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Researchers: China’s TikTok Boosts Pro-Mamdani Content in Algorithm

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Researchers say they found that China’s TikTok “systematically boosts” content using in favor of Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and against former NYC Mayor Andrew Cuomo (D) using its content algorithm. The team asserts that this goes beyond simple bias into a new area, “algorithmic steering.”

“Our new research suggests TikTok’s algorithm systematically boosts pro-Mamdani and anti-Cuomo content in NYC’s mayoral race,” Yehonatan Dodeles, the CTO of Spring AI — an open-source app framework for artificial intelligence engineering — announced in a Tuesday X post. The research report has been published to Medium by Dodeles.

“This analysis was done by Spring AI,” Dodeles continued, adding that “the company uncovers the hidden mechanics of social media algorithms to defend democracies from weaponized AI.”

“Based on deep reverse-engineering of TikTok’s recommendation system and representative data (real & synthetic users), we built an AI model that measures when videos get more exposure than they should. We call these ‘Excessive Publicity’ videos,” Dodeles explained in a follow-up X post.

The software engineer went on to say that, across all videos, roughly 17 percent “show this kind of non-organic boost,” adding that his team’s model “correctly flagged” 76.4 percent after testing known paid ads, “confirming it works.”

(Read more from “Researchers: China’s TikTok Boosts Pro-Mamdani Content in Algorithm” HERE)

‘The West Is Scared’ Of China—And It’s Starting to Show

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The fear is no longer whispered—it’s policy. Western governments are scrambling to contain China’s growing leverage, not because of what Beijing has threatened, but because of what it’s quietly starting to do.

This week, the Dutch government took the extraordinary step of seizing control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chipmaker—an act of economic intervention that signals rising panic over China’s grip on critical technology.

In Washington, the anxiety is just as palpable. After posting confrontational messages about China into last weekend, President Donald Trump abruptly softened his tone on Sunday—prompting commentators such as Peter Schiff to reiterate the critical refrain that “Trump Always Chickens Out.”

Macro strategist Andreas Steno Larsen summed it up in an X.com post:

“There are signs that the West is scared that China is serious about curbing re-exports this time around.”

(Read more from “‘The West Is Scared’ Of China—And It’s Starting to Show” HERE)

Report: Thwarted Plot to Cripple New York Cell Service Far Bigger Than First Thought

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A Chinese-linked operation to paralyze New York’s telecommunications network was far more extensive than authorities initially believed, according to law enforcement sources speaking to ABC News. The alarming scale of the plot has intensified the urgency of the federal investigation, as officials uncover more locations, more equipment, and a broader threat than first understood.

Plot Could Have Crippled NYC Cell Towers, 911 System

Federal agents say the operation had the potential to knock out every cell tower in the New York City area, jam 911 emergency calls, and sow widespread chaos by overloading critical communications systems.

Initial raids uncovered 100,000 SIM cards and hundreds of servers in five different vacant apartments and office spaces around the city. But now, officials say they’ve found an additional 200,000 SIM cards at a site in New Jersey, bringing the total haul to over 300,000.

Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Secret Service believe the equipment — capable of sending up to 30 million anonymous text messages per minute — was designed to overload and disable cellular networks.

“This wasn’t just spam or harassment,” one federal agent told ABC News. “This was infrastructure warfare.”

Motivation Tied to Targeting of High-Level Individuals

The investigation began after a series of suspicious incidents involving high-ranking individuals — including at least one person with direct access to former President Donald Trump — who were hit with “swatting” attacks and threatening messages sent directly to their private phones.

These incidents raised red flags among federal law enforcement and national security agencies, triggering a broader probe that eventually led to the discovery of the New York-area data centers.

So far, no arrests have been made, and authorities are still working to identify who rented the spaces and operated the sophisticated infrastructure hidden inside them.

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Nvidia Reportedly Developing New AI Chip for China Amid Export Restrictions

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Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, is reportedly preparing to release a new artificial intelligence chip tailored for China, even as Washington tightens controls on advanced semiconductor exports.

According to sources cited by Reuters, the chip—codenamed B30A—is designed to comply with U.S. trade restrictions while still offering more power than the H20 models currently sold in China. The B30A is expected to be about half as powerful as Nvidia’s flagship B300 Blackwell GPU but will include key features such as fast data transfer, NVLink support, and high-bandwidth memory. Unlike the dual-die structure of the B300, the B30A will rely on a simpler single-die design.

Nvidia has not confirmed specific details about the chip but acknowledged in a statement that it “evaluates a variety of products for our roadmap, so that we can be prepared to compete to the extent that governments allow.” The company emphasized that all of its products are approved by regulators and developed strictly for commercial use.

The development of the B30A comes as the United States and China continue to clash over access to next-generation technologies. Washington has restricted exports of advanced GPUs over concerns that Beijing could use them for military or surveillance purposes. Industry critics say the U.S. must maintain its technological edge by limiting China’s access, while Nvidia and other American chipmakers argue that abandoning the Chinese market would hand the advantage to domestic rivals like Huawei.

In a related development, Breitbart News reported that the Trump administration recently struck a deal with Nvidia and AMD requiring both companies to share 15 percent of their revenues from Chinese chip sales with the U.S. government. The arrangement was reportedly tied to export licenses granted last week, allowing the sale of restricted chips such as Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308. Officials have not disclosed how the collected funds will be used.

Despite the geopolitical headwinds, Nvidia appears determined to hold its position in China, the world’s largest semiconductor market.

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Instant Karma: Watch Two Chinese Ships Crash Into Each Other While Trying To Harass Neighbor’s Coast Guard

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Two Chinese ships collided with each other in the South China Sea on Monday while trying to harass the Philippines’ coast guard, video shows.

In a high-speed chase, the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3104 was pursuing the Philippine patrol ship BRP Suluan approximately 10.5 nautical miles east of the contentious Scarborough Shoal, deploying water its water cannon at one point, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson Jay Tarriela. As the CCG vessel approached the boat, it collided with a larger Chinese Navy destroyer that attempted to intervene by positioning itself between the Philippine ship and the coast guard cutter.

“The CCG 3104 … performed a risky maneuver from the PCG vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA Navy warship. This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy,” the spokesman wrote.

Footage captured from aboard the Suluan documents the significant hull damage sustained by both Chinese vessels following the collision.

(Read more from “Instant Karma: Watch Two Chinese Ships Crash Into Each Other While Trying To Harass Neighbor’s Coast Guard” HERE)

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China Deploys ‘Robot Wolves’ in Military Drills, Showcasing AI-Powered Combat Tactics

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China has revealed that its armed forces have incorporated new “robot wolves” into military exercises, according to state media reports released Wednesday. The quadruped machines—designed to mimic the coordinated tactics of real wolf packs—are the latest sign of Beijing’s growing focus on autonomous battlefield technology.

Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV and the Global Times showed the four-legged robots carrying rifles on their backs, climbing stairs, and maneuvering across challenging terrain. Officials claimed the machines can conduct precision strikes from as far as 100 meters, carry specialized equipment, and execute swarm tactics under the direction of a designated “pack leader.” This lead unit transmits reconnaissance data to human operators while coordinating the movements and attacks of the rest of the robotic pack.

The system bears similarities to tactics developed for drone swarms during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. By limiting the number of units that must maintain direct communication with human controllers, swarm formations can be more resistant to electronic jamming and signal interference.

While Chinese media promoted the “robot wolves” as a breakthrough in combat capabilities, analysts noted that such demonstrations often double as propaganda, and real-world battlefield performance remains untested. Similar claims about China’s edge in autonomous infantry drones have been made in the past, but no conclusive evidence of their combat effectiveness has emerged.

The U.S. military is pursuing parallel technology with its own Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Q-UGVs). American designs range from weaponized models equipped with rifles or anti-tank rocket launchers to unarmed versions focused on reconnaissance and logistical support. The U.S. Marines have even explored using Q-UGVs as mobile air-defense units, leveraging artificial intelligence to detect and neutralize small aerial drones—a tactic developed in response to the proliferation of such systems in Ukraine.

The introduction of China’s “robot wolves” underscores the accelerating global race to integrate autonomous, AI-driven platforms into military doctrine.

Illegal Chinese Immigrant and Accomplice Charged in High-Stakes U.S. Microchip Smuggling Case

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Two Chinese nationals — one of whom is residing in the United States illegally — are facing serious federal charges for allegedly smuggling advanced U.S. microchips designed for artificial intelligence applications to China in violation of U.S. export laws, the Department of Justice announced.

Chuan Geng, of Pasadena, California, and Shiwei Yang, an illegal immigrant from El Monte who overstayed her visa, have been charged under the Export Control Reform Act. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in federal prison.

According to the federal affidavit, the pair operated an El Monte-based business, ALX Solutions Inc., from October 2022 to July 2025. The company allegedly exported tens of millions of dollars’ worth of sensitive AI-related GPUs and high-performance microchips to China without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Rather than ship the items directly, Geng and Yang allegedly routed their exports through Singapore and Malaysia — countries frequently used as transshipment hubs to mask illegal activity. These shipments were also paid for by companies based in China and Hong Kong, not by the entities listed on export records.

One shipment in December 2024, along with more than 20 others, included chips described by federal investigators as “the most powerful GPU chip on the market”, designed specifically for cutting-edge AI functions, such as autonomous vehicles, diagnostic tools, and other military-adjacent or sensitive technology.

Incriminating evidence was reportedly found on the pair’s mobile devices, including messages about using Malaysia to circumvent export regulations.

Yang was arrested on Saturday, while Geng turned himself in later the same day. The case is being led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin S. Scott, Joseph Guzman, and Jenna Long of the Central District of California, with support from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

“This case underscores the ongoing threat posed by foreign actors seeking to undermine U.S. technological advantages,” said one DOJ official familiar with the investigation.

Authorities have not disclosed whether additional arrests or charges may follow.

Chinese Spy Stole U.S. Missile Blueprints

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A dual US-Chinese national pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing American missile secrets.

Chenguang Gong, a 59-year-old engineer, transferred more than 3,600 files from an unnamed “research and development company” in Los Angeles, where he worked, to personal storage devices last year, according to the US Department of Justice.

Among the transferred files, which were found at Gong’s home in Southern California, were “blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles”, according to the Justice Department.

There were also blueprints for sensors that can enable military aircraft to “detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures”, such as by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking ability.

The transfer also included documents relating to the development of “next generation” sensors, which can detect low observable targets as well as the blueprints for the “mechanical assemblies”, which were used to house and cool the company’s own sensors. (Read more from “Chinese Spy Stole U.S. Missile Blueprints” HERE)

Merger of European-U.S. Satellite Companies Raises Fears of Chinese Access to Military Communication

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The proposed merger between European satellite service provider SES, a major Pentagon space contractor, and Virginia-based Intelsat is raising national security concerns over SES’ strategic partnership with a Chinese state-linked satellite company, according to national security experts.

The $3.1 billion merger announced in April was followed a month later by SES reaching a strategic partnership with China’s AeroSat Link for an international airline inflight internet service program.

AeroSat Link is a subsidiary of state-run China Satellite Communications Co. Ltd., known as ChinaSat, that is part of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC).

Both ChinaSat and CASC are identified as Chinese military companies, and both were sanctioned by the Treasury Department in the past based on national security concerns.

Luxembourg-based SES operates a network of nearly 70 satellites in two different orbits, along with ground infrastructure that provides video and data services to 99% of the world’s population, according to the company website. (Read more from “Merger of European-U.S. Satellite Companies Raises Fears of Chinese Access to Military Communication” HERE)

Major Corporation Bans Travel To China After Employee Is Allegedly Prevented From Leaving

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A leading multinational corporation suspended all travel to China on Thursday following allegations that one of its employees was detained against their will while attempting to leave the country.

Wells Fargo halted all travel to China after an employee, Chenyue Mao, was reportedly prevented from leaving the country, according to Reuters. The banking giant is investigating the situation while assuring that efforts are underway to bring Mao back to the United States as soon as possible.

Mao, a seasoned banker and managing director at Wells Fargo, was allegedly detained by Chinese authorities during a recent trip. The Wall Street Journal cited sources familiar with the incident, indicating that Mao, who has worked at Wells Fargo for over a decade, was placed under an exit ban while in China. Wells Fargo said they are working through the proper channels to resolve the matter.

Mao, a U.S. citizen born in Shanghai and currently based in Atlanta, played a key role in Wells Fargo’s international factoring business. Mao’s interactions with Chinese firms have included trade financing and cross-border capital strategies. Despite this, the reason for Mao’s detention remains unclear, as no formal explanation from Chinese authorities has been provided. (Read more from “Major Corporation Bans Travel To China After Employee Is Allegedly Prevented From Leaving” HERE)

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