NEWS

The Democratic Party remains rudderless following last November's election setbacks, when Republicans regained control of both the White House and the Senate, while narrowly holding onto their House majority. Now, a new poll shows confidence in the Democratic Party's congressional leadership has (more…)

Authored by Greg Collard via Racket News,

You likely already know from reading Racket that the Biden administration was very active in targeting misinformation and disinformation, even as it engaged in those practices.

Illustration by Daniel Medina/Racket News

Racket’s Twitter Files and other reporting have extensively documented many of the anti-disinformation and misinformation programs and organizations that the federal government supported, like the Election Integrity Project, Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI League), and the Center on Narrative, Disinformation and Strategic Influence at Arizona State.

But the number of grants? We didn’t know that. Now we do.

The Free Press reports that since 2017, the federal government has awarded about 800 grants to counter mis/disinformation — and the Biden administration is responsible for more than 600 of them. The 800 grants amount to more than $1.4 billion.

The findings by reporters Gabe Kaminsky and Madeleine Rowley are based on a new database of anti-mis/disinformation programs. The database was created by the free speech advocacy group liber-net.

“A large number of these projects cynically employed the ‘misinformation, disinformation, and mali (more…)

Authored by Leo Timm via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People and businesses across China are feeling the pressure as the Chinese authorities vow staunch resistance to the United States and the Trump administration’s tough approach to trade and bilateral relations.

Workers check machines at a factory that produces silk cloth in Fuyang, in eastern Anhui Province, China, on April 16, 2025. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese companies, workers, and industry insiders have reported being caught in a bind by the escalating U.S. tariffs, as usual orders are not coming in, and some companies are being compelled to take extreme measures.

While Chinese social media is flooded with anti-U.S. propaganda and nationalist content, posts and videos warning of mass layoffs and prolonged “vacations” offer some indication of the unease spreading throughout an export-driven economy already struggling with high unemployment, shrinking profits, and declining foreign investment.

On April 11, U.S. President Donald Trump hiked the blanket tariff on most Chinese products to 145 percent in response to the Chinese regime slapping its own 125 percent retaliatory duty on American goods the same day.

In addition, Beijing on April 14 restricted the export of seven types of rare earth products critical for high-tech and military manufacturing in the United States and other countries.

According to a White House fact sheet published on April 15, some Chinese products may now face U.S. tariffs of up to 245 percent.

Trump has cited unfair trade practices and illegal drug trafficking as reasons for imposing the levies on Chinese goods.

Washington, particularly starting with the first Trump administration, has long called out the Chinese regime for decades of distortionary and protectionist economic policies, as well as rampant industrial espionage.

Trump also criticized Beijing for failing to curb the production and export of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which often entered the United States through Mexico.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a December 2024 press release that more than 107,000 people died from drug overdose in 2023, with nearly 70 percent of those deaths linked to opioids such as fentanyl.

Chinese Companies Feel the Crunch

Li Meng-chü, a Taiwanese businessman, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that the heightened U.S. tariffs will force a significant number of export-oriented factories in China to scale back their businesses or close entirely.

The owner of a factory that makes flashlights in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, told The Epoch Times that while export companies used to place three or four bulk orders with the factory a month, business has completely dried up as of late. Many workers who used to work six days a week now take three or four days off.

Li, the Taiwanese businessman, said that to his knowledge, factories in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong that produce electronics, garments, and lighting that had U.S. orders placed through to the end of the year, have now seen those orders abruptly canceled. Much stock has been left sitting in the factories.

The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language outlet, reported on April 10 that some Chinese exporters have opted to surrender their cargo to the shipping companies mid-voyage rather than deal with the new tariffs.

“No one will buy them after the tariffs are imposed,” the publication quoted one client as saying to a Chinese exporter.

Mainland Chinese outlet Caixin reported that the port of Shanghai—normally bustling with ships—was virtually empty on the day after the United States imposed its 145 percent tariff. The outlet expects U.S.–China shipping to fall by half in the near future.

In the wake of the tariff hikes, Chinese fashion giant Shein attempted to shift some of its production out of China, but was barred from doing so by the Chinese authorities.

The logo of fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou, China, on June 11, 2024. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Shein and Temu, another Chinese online retailer, will see price hikes (more…)