Is "Faction Sabotage" officially endorsed now? A confused agent asking.

Hi everyone,

I’m a relatively new Enlightened agent. I joined Ingress because I fell in love with the strategic depth—the idea that a group of people could out-plan through coordination.

However, the recent conclusion of the Beijing Shard Battle (Dec 14) and the subsequent "Victory Statement" published on China's largest Ingress social media channel has left me questioning if I even understand the rules of this game.

The Tactical Situation (The Sabotage):

For those interested in the mechanics, here is exactly what happened:

We (ENL) controlled the tactical timing on the Shard Target. The portal was Blue, but it had virus immunity (from a previous flip). Our plan was simple and solid: keep it Blue until the immunity timer expired, then Jarvis it to Strong Green to defend. As long as it was Blue with immunity, the Resistance couldn't touch it.

Enter Agent J. This agent, playing on an ENL account, deliberately attacked this Blue portal, destroyed it, and fully deployed it as Strong Green moments before our scheduled operation.

Why? To give the Resistance a target they could virus.

By turning the portal Green for us, he allowed the waiting Resistance agents to immediately ADA it back to Blue (since capturing/re-deploying bypasses the previous immunity constraints or simply provides a valid ADA target). This handed them the link and the 10 points.

The "Official" Endorsement:
This wasn't just a rogue actor. Today, a massive article noscriptd "Bro, I'm Blue! What, are you triggered?" was published on the most influential Ingress news account in China (which is operated by Beijing RES leadership).

In this article, Agent J openly brags:
1. It was an Operation, not a mistake: He calls it a "premeditated special operation" designed to "help the Resistance at the critical moment". 
2. Mocking Fair Play: He ridicules the ENL community for trying to maintain "purity" and for not trusting defectors, essentially saying, "You were right to be paranoid, and here is why." He explicitly states his goal was to "feed this carefully prepared despair into your mouths". 
3. Weaponizing the TOS: He argues that because he didn't spoof or multi-account technically, he is not a "Rogue Agent," but simply exercising "rights granted to every Agent by Niantic". 

My Questions to the Global Community:
The fact that the Beijing Resistance leadership published and promoted this article suggests they consider this a legitimate, praiseworthy tactic.

So I have to ask:
• Is this the new Meta? Is the game now just about who can plant more sleeper agents to sabotage defenses from the inside?
• Should I switch sides to "win"? If this is acceptable play, what stops me from recursing to Resistance, and then blowing up their anchors during the next Anomaly? According to this "Sitrep," that would be a "heroic moment" worth bragging about.
• Does Niantic care? This is open, admitted match-fixing/win-trading published on a major platform. If this stands, doesn't it fundamentally break the "Faction vs. Faction" premise of the game?

I’m genuinely disheartened. I wanted to play Ingress, not "Among Us."

https://redd.it/1pvy9yh
@IngressReddit

My boss made cookies for everyone and explained to me that mine was 'the game'
https://redd.it/1pwg1da
@IngressReddit

When Stranger Things mentioned XM

I wasn’t really playing much Ingress as of lately. Missed a few events, because work and stuff. But I had the time to relax a bit and watch some Netflix. And when that show mentioned XM I just had to pause and redownload Ingress. I should really get back to the game…

So yeah, thanks, Netflix for another motivation 😬

https://redd.it/1pwl20t
@IngressReddit

Portal nomination isaues

Anyone have issues nominating portals after the last update? I am unable to get past the noscript and denoscription point of submitting portals and have to just end up exiting without entering the denoscription. The text input box disappears and am unable to edit noscript or denoscription of a new nomination.

https://redd.it/1pwpiuu
@IngressReddit

Finally it's complete.

https://redd.it/1pwps5v
@IngressReddit

Scout Controller Onyx × 2 Acquired
https://redd.it/1pwy7wm
@IngressReddit

We all claiming this exactly at midnight New Years to overload the servers?
https://redd.it/1px6y9q
@IngressReddit

What’s the point of the Charge All Button?
https://redd.it/1pxl0p6
@IngressReddit

Ingress Insights Podcast: Episode 132 - +Gamma details unveiled
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6OPxI72Xsjw5l9MTkGQCUb?si=XtOph0U3R7mjZLasQft3RA

https://redd.it/1pxlw5e
@IngressReddit

Having trouble logging into the game?

Is anyone having trouble loading their account in the game?

https://redd.it/1pxlveq
@IngressReddit

Yes the game is down, no it’s not just you. Gotta wait until Niantic o’clock for a fix I guess
https://redd.it/1pxmyje
@IngressReddit

Ingress is down, but Recon is up!

Go review a few submissions while you drink your beer and wait for the elfs to fix login :)

https://opr.ingress.com

https://redd.it/1pxof46
@IngressReddit

Seriously?

An expired TLS certificate is already to be ashamed off, but 3+ hours of downtime is… No words.

https://redd.it/1pxoznd
@IngressReddit

L16 Agent after 11 Years xD

https://redd.it/1pxpxpw
@IngressReddit

Distracted Boyfriend: Niantic Spatial edition

https://preview.redd.it/8whneqs28y9g1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=e131f7e739ed17cefab210a84d9c88ab54e1a909



https://redd.it/1pxs2pc
@IngressReddit

Leaked Ingress HQ Google Search History
https://redd.it/1pxsale
@IngressReddit