Hi Global Recap readers,
I’ve spent years around NGOs.
Honestly, that’s a big part of why I grew to distrust them. In my 20s, I worked closely enough to see how they operate up close.
Without real free-market pressure, leadership often has little incentive to innovate or run lean. Efficiency becomes optional.
And too many organizations don’t just respond to public concern—they manufacture it, then use that pressure to push governments into funding their operations.
Meanwhile, the people doing the actual work are often underpaid and overworked, while senior leadership collects outsized compensation.
Not all NGOs. But enough of the ones I dealt with.
That’s why I’m extremely skeptical of what might be happening below. 👇🏼
🇪🇺 EUROPE
Europe’s Verified X Rival
At Davos, a coalition of European politicians and entrepreneurs unveiled W, a would-be X alternative built around mandatory de-anonymization. It's being pitched as a Europe-governed platform for people who want off X for political reasons.
It's called W. Yes.
Scene. The reveal happened at the World Economic Forum in Davos. W’s CEO, Anna Zeiter, an ex-lawyer and eBay’s former VP of AI and Privacy, framed it as a "better version of Twitter" that would be "governed and hosted in Europe."
Pitch. Zeiter’s argument is that disinformation is eroding public trust and that Europe shouldn’t outsource the infrastructure that carries public debate.
W is framed around three pillars: “human verification,” “free speech,” and “data privacy.”
This is paired with a pledge that governance and hosting remain in Europe rather than being shaped by shifting platform politics elsewhere.
Long story short: the government may be able to police speech while retaining the ability to identify the person behind any post at any time. However, this may be resonable, given that the concept of “free speech” is understood differently in the EU than in the US. Different definition, different rules.
Catch. The price of entry is identity. Users will reportedly need identification plus photo validation to open an account, intended to prove you are real and not a bot, while also removing the protective layer of anonymity that many people treat as the whole point of online speech.
Backers. This is not being sold as a neutral tech product. The advisory board includes:
Former German Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler
Two former Swedish ministers, Club of Rome President Sandrine Dixson-Declève, and EuroStack co-founder Cristina Caffara
W will operate as a subsidiary of the climate activist organization We Don’t Have Time.
📊 Poll
Remember: there are already plenty of alternatives to X—Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads among them.
So the real question isn’t whether an alternative is needed, but why this particular one is being promoted.
Also, who would actually prefer a government-linked, de-anonymized platform over existing options?
Most tech platforms succeed by reducing friction at signup and in everyday use.
W does the opposite: it raises the barrier to entry through identity verification and tighter governance.
That makes its market logic unclear. If it’s meant to compete as a consumer product, why would users choose the highest-friction option in an already crowded field?
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
TikTok Deal
Gets Greenlight
ByteDance says it has locked in a new, majority American-owned U.S. joint venture for TikTok, built to sidestep an American ban.
US and global investors get 80.1%
ByteDance keeps 19.9%
Trigger. Today, ByteDance announced that a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will secure US user data, the app, and the recommendation algorithm for the platform. The recommendation algorithm retrained, tested, and updated using U.S. user data, and it will live inside Oracle’s US cloud.
Ownership. The venture will be controlled by American and global investors with 80.1%, while ByteDance sits at 19.9%. Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi based investment firm MGX are the three managing investors, each holding 15%, giving them a combined 45% anchor stake and real operational leverage.
Politics. President Trump publicly cheered the agreement, calling the new owners “Great American Patriots and Investors,” and even thanked China’s Xi Jinping for approving it.
Leaders. TikTok says Adam Presser and Will Farrell, both tied to prior TikTok USDS work, will run the venture as CEO and chief security officer. TikTok CEO Shou Chew will sit on the board, keeping the company’s global leadership in the room even as ByteDance’s ownership drops below 20%.
📌 Context. U.S. officials have spent years arguing that ByteDance’s ownership makes TikTok a national security risk, pushing for a sale or a ban. A 2024 U.S. law forcing divestiture was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
Help is on the Way (Again)
A U.S. carrier strike group is reportedly steaming into the Middle East in the next few days, even as Trump dials down his toughest Iran talk.
Meanwhile, just hours ago, President Trump posted a segment from Hannity about a “massive flotilla” of American warships.
Was Trump truly just buying time for US assets to reach the Middle East?
Signal. On Thursday, January 22, two U.S. officials said a carrier strike group and other US military assets will arrive in the Middle East “in the coming days,.”
Move. The centerpiece is the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, joined by several destroyers and fighter aircraft.
It began moving from the Asia-Pacific last week as US-Iran tensions jumped.
During this movement, President Trump started to tone his rhetoric down, while Iran’s Islamic regime reportedly continued to massacre protestors.
A gunman reportedly shooting civilians in Tehran earlier this month.
Click for video
Pivot. The timing is truly awkward.
Recently, Trump has dialed back his most forceful rhetoric, prompting some supporters to accuse him of egging protestors on and then stepping aside when the Islamic regime cut off the internet and continued killing civilians.
Even amid that criticism, others have argued he may be buying time—waiting until the US has positioned the necessary assets in the Middle East.
🇻🇪 VENEZUELA
US Puts Price Floor
Washington just told Beijing it can keep buying Venezuelan crude, but not at the bargain-basement rates Caracas used under Maduro, according to a US official.
This is contrary to what some were speculating: pressure China by choking off its cheap oil supply.
Setup. The Trump administration is reportedly letting China continue to purchase Venezuelan oil, but only at "fair market prices," not the "unfair, undercut" prices the official said prevailed before Maduro was removed.
Numbers. US Energy Secretary Wright said last week the US was receiving about $45 per barrel for Venezuelan oil, compared to roughly $31 before Maduro’s capture. The official framed the policy as forcing better terms so Venezuelans "will collect a fair price" from China and other buyers.
Fallout. China has been Venezuela’s top oil buyer for years, in part to service big debt-for-oil deals, but traders and analysts expect China’s imports from Venezuela to slump starting in February as fewer tankers manage to leave after the US claimed control over the Venezuela's oil sales.
