Dr. Ian Garner Profile picture
Mar 8, 2022 6 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Quick thread: The big Russian Z campaign is still flopping. These poor local government employees have been voluntold into this photo op, one of the top hits on Insta. They don’t look elated to be there.
Here are the top #за (#za) hashtags on Instagram, which is still being widely used despite last week’s official block. None of the tags relate to the campaign.
Here are the top 30 or so #za posts. Just 2 have anything to do with the campaign, and 1 of those looks suspiciously full of bot replies.
One of the big tags being pushed, #зароссию (For Russia) has barely 80,000 posts.
Even Russians who are using the Za hashtags aren’t going in for the imagery. They’re adorning themselves with flags and national colours.
So, as I said yesterday, the Z campaign is really not taking off. And it’s not going to, no matter how much the government pushes it.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Dr. Ian Garner

Dr. Ian Garner Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @irgarner

Mar 4
🧵 Another bizarre piece from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian. This time, he lays into the idea that Russia is any threat at all to Western Europe then, bizarrely, implies that Putin has had no hand in choosing his aggressive path. Let’s take it apart.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
First, Jenkins brings up “Godwin’s Law,” which is, frankly, a terrible argument. It’s a gambit used to lazily dismiss serious arguments about the nature of the past or dictatorships (see also: anyone who says fascism cannot exist today). Image
Jenkins then brings up two disastrously weak and ill-informed claims in one line, which is good going even by his standards:
Read 17 tweets
Feb 25
Here's what a Russian attack on the UK looks like:
- Cyber attacks target healthcare, banking, energy. They look like they come from criminal gangs, not the Kremlin.
- Moscow funnels money to criminals in the UK to commit arson, larceny, and violence.
- Now the nasty bit...
- ...UK is in low-level chaos. Government not sure if/how to respond.
- A series of bombs go off in UK cities, killing dozens.
- Russia buzzes UK air and naval space with planes and boats. Is this enough for the UK to act?
- London does not confront Russia.
- More bombs go off in cities.
- The country is worried & the economy is tanking. The energy grid is buckling. Banks are beginning to creak.
- A bomb on a UK commercial airplane explodes, killing every passenger on board.
Read 6 tweets
Jan 25
My new article on how deranged Russian nationalists were engaging in memory warfare online before the state got involved is out today! Here’s how grassroots myth-making around WWII shaped narratives that appear in Putin's propaganda now. 🧵 Image
I looked at an online hub of nationalist, alt-history sci-fi back in the 2010s. Members co-wrote and self-published wacky time-travel tales set during pivotal moments in history. They're obviously all shit and unreadable, but... sciendo.com/article/10.247…
They were absolutely obsessed with Stalingrad, which they saw as a mythic moment of annihilation & resurrection. Their heroes, emasculated men from the present, fought Nazis, space lizards, and—importantly—nasty, nasty Americans to make "new" Stalingrads.
Read 9 tweets
Dec 4, 2024
🧵 Let's take these absurd claims apart 1 more time:

"It started in 2014 with the Ukraine coup and the counter-coup."

- Not a coup. A largely peaceful protest, which was supported nationwide, ended when the Ukrainian President ordered protesters killed then fled the country.
"In 2014, we had about 25 years of successful free-speech diplomacy, and then we successfully overthrew the government of Ukraine."

- Unless "we" are Ukrainians, then "we" didn't do anything.
Protesters "surrounded the parliament building and ran the democratically elected government out of office."

- See point 1. Protesters protest. Forces opens fire. President flees.
Read 9 tweets
Sep 14, 2024
“RT’s efforts include…recruiting Western political commentators and influencers, including Canadians, with the goal of leveraging them to produce and disseminate content that would reduce Western public & political support for Ukraine.”

Hmmm. 🤔

canada.ca/en/global-affa…
I wonder who they might be thinking of. Can’t fucking wait to find out!
On a personal level, I’m very disappointed the Kremlin has never tried to recruit me, as I’ve never had a chance to tell them to fuck off.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 7, 2024
Independent filmmakers do not simply rock up in occupied Ukraine to spend months filming Russian troops “unauthorized.” Image
25 years of the Putin regime and still people do not get that there is no freedom of speech in Russia. There is no journalistic establishment. There is no spirit of open inquiry. There is just the state and state control.
Maybe it’s a brilliant film. I don’t know. I haven’t seen it. But it’s been made in collaboration with the Russian state. Inexcusable that Canadian organizations should be funding it.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(