In today's #vatnik soup (thanks Mike Edward,.@OpsATX for the name!) I'll be introducing the Editor of the @TheGrayzoneNews, Max Blumenthal (.@MaxBlumenthal). In his previous life, he reported on prestigious publications such as NYT, LA Times and Al Jazeera English... 1/10
...often writing about the 🇮🇱-🇵🇸 conflict and doing hot takes on 🇺🇸 politics. In his political views,Max's worldview appears to be on the far-left spectrum (the 🇺🇸 far-left, not the European kind)and for example in the early 00's he wrote a lot about immigration issues in 🇺🇸.2/10
Later in his career he has been appearing on 🇷🇺 state-owned Sputnik and RT, but also actively spreading disinformation on his "news" website The Grayzone.He has defended RT in an interview with Tucker Carlson,stating that the media company does not spread Kremlin propaganda. 3/10
In 2015 Blumenthal made a trip to Moscow RT's 10 Years on Air anniversary party. The trip was allegedly paid for by the Kremlin and the party was attended by people like Vladimir Putin, Michael Flynn and Ken Livingstone. 4/10
His 2009 best-selling book Republican Gomorrah was inspired by Erich Fromm's work on people willing to give up their freedom via an identification with authoritarian and charismatic leaders - I'm sure you can spot the irony here. 5/10
Max has made bold claims on his website, e.g. that the Syria Civil Defence aka The White Helmets were connected to Al-Qaeda and that they were backed by Western governments and PR groups. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Hel…
6/10
He has also published an article about Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, casting doubt on the Syrian government's responsibility. UN investigation disagreed with Mr Blumenthal's view on the issue and stated that the Syrian government was indeed responsible for the attack.
7/10
He has also claimed already on 26th of February, 2022, that the Ukraine's regular military has been "vanquished", and that "Washington seeks to fund a CIA-backed insurgency to ratchet up civil war and destabilize Russia's frontiers".
In addition, Max has suggested that the Mariupol theater airstrike that killed women and children was a "false flag attack" by Ukrainian AZOV batallion to trigger NATO intervention. thegrayzone.com/2022/03/18/bom…
9/10
Ukrainian fact-checking organization StopFake lists Blumenthal as a pro-Russia journalist who promotes Russian propaganda. stopfake.org/en/russia-s-un…
10/10
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explain the Alaska Fiasco and how it marks the peak of Trump’s two-year betrayal of Ukraine. What was sold as “peace talks” turned into a spectacle of weakness, humiliation, empty promises, and photo-ops that handed Putin exactly what he wanted.
1/24
Let’s start with the obvious: Trump desperately wants the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly because Obama got one. That’s why he’s now LARPing as a “peace maker” in every conflict: Israel-Gaza, Azerbaijan-Armenia, India-Pakistan, and of course Ukraine-Russia.
2/24
Another theory is that Putin holds kompromat — compromising material such as videos or documents — that would put Trump in an extremely bad light. Some have suggested it could be tied to the Epstein files or Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about engagement farming: a cynical social media tactic to rack up likes, shares, and comments. From rage farming to AI-powered outrage factories, engagement farming is reshaping online discourse and turning division into profit.
1/23
Engagement farming is a social media tactic aimed at getting maximum likes, shares, and comments, with truth being optional. It thrives on provocative texts, images, or videos designed to spark strong reactions, boost reach, and turn online outrage into clicks and cash.
2/23
One subset of engagement farming is rage farming: a tactic built to provoke strong negative emotions through outrageous or inflammatory claims. By triggering anger or moral outrage, these posts often generate 100s or even 1,000s of heated comments, amplifying their reach.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the autocratic concept of “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars”: the idea that the leader is wise and just, but constantly sabotaged by corrupt advisors. This narrative shields the ruler from blame, and it’s used by both Putin and Trump today.
1/20
The phrase “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars” (Царь хороший, бояре плохие), also known as Naïve Monarchism, refers to a long-standing idea in Russian political culture: the ruler is good and benevolent, but his advisors are corrupt, incompetent and responsible for all failures.
2/20
From this perception, any positive action taken by the government is viewed as being an accomplishment of the benevolent leader, whereas any negative one is viewed as being caused by lower-level bureaucrats or “boyars”, without the approval of the leader.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.