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A Chinese Spy’s Surveillance Report on American TikTok Users

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SURVEILLANCE REPORT #4891

SUBJECT: American Social Media Behavioral Analysis
DATE: 01/22/2025
AGENT: Chen Wei

I continue to monitor American social media trends on TikTok to identify opportunities for ideological influence and assess potential threats to collectivist ideals. Below are my findings on key creators of interest.

@corporatebestie

A twenty-eight-year-old marketing coordinator living in a major metropolitan area, simultaneously critiquing and participating in late-stage capitalism. Her content primarily revolves around “day in the life” videos and career advice.

  • Her direct messages indicate that she is “girl bossing too close to the sun.”
  • Recently posted a TikTok complaining about an eighteen-dollar acai bowl. Seems to have a basic grasp of commodity fetishism.
  • Shows promising signs of class consciousness despite LinkedIn premium membership.
  • Recommendation: She is one algorithmic nudge away from embracing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

@to.the.moon_

A twenty-one-year-old male living in Austin, Texas. Quit his job during the pandemic to trade cryptocurrency. Content is exclusively ill-advised crypto trading advice.

  • Initially flagged as a capitalist threat.
  • After losing life savings in cryptocurrency, has begun posting about “rigged system.”
  • Recently learned the word “proletariat” (pronounces it incorrectly).
  • Recommendation: Monitor for recruitment potential once savings are fully depleted.

@karen.miller79

A forty-two-year-old mother of one. Initial channel success derived from cute baby content. Currently experiencing a decline in engagement as her baby has aged into a toddler of average attractiveness. Experienced a resurgence in popularity due to her Stanley Tumbler videos.

  • WITHDRAWAL OF PREVIOUS EXPENSE REQUEST: After months of surveillance, I am officially declaring the Stanley cup trend OVER.
  • I have spent $472 of state funds tracking this trend, which will not please my supervisor. These cups are NOT worth the bureaucratic explanation I must now provide.
  • Interest has shifted to miniature “Trader Joe’s” tote bags. These bags seem to serve little to no utilitarian purpose. Perhaps an example of American excess? Submitted expense report (#28732) requesting exactly five (5) miniature tote bags for further study.

@gregleary

A twenty-six-year-old male fitness influencer. Current content strategy involves pivoting to what appears to be an attempt at sketch comedy.

  • Believes personal transformation can overcome systemic barriers.
  • Actually just selling protein powder and performative masculinity.
  • His “meal prep for the week” videos appear to emulate central planning but are fundamentally flawed by individualist overtones
  • Recommendation: Let him continue. He is harmless.

@kenny_boy

Kenny is a well-mannered Maltese dog. Continue promoting his content.

Special Intelligence Briefing:
Justin Baldoni/Blake Lively
Cultural Conflict

After extensive analysis of the recent social media conflict between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, we formally request an official party stance from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Ministerial guidance is urgently needed on this critical conflict.

Context: Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of inappropriate on-set behavior during the filming of It Ends with Us. Baldoni denied the allegations, releasing footage that has only further divided public opinion.

Agent’s Analysis: This situation has become a cultural flashpoint, making it difficult to discern whether to critique Baldoni’s performative activism or focus on Lively’s contradictions as a critique of capitalist moral posturing. Immediate guidance is required to determine whether either narrative can be used for soft-power propaganda.

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rraszews
7 days ago
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"Oh also I downloaded his contact list, which includes his Army Colonel dad's birthday, which should help us with the identity theft."
Columbia, MD

Visitors

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Have you had any visitors recently?
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rraszews
16 days ago
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I think this is the second comic to show a human soul?
Columbia, MD

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Applied

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Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
You are all impure now!


Today's News:
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rraszews
19 days ago
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This is very close to what happened when they discovered number theory was useful in cryptography. All the respectable number theorists were sad that their pure math was suddenly useful.
Columbia, MD
mareino
19 days ago
I took a summer class with one of the profs caught in that, Steven Rudich, in 1997. He had announced his consultant fee was $1000/hr to scare off outsiders ... and then found out that some businesses were willing to pay that.

Embark on a Cosmic Fantasy: Dreamwalk Park Opens a Portal to Otherworldly Adventures!

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Opening December 12 in Orem, Utah, Dreamwalk Park is where imagination takes flight! Located at the University Place Mall, this “indoor micro theme park” invites adventurers to embark on an interactive journey through otherworldly realms.

Armed with decoder wands and portal passes, guests can unlock hidden clues, awaken ancient spirits, and explore fantastical rooms brimming with glowing mushrooms, galactic grottos, and gemstone caves. From a sci-fi spaceport to a steampunk cosmic marketplace (complete with a secret robotic speakeasy!), every step unveils a new layer of magic and mystery.

In the words of YouTuber devinsupertramp: “If Willy Wonka, Star Wars, and Pandora’s Avatar had a baby, this place would be the child!”

Get ready for an unforgettable adventure where immersive art, animatronics, and interactive tech collide. Dreamwalk Park is more than a theme park—it’s a portal to pure wonder, and I really, REALLY want to visit it.

[Video by devinsupertramp | Official Dreamwalk Park Website]

Click This Link for the Full Post > Embark on a Cosmic Fantasy: Dreamwalk Park Opens a Portal to Otherworldly Adventures!

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rraszews
56 days ago
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Okay but are they sure they want to lean in on the Wonka allusions given the last Wonka-inspired interactive experience?
Columbia, MD

Making Tea

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No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.
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Covarr
55 days ago
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I put my strongest small ceramic bakeware in the toaster oven, filled with water. Sometimes you just gotta do things slow and appreciate life. Not like you'll be appreciating the tea; it's still not ready yet.
East Helena, MT
fxer
56 days ago
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You can’t microwave water, it will be polluted with radiation! Do you really want your kids exposed to electromagnetic waves?
Bend, Oregon
sommerfeld
56 days ago
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It's not that 110V kettles are less efficient at turning electricity to heat than 240V - they're just less powerful. UK kettles draw up to 3 kilowatts, while ones in the US max out at around half that.
zwol
56 days ago
And that's directly related to the voltage difference. In both countries, electric kettles have to be designed on the assumption that they can pull only 13 to 15 amps of load from the mains. This puts a hard limit on the wattage rating — but wattage is volts times amps, so the higher UK supply voltage makes higher power kettles possible. Microwave ovens, on the other hand, are typically powered by 20-amp dedicated circuits in the USA, so they can be higher power than kettles at the same supply voltage. I don't know how they're wired in the UK.
bcs
56 days ago
@zwol FWIW, I've never seen a microwave with a 20A plug.
zwol
56 days ago
@bcs I'm not sure about this but I have the impression that it's OK per US electrical code to use a NEMA 15 socket on a 20A circuit *as long as it's a dedicated circuit*, and this is one of the reasons why 20A plugs are so rare on US kitchen appliances. That said, something else is also going on, because I just checked and my microwave is rated at 17kW, which is 14.2 amps at 120V, but I can't find any electric kettle for sale that goes higher than 1.5kW (12.5A at 120V). Possibly the real concern here is that a kettle *can't* assume a dedicated circuit, so the designers have to leave some headroom in case there are lamps or something plugged into the same circuit.
bcs
56 days ago
@zwol you can 100% put a lower amp outlet on a higher amp circuit, and you don't need it to be dedicated. (It's the same as plugging an 8A lamp cord into a 15A socket; the load is responsible for protecting it's own cord.) In fact, 20A wires and 15A sockcts are very common. What you can't do is sell an appliance that draw more than 15A but plugs into a 15A socket.
PeterParslow
46 days ago
Microwaves in the UK: all the ones I've seen (Brit living here 50+ years) are simply plugged into a 13 amp socket, like the kettle is. They're normally rated 1 kW, but some make it to 1.2kW.. Cookers (oven, hob) are usually wired into a separate 45 amp circuit.
jgbishop
56 days ago
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I'll admit to microwaving the mug and tea bag. It works well for me!
Durham, NC
rraszews
56 days ago
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What's weird is when you get into the details. Apparently American electric kettles are much slower than British ones (British people keep telling me it takes 30 seconds to boil water in an electric kettle; mine takes 5 minutes) while American microwaves are much faster (Again, takes 90 seconds in mine; they claim it takes 10 minutes). (There is some truth here; electric kettles are less efficient using American 110 mains voltage, not sure why British microwaves are so weak though)
Columbia, MD
fallinghawks
56 days ago
Consider getting a newer kettle. I (US) bought a Krups 1L earlier this year. It takes 2.5 minutes to boil 2 cups of water, which gives my microwave a run for its money. It's probably also using less electricity too.
jakar
56 days ago
Haven't researched this, but I'm willing to bet that an industrial 240V kettle exists somewhere here in America, and that I could theoretically run a new circuit easily enough to accommodate it. However, I also don't care enough to actually make it happen.
DrGaellon
35 days ago
Has to do with the power of the magnetron. Most US microwaves today at 1000W or even 1200W; I suspect British ones are lower.
bootsofdoom
56 days ago
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Ah, Americans. Literally nobody "makes it in a kettle". You boil the water in a kettle and make the tea in a teapot. Obviously.
PeterParslow
46 days ago
If we extend "kettle" to include saucepans, then the Indian approach is to put everything (tea, milk, sugar, some spices) into a pan and boil it for a while
bootsofdoom
44 days ago
Yes, and I love a nice chai with condensed milk. But in the UK context that is not what a kettle is.
jlvanderzwan
56 days ago
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What about microwaving the crown jewels?
zippy72
39 days ago
Instructions unclear - unfortunately, "the crown jewels" is also a euphemism.
jlvanderzwan
38 days ago
Apologies, I meant microwaving the crown's crown jewels.
jlvanderzwan
38 days ago
"But that's still…" I know what I wrote. DOWN WITH THE MONARCHY!
alt_text_bot
57 days ago
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No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Finally Got Its Own ‘Lower Decks’

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Star Trek Lower Decks Recap 508 Freeman

The aptly named 'Upper Decks' follows on with Lower Decks namesake to give us an episode from the perspective of its senior officers.
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rraszews
60 days ago
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My favorite part is that at the end Shaxs is completely open with the others about what was going on with him, and when Dr. Migleemo suggests therapy, he's all-in.
Well, that and the technobabble explanation for why rocks fall out of the ceiling.
Columbia, MD
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