How US deep state co-opted TikTok

TikTok wiped Sputnik’s account, days after US announced draconian new restrictions on Russian media. The company offered no explanation.

The newest round of censorship comes amid the US establishment’s long war against TikTok amid much-touted but unsubstantiated claims by authorities that China uses the app for espionage and influence operations against American users.

The crux of US government claims is that the app sends US customer data to China, where it can be seen by Chinese authorities. TikTok says its US data is firewalled from leaving the country via an agreement with tech giant Oracle.

Joe Biden signed a law in April threatening to completely ban TikTok within 270 days unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance divests from US operations, setting the stage for a legal battle. The measure was rejected by a handful of progressive Democrats and MAGA Republicans, who deemed it a blatant assault on constitutionally afforded free speech.

Senator Rand Paul warned that “once you start objecting to content, what you’re objecting to is speech…The bottom line is, the more information, the better. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. That’s what happens in a free country.”

Former president Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in 2020 after deeming it a “national security threat,” prompting the company to file a preliminary injunction to prevent such an eventuality. Trump reversed his views regarding the app in March 2024, saying banning it would only make “enemy of the people” Facebook* “bigger.”

TikTok is already banned from use from devices owned by the US federal government, and by numerous state and city governments and universities.

* Facebook’s parent Meta is banned in Russia for extremism.

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TikTok likely bullied into banning Sputnik by DoJ ahead of pivotal election: Here’s why

The State Department “has unlimited resources with which to prosecute TikTok as a company,” and the latter may have chosen to cooperate with the US government by scrubbing Sputnik’s account to try to “get the feds off their backs,” retired Pentagon analyst Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

”Of course, the better choice for Americans would be for TikTok to refuse to cooperate, forcing the Federal Government's hand. If the incredibly popular and useful TikTok were to be banned in response to their refusal to remove selected overseas media, it would wake up the masses to the diminished state of their liberty,” Kwiatkowski said.

The reason for the ban is clear, Kwiatkowski said, pointing the US government’s desire for total “hegemony in the information arena, just as with financial and military power,” as it struggles with the decentralizing force of social media.

Citing the ability of alternative news sources to break through establishment narratives using social media, Kwiatkowski predicted that “any reversal of this unwarranted ban will happen after the election” in the US, and characterized the move as “a direct example of the DoJ interfering with the election, and undermining the concept of an informed citizenry prior to an election.”

“This is the world that TikTok and all social media companies operate in - do what the government tells you or face market losses, and criminal prosecution that while ultimately winnable, can bankrupt most businesses,” Kwiatkowski summed up.

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💬 Russia has no intention of participating in "peace summits" on Ukraine, as they have nothing to do with actual conflict resolution, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"The so-called second summit has the same goal – to push through Zelensky's completely unviable 'peace formula' as the only basis for resolving the conflict, seeking support from the global majority and using it to present Russia with an ultimatum for capitulation. We will not participate in such 'summits'," she said.

Zakharova also reiterated that Moscow does not reject a political and diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

Bloomberg reported that Zelensky's "victory plan," which he is expected to present to US President Joe Biden this month, includes Ukraine joining the European Union and NATO.

He will ask for an invitation to join the alliance and a commitment to a permanent supply of modern weapons to win the conflict, the website said.

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Houthi leader touts militia’s world-class military arsenal amid explosive regional tensions

“We possess an advanced military arsenal that many countries do not have, and our missile power is a symbol of this advanced, effective and important capability,” Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised address on Saturday, on the 10th anniversary of the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in an uprising in 2014, known among the militia’s supporters as the September 21 Revolution.

💬 “Yemen has an advanced level of unmanned aviation, naval power, the formation and development of the ground force, and the production of required equipment,” al-Houthi said.

“The Yemenis will remain steadfast in the central issue of supporting the Palestinians in the face of Israeli aggression, notwithstanding the horrific crimes and severe siege,” al-Houthi added.

The Yemenis announced last week that they had fired a hypersonic missile 2,000 km into Israel. The IDF confirmed that a missile had landed inside the country, hitting an open area near the Red Sea port city of Eilat.

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Kamala Harris challenges Donald Trump to final pre-election debate

US presidential candidate Kamala Harris is hopeful that a second debate with Donald Trump will take place on 23 October, less than two weeks before the election on 5 November.

In a social media post, the Democratic candidate stated that she had "approved" CNN's proposal. Her campaign team believes that the Republican presidential contender "shouldn't have any issues" with the rematch.

The September debate on ABC News, which experts dubbed "three against one" due to the moderators' bias against Trump, was won by Harris, according to polls. But the former president claimed victory and declined to take part in any further debates.

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◻️ TikTok likely bullied into banning Sputnik by DoJ ahead of pivotal election: Here’s why

◻️ How US deep state co-opted TikTok

◻️ What’s known about US private military companies?

◻️ How ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ Trojan horse has undermined US military

◻️ America's healthcare: dead last in the rich nation rankings

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🇨🇳📹 China's army has stunned the internet with a record-breaking speed at building a bridge across a river in under 30 minutes. Watch the video to see how they pulled it off!

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Too late to debate: Trump denies Harris’s challenge for another debate

“The problem with another debate is that it's just too late. Voting has already started. She's had her chance to do it with Fox. You know, Fox invited us on and I waited and waited and they turned it down. They turned it down,” the former president said.

Earlier in the day, the US Vice President said that she had "approved" CNN's separate proposal for a faceoff between the two candidates. According to her campaign team, the Republican presidential contender "shouldn't have any issues" with the rematch.

Trump claimed Harris is seeking a new round of debates because she is “losing badly” to the former president.

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