Former Military PSYOP Says Congress Doesn’t Have To Worry About China Radicalizing Americans When They’re Having So Much Success Doing It Themselves
There's no bread and they're taking away the circus.
DimaBerlin | Shutterstock On January 19, 2025, the United States’ ban on the wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok went into effect. Within just 12 hours; however, the app was available for use again in the U.S. due to efforts made by the incoming presidential administration.
Americans were told the beloved app was banned because its parent company, ByteDance, is under Chinese ownership, making TikTok a security risk. The government seemed to be concerned that China was radicalizing American citizens via the app; however, one man on TikTok insisted the U.S. government is doing that themselves.
The former military PSYOP said Congress is radicalizing Americans, not China.
Colten, a Florida-based content creator, identified himself as a former Army PSYOP, otherwise known as a psychological operations soldier. According to the U.S. Army’s website, these soldiers “support Army missions by using intelligence, interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and foreign language proficiency to affect the actions and opinions of foreign individuals, groups, and governments.”
With this background, Colten is uniquely qualified to speak on the topic of radicalization at the hands of the U.S. and foreign governments.
“What Congress fails to realize is that while they are so worried about the Chinese government psyoping American citizens, Congress is actually doing it themselves,” he insisted. “You see, by banning this app with little to no concrete evidence, you are actively radicalizing American citizens in opposition of the government."
He used RedNote as an example. When the government banned TikTok, an app that potentially gave their data to China, hundreds of thousands of Americans fled to RedNote, a Chinese-owned social media platform, to willingly hand it over.
The actions made by the U.S. government are enough to radicalize citizens against them.
Colton pointed out that while Democrats blame Republicans for the country's problems and vice versa, it is the citizens who suffer. China doesn't have to do anything — the government does more than enough to upset people by taking away a beloved app and failing to act on real problems.
“What a slap in the face to the people who lost their homes in Appalachia, in California,” Colten said. “What a slap in the face to veterans. What a slap in the face to those whose loved ones are dying because insurance companies can openly scam and extort Americans.”
Laura K. Chung, an author, astrologer, and content creator, agrees.
"The minute you take away their entertainment, and their way of being able to earn a second income, or a primary income, that’s when you radicalize people," she said.
Americans are struggling.
While we have been repeatedly told that we live in the greatest country on earth — the "land of the free" — Americans are realizing it's not all it's cracked up to be. Many people cannot afford to buy groceries or pay rent. Kids are regularly shot in schools and medical attention costs astronomical amounts.
Chung, like Colton, mentioned RedNote and touched on how it gave Americans a seemingly unfiltered view of China, making U.S. citizens question how good we really have it.
“You are watching people become radicalized within the span of an hour,” she claimed. “Just seeing all of that propaganda about China just completely disappear, and seeing how they are able to afford groceries, and they don’t have to pay property tax after they pay off their mortgage, and all of these things." She likened America to "a third-world country" wearing "a Gucci belt."
It seems the government's placations are no longer sticking. Americans are angry and the TikTok ban certainly doesn't help.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.