generated zeitgeist, in their campaign to deflect and misdirect from what Trump unsurprisingly calls the "Russiagate hoax."

The real reason Trump wanted to "save" TikTok in the US is that Trump's 2024 campaign realized its importance and value, as they used the ability to have TT's "influencers" spread Trump campaign ads in "info-news" format and misinformation amid very important category of young, first-time voters who were/are getting their "news" from the platform.

This can be - and was successful for Trump - on mostly unfiltered, unmoderated, algorithmically viral platforms, regardless of the ownership.

This is something Biden/Harris campaign completely missed, as they completely mis-read the economy and people's mood, in their zeal to recruit media and entertainment celebrities (whose followers couldn't care less about politics even if eligible to vote) and run a mostly conventional campaign.

Here's how it was done in 2024 and likely for at least few election cycles - Dems better figure this out and adapt to it fast:

www.wired.com - The Most Powerful Politics Influencers Barely Post About Politics | New research shows that social media creators have enormous influence over their audiences' politics " especially those who don't normally share political content. - 2025-12-17

www.wired.com - A Visual Guide to the Influencers Shaping the 2024 Election | From Hasan Piker to Logan Paul, this interactive display maps how online personalities on the right and the left are using their massive followings to influence the US election - 2024-08-15

www.wired.com - This Was the Year of the Influencer Political Takeover | Politicians fully embraced the creator economy in 2024, blurring the lines between punditry and journalism. By 2028, the lawmakers could become creators themselves. - 2024-12-27

Here is why TT's is so addictive, and why so many "creators" want to be "influencers" on that platform:

www.theverge.com - Stop, Shop, and Scroll - TV, 2025-12-08
Behind every influencer is an army of the influenced, many adrift in debt and mass-produced clutter. The platforms need influencers and influencers need audiences " but what the influenced need is not so simple.
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