In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce an ex-US Army man who switched sides & is now working for the propaganda ministry of Russia. His name is Douglas Macgregor and he's one of the well-known commentators on the Russo-Ukrainian War, making predictions that never come true.
1/16
First, let's give credit where credit is due: he was a great war commander during the 90's. His risky "blitzkrieg" style tactic led to some great victories in the Gulf War, and journalist Thomas E. Ricks described him as "one of the Army's leading thinkers on innovation".
2/16
His book "Breaking the Phalanx" called for a total overhaul of US army tactics and the head of Army US General Dennis Reimer passed copies of the book to other generals. His other book, "Transformation under Fire", was required reading for all officers in the Israeli Army.
3/16
But his unconventional thinking probably hindered his chances for promotion & eventually he was sidelined. In 1997 US Army refused him for the 3rd time for a position of combat brigade commander - basically a death warrant for his Army career. In 2004 he left the Army.
4/16
Macgregor was one of the top planners in the 1999 attack and bombing on Serbia - a fact many vatniks (who usually also support Serbia) often fail to mention.
He later said that the US "put, essentially, a Muslim drug mafia in charge of that country."
5/16
Between 2017 and early 2022, Macgregor has appeared on Tucker Carlson's show 48 times (and many times since). Carlson has described him as a "one of the people we trust to give us real information."
You really can't make this shit up.
6/16
From his appearances on FOX, he was also noticed by Trump - In 2020 Macgregor was allegedly 2nd choice candidate for the position of undersecretary of defense for policy. He was also Trump's candidate for the position of US Ambassador to Germany.
7/16
Macgregor's capability to lie with a straight face was probably why Trump got so interested in him. When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Macgregor is a pathological liar. His predictions are similar to Jehova's witnesses predictions: they never come true.
8/16
Three days after the invasion begun, he predicted that "If they don't surrender in the next 24 hours, I suspect Russia will ultimately annihilate them."
He also said that "US should stay out of the conflict" and "avoid sending any aid to Ukrainian forces".
9/16
A few days later he said that "Russia has been too gentle" & that "I would say another 10 days this should be completely over." He's also called Zelenskyy a puppet and called for Ukraine's neutralization. After these comments, Tucker Carlson described him as an "honest man".10/16
In March, Ukrainians were, based on Macgregor, losing again: "grounded to bits. There's no question about that despite what we report on our mainstream media." In an interview by the Grayzone, he said that Putin is taking good care of civilians and this delays his victory.
11/16
In Sep, 2022, he again told Carlson that "this war may be over soon" and that "the Ukrainian army is bled white, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded. Ukraine is really on the ropes". This was a few months before Russian troops fled from Kherson.12/16
In Nov, 2022, he said that there are 540 000 Russian troops stationed at the outskirts of Ukraine preparing for a major, "war ending" offensive. 1000 rocket artillery systems and at least 1500 tanks. I guess these troops are still waiting for the right time for the attack.
13/16
Macgregor has also been accused of Anti-Semitism, calling Jews "rootless cosmopolitans" (old Russian pejorative epithet) and racism (he said that Mexican immigrants should be shot at the border; he also referred to blacks to as an "entitled underclass").
14/16
As we all know, Russia LOVES to use any media of US origin as a propaganda, both in their own country and elsewhere. Macgregor, along with Carlson, are providing endless amounts of propaganda material for them.
15/16
You can see this on fake news blogs, on Twitter, on FB: Macgregor's and Carlson's interviews and soundbites are one of the most used form of propaganda and disinformation:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American national security policy professional and the current under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby). He’s best-known for fighting with cartoon dogs online and for halting military aid to Ukraine.
1/21
Elbridge "Cheese" Colby earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Before entering government, he worked at top think tanks and in the intelligence community, focusing on nuclear policy and strategic planning.
2/21
Cheese quickly became a key voice for a “China First” strategy, arguing the US must prioritize military buildup in Asia over commitments in Europe or the Middle East. He sees (or saw, rather) Taiwan as the core test of US credibility.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’m going to talk about… Vatnik Soup! As some of you know, we also have a website where you can find every soup ever published. The site also has other useful resources, making it the most comprehensive resource on Russian disinformation & vatniks.
1/15
Unfortunately, Elon has flagged the website as malware, as he might not be very happy about the soups I wrote about him - so far, they have garnered over 60 million views on X/Twitter.
The “freedom of speech” spokesperson doesn’t seem too keen on free speech, after all.
2/15
The heart & soul of the website is of course the soups page. There you can find all 360+ soups, which can be sorted chronologically, by popularity, etc. You can also search for soups by title or even in the soup text:
In today’s Wumao Soup, I’ll introduce how and where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) online propaganda and influence operations work. Due to China’s massive population and advances in AI, CCP-aligned online content has become increasingly visible.
1/20
Like Russia’s troll farms, China has its own troll army: the “50 Cent Party” or “Wumao” refers to state-linked online commentators who are reportedly paid ¥0.50 per post to steer discussions away from criticism and amplify CCP narratives on social media.
2/20
Back in 2017, a research paper estimated that the Wumao produced almost 500 million fabricated comments annually to distract readers and shift topics. In that sense, Wumao operates very similarly to the Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” model:
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.