In today's #vatnik soup, I'll be discussing one of the most resilient and widespread conspiracies out there: World Economic Forum (WEF), The Great Reset and the "New World Order".
WEF is a lobbying organization founded by Klaus Schwab (@ProfKlausSchwab) in the 70s... 1/10
... and is best known for their annual Davos meeting where billionaires and politicians "shape global, regional and industry agendas".
The Great Reset is an initiative launched in 2020 by Schwab's club and it aims to rebuild the post-COVID-19 society in a sustainable way.
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The three key aspects of the program are: green growth, smarter growth and fairer growth. Sounds pretty demonic, eh?
Why do the Russians want to spread this conspiracy? Because it would neutralize their economic stronghold of fossil fuels.
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The Great Reset focuses on green, renewable energy that would slow down the climate warming. This paradigm shift would ruin their business model (although the war already did that...) of selling natural gas and oil to fund their war efforts.
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Many fringe groups have created conspiracies around this program, claiming that COVID-19 was created by a secret group to seize control of the global economy. This theory suggests that lockdowns and other restrictions were designed to crash the global economy ...
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...so that Schwab's socialist system could take over.
In addition, many groups and individuals claim that "deadly COVID-19 vaccines" are used to enslave humanity and reduce populations greatly.These stories often involve influential people such as Bill Gates and George Soros.6/10
Schwab has stated that his "4th Industrial Revolution" would blur the lines between real world and digital, and that it includes technologies such as AI, IoT & nanotechnology.
Based on Klaus' vision, Danish MP Ida Auken (@IdaAuken) published an essay called ...
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... "Welcome To 2030: I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy And Life Has Never Been Better" which emphasized the importance of sustainability through renting and borrowing instead of owning stuff in the near future.WEF also produced a video based on this essay.
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It was a PR disaster, and it became one of the most widely spread "evidence" for the Great Reset conspiracy theory.
Snopes has traced the origins of this conspiracy to QAnon groups and the 8kun social media site. Russell Brand made a video on it:
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One of the first countries where this conspiracy spread quickly was Canada. A British journalist Oliver Kamm has stated that the Great Reset conspiracy theory has been widely disseminated by Russian disinformation channels. It is especially popular on sites like 4chan.
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In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the state of X in May 2025. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, this platform has rapidly transformed into his personal political tool and a breeding ground for hate speech and disinformation.
1/22
Not everyone is following this shitshow as closely as I am, so I thought it would be good to write a summary of all the changes that have happened on this forum and outside of it. These changes have drastically changed how the platform operates and who gets “a voice” here.
2/22
Elon’s team has been tweaking the algorithm many times after the takeover. One of these tweaks happened already around Nov 2022, when the platform heavily suppressed the visibility of pro-Ukraine accounts. This change was then noticed & reported by many pro-Ukraine accounts.
3/22
In today’s 350th Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American comedian and podcaster, Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith). He’s best-known for his numerous appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience and for his unhinged takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/22
Smith has a massive megaphone - he’s a good friend of Joe Rogan, and he’s appeared on Joe’s podcast a whopping 16 times. Naturally, he’s also visited Lex Fridman’s podcast and frequently appears on Fox News’ Kennedy and The Greg Gutfeld Show.
2/22
Dave is part of the Kremlintarian section of the Libertarian Party called Mises Caucus. They took control of the party in May 2022, and with the help of their new leader, Angela McArdle, turned it into an extension of the MAGA Republicans:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian journalist, Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin). He’s best-known for posing as a Russian dissident, while at the same time sneakily promoting the Kremlin’s narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/20
On paper, Leonid doesn’t look like your typical Kremlin apologist - he’s written and worked for prestigious Western outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and he’s even written some Lonely Planet guides for the Baltic countries!
2/20
But Ragozin’s public commentary often seems to walk a fine line: condemning the war while pushing narratives that shift blame, dilute responsibility, or quietly carry the same old imperial baggage Russia - or its opposition - has never truly forgotten.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a bank that is well-known in both Austria and Russia: Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen. It is one of the few foreign banks that still does business in Russia.
1/21
Raiffeisen’s Russian branch was founded in 1996 and expanded dramatically after the acquisition of Russia’s Impexbank in 2006. A year later, it was the largest bank trading in foreign capital (seventh in size) in Russia.
2/21
In the early 2000s, Raiffeisen opened new branches in Russia, including in Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar. After 2018, it focused on digital expansion and by 2021 it had a digital presence in more than 300 cities.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”
1/20
Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.
2/20
Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.
1/17
In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.
2/17
Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.