Making anglo North Americans even more paranoid and racist, getting them hyped for a war with China? Distract people from actually terrible things like the poisoned town in Ohio, increasing effects of climate change, our bleak present and even bleaker future? Is China just trolling the US and Canada? Aliens? What is going on lol
I do remember Summer of the Shark but I haven't met anyone my age who does lol. But that does make some sense, it's a repeated thing that gets people worked up while media companies just kicks back and gets the views. Except this time there's now 2 governments who are also fanning this and making big announcements about shooting down balloons and shit, I don't remember governors announcing everytime they killed a shark or shot a large underwater organic device or whatever