>
Other famous incidence of spying are all the ones the US is doing without getting caught and nobody actually knows about. >

If nobody knows about it, it isn't famous >

You do realize that the balloon was basically a laser pointer on a wall?   It's not the balloon that was spying, it was simply the focal point used to track and manipulate our actions via social media.   It's not an accident that most of the world first saw video of the balloon on TikTok.   We're all just a bunch of cats jumping at flickering light. >

You may be right.
And now they may have information on perceptions of the US population, which they will then weaponize like the Russians.
Tinfoil Hat Warning Beijing is helping Moscow skirt sanctions, so maybe it was the Russians who gave the Chinese new ideas for manipulating US public perception for their own goals as recompense. China wants Taiwan, and is probably trying to preemptive instigate war fatigue in order to sway US policy regarding Taiwan. >

Anything that ballon would have gathered would have been available via satellite imaging >

You can't steer that kind of balloon. It's been tried, for centuries. You can adjust bouyancy to take advantage of different winds at different altitudes, but not steer.