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
yeah every time someone suggests that some stupid story is a distraction for some important story, i feel like the reality is that the news-entertainment industrial complex is just structurally predisposed to stupidity and uninterested in anything important.
I think this balloon thing is more of a retaliation by the US for China meeting with Russia and snubbing Blinken (after being snubbed by Blinken first).
This is the US showing that they can manufacture Cassius Belli from thin air to attack China, but I don't think China's budging. They ignored the phone calls and are calling the bluff.