Free Republic

X has said it uncovered a Chinese bot farm of approximately 200,000 inauthentic accounts involved in influence operations. The platform’s safety team said in an Aug. 27 statement that about 200 accounts within the newly identified network had posted material aimed at influencing U.S. debate over artificial intelligence and energy policy. X did not say how the rest of the roughly 200,000 accounts were being used. Other technology companies and U.S. authorities have separately documented Chinese influence operations involving tens or hundreds of thousands of fake, coordinated, or repurposed accounts, including networks tied to Chinese state actors and law enforcement....

Cybersecurity researchers have found surveillance backdoors in Chinese carrier routers made by Zbtlink and the same software in a different Zbtlink-made router sold through Amazon. Chinese law requires telecom and internet companies to provide technical assistance to police and state-security agencies. In an Aug. 27 report, cybersecurity firm VulnCheck said it found two hidden programs in an $88 router bought through Amazon from a U.S. seller. One, which the researchers named Speakingstone, sends information about the router to a remote server and can receive instructions to redirect internet traffic, obtain login credentials, or take control of the device. The second,...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo approves his seventh bishop for Chinese Communist ‘Catholic’ church The Vatican reported that the new bishop of Datong was appointed ‘under the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.’A bishop of Datong was consecrated in China today with the approval of Pope Leo XIV under the controversial Vatican-China deal. Pope Leo XIV appointed Paolo Liu Honggang Bishop of Datong in Shanxi, China, on August 10, “following the approval of his candidacy under the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China,”...

Vatican Double Standard: Communists IN, Traditionalists OUTWhy does the Vatican tolerate Communist China’s state-appointed Catholic bishops while cracking down on the SSPX and the Traditional Latin Mass? Michael Matt examines the growing double standard and the disturbing ramifications for faithful Catholics. Why is the Vatican eager to tolerate bishops appointed by Communist China without a papal mandate while taking increasingly severe action against Traditional Catholic bishops of the SSPX?Michael Matt examines this contradiction alongside a series of developments affecting Traditional Catholics: reported restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass in Seattle and Pittsburgh, new pressure against the TLM in England, and...

Catholic politician slams Vatican-China agreement: ‘Deal with the devil’ ‘Fear of upsetting the Chinese Communist Party has led the Vatican to remain silent about gross violations of religious freedom,’ the UK’s Lord David Alton said.Lord David Alton of Liverpool, a Catholic member of the UK’s House of Lords, in an interview published on Tuesday, slammed the Vatican’s secret agreement with the communist Chinese government as a “deal with the devil” and criticized Rome’s silence as the faithful are persecuted.During his interview with Crux, published August 18, Lord Alton, while discussing an ongoing petition launched by Aid to the Church in...

Replacing the Cross with a Portrait of XiThe CCP is mandating the removal of thousands of crosses, icons, and sacramentals from Catholic churches and replacing them with portraits of former Chairman Mao Zedong and those of President Xi Jinping.While the Vatican is apparently counting the secret payoffs it receives from the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP is mandating the removal of thousands of crosses, icons, and sacramentals from Catholic churches and replacing them with portraits of former Chairman Mao Zedong and those of President Xi Jinping, which must be affixed above the pulpit and elsewhere. For example, in Anhui Province...

CNN’s Dana Bash: “I also don't want to use this interview to allow you to say things that aren't entirely true. It is also factually true that the COVID vaccine worked. The COVID vaccine prevented deaths. There is data, upon data, upon data.” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “You think the COVID vaccine protected children?” Dana Bash: “I have talked to scientists and doctors…” Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “Can you show me one study that shows that children were protected by the COVID vaccine?” “That that vaccine did more good than harm to children? Can you show me one...

The 8-Year Betrayal of Chinese CatholicsNo one can fail to see the irony of the excommunication of the SSPX in view of the renewed Vatican deal with the CCP and their ongoing consecrations of bishops without papal oversight or pre-approval.Last Thursday marked the eighth anniversary of the secret provisional agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regarding the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. (CCPA). Designed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in 2018, with the blessing of Pope Francis, the agreement recognizes the supreme authority of the CCP to appoint bishops and suppress and/or establish...

Eight years after Vatican-China deal, persecution of faithful Catholics intensifiesThe Vatican's secret deal with China has empowered the Chinese Communist Party's war on religious freedom that Rome needs to address.“Nobody has any illusion about the Chinese Communists Party’s determination to eliminate all religion.”~Bishop James E. Walsh, Maryknoll Missionary to China, 1948, imprisoned for 12 years by the CCP.(Elizabeth Yore) — The Patriotic Chinese Catholic Association was established in 1957 by the authority of Mao Zedong, and under the control of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the CCP with the goal to bring Catholicism into alignment...

Desirée Townsend@Cheering4ChangeSenator Mitch McConnell has now been hospitalized for three weeks. The gravity of this situation cannot be overstated, especially given that his wife, Elaine Chao, appeared in China just days after his hospitalization to meet with high-ranking Chinese officials. The question now is about national security: if Senator McConnell has been unable to independently perform his duties, what safeguards exist to ensure classified intelligence briefings, defense appropriations information, or other sensitive congressional matters could not be accessed, discussed, or shared by individuals operating behind the scenes? And given the timing of Chao’s meeting with China’s vice president, what exactly...

Democrats, among them some of the most recognizable names in politics, have accepted millions of dollars in campaign contributions from top employees at firms the Pentagon recently designated as "Chinese military companies" operating in the U.S. The Department of War on June 8 designated Alibaba, Baidu and BYD as "Chinese military companies," meaning that the three firms, in the eyes of the U.S. government, are providing assistance to the People’s Liberation Army through its military-civil fusion strategy or other means. Senior employees at these companies, including executives, have donated roughly $2.6 million to Democratic political committees since 2020, a Fox...

Almost all media commentators seem convinced that Donald Trump’s foreign policy in his second term is a disaster. He is bogged down in Iran, snookered in Ukraine, his tariff agenda has failed and he has alienated his NATO allies. But this consensus has been too hastily formed. Looking at the bigger global picture, Trump’s foreign policy has been a spectacular success. Take the western hemisphere. We have the so-called “Donroe Doctrine,” the updated version of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine. In 1822, president James Monroe, having welcomed South America’s overthrow of Spanish and Portuguese imperial rule, stated that Latin American nations...

Is this Chinese takeover the new reality? Or, can a coordinated effort by the U.S. and its allies challenge China’s hegemony in the region? The Iran war and the fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz—through which vital oil cargo from Gulf countries feeds the global economy—is a reminder that America must not forget the South China Sea, another strategic region where China, a greater threat than Iran, has gained alarming control over many decades. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has blatantly seized key points in the region and built a fortified military presence by constructing artificial islands on...

A Chinese tracking device was discovered in the Prime Minister's official car, MPs were told yesterday. The bug is believed to have been found in a sealed part of the vehicle imported from China. Its discovery during a sweep first emerged in 2023, sparking fears that Beijing was aggressively spying on ministers in the then-Conservative government. Now it has been revealed that the device was in fact found in the Prime Minister's car the previous year. Charles Parton, of think-tank the Council on Geostrategy, told the Commons Business and Trade Committee yesterday: 'The prime minister's car in 2022 was emanating...

Midway through 2026, energy is the issue of the moment. The standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, soaring gas prices, the race to build AI data centers, and intensifying competition with China all point to the same question: Who will produce the energy that powers the modern world? That question is headed to the US Supreme Court. In a few months, the justices will hear arguments in one of the most consequential energy cases in decades, Suncor v. Boulder County. It’s one of dozens of lawsuits brought by progressive state and local governments seeking to make oil and gas companies...

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of purchasing the strategically important Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean directly from Mauritius. This scenario has gained momentum due to delays in the UK’s plans to transfer sovereignty over these islands. The new U.S. administration seeks to gain full control over the archipelago to secure its military positions in the region. Washington’s main goal is to preserve and protect the strategic Diego Garcia military base, which is currently jointly used by the U.S. and the UK. To finalize the deal, the islands must first officially gain sovereign status under Mauritian control....

Canada is calling on the United States and Mexico to renew the free trade agreement between the countries for another 16 years just as U.S. President Donald Trump revives talk of making Canada the 51st state. Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister for U.S. trade, sent a letter Tuesday to United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexico's Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard conveying Canada's recommendation. "The Agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy," LeBlanc wrote. The letter comes ahead of the scheduled July review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the...

While we’re all focused on the Middle East, I would like to momentarily shift your attention to a remarkable political revolution that’s taking place across the Third World. As it turns out, these seismic changes are resulting in decisive positive implications for both Israel and for the United States. Today, a worldwide conservative political wave is underway. This movement seeks free markets, democratic rights - and new international alliances in support of Israel. Of course, if you read the Western press, it appears the world is firmly against Israel and the United States. However, if you look closely, you’l see...

Thomas Massie may be leaving Congress, but don't expect him to disappear from Republican politics anytime soon ... because he and Marjorie Taylor Greene have been cooking up plans behind the scenes to retake the GOP. Charlie caught up with the outgoing Kentucky Congressman Wednesday on Capitol Hill and asked about his recent Costa Rica vacay with Greene and her fiancé, Brian Glenn -- a trip TMZ first revealed after the group was spotted dining together. According to Massie, the getaway involved more than fishing and margaritas. "I got to talk to Marjorie about what life is like on the...

The biggest sneaker free agent in basketball history didn't sign with Nike or Adidas. Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry just signed with a Chinese brand. After mutually parting ways with Under Armour in 2025 (corrected) and ending a 13-year partnership (with the Baltimore sportswear company), the four-time NBA champion has signed a massive 10-year deal with Chinese sportswear giant Li-Ning.