{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":690980,"platform":"mastodon","region":"global","key":"the european union, and most of the the world, for all it matters, is wasting trillions of dollars in thaad and patriot","title":"The European Union, and most of the the world, for all it matters, is wasting trillions of Dollars in THAAD and Patriot","url":"https://mastodon.social/@timagal/117369347446087732","first_seen":"2026-10-02T04:21:45.146694Z","last_seen":"2026-10-02T04:21:45.146694Z","last_rank":7,"peak_rank":2,"last_volume":2,"peak_volume":2,"seen_count":1,"score":0.9371875,"category_hint":"ukraine","section":"war","category":"ukraine","summary":"A commentary circulating online claims the European Union and much of the world are wasting trillions of dollars on expensive THAAD and Patriot interceptor missiles, arguing that automated anti-aircraft guns like Second World War flak would be a cheaper answer to drones and other aerial threats. The claim has sparked debate over cost-effectiveness of missile defence, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine.","why":"Ongoing debate over the cost and effectiveness of expensive missile interceptors against cheap drones in the Ukraine war.","tone":"neutral","entities":["European Union","THAAD","Patriot","Ukraine"],"summarized_at":"2026-10-02T04:22:59.142425Z","meta":{"tag":"ukrainewar","via":"scan","kind":"status","lang":"en","instance":"mastodon.social","tag_uses":358},"nw":null,"promo":null,"kind":null,"importance":null,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":null,"title_en":"Critics argue air defence billions should go to cheaper flak guns","section_name":"War","category_name":"Ukraine","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-10-02T04:21:45.146694Z","rank":2,"volume":2},{"captured_at":"2026-10-02T04:21:45.146694Z","rank":7,"volume":2}],"posts":[{"platform":"mastodon","url":"https://mastodon.social/@timagal/117369347446087732","author":"timagal","title":null,"snippet":"The European Union, and most of the the world, for all it matters, is wasting trillions of Dollars in THAAD and Patriot interceptors, when the weapon of the future is a weapon of the past: the WW2 FlaK... It just needs automation. # EU # europeanunion # Ukraine # UkraineWar #…","posted_at":"2026-10-02T04:08:35.086000Z","likes":2}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}