In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce an American, pro-Russian politician and a conspiracy theorist, Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG). She's also a US representative for Georgia and member of the Republican Party, and is best known for her love of guns and QAnon.
1/15
She started her political career after the 2016 Republican Party primaries, and in 2017 she was writing dozens of articles for fake news blogs such as the American Truth Seekers and Law Enforcement Today. In 2018 she was also "moderating" a FB page for the Family America...
2/15
... Project, an organization known for posting death threats against Democrats, racist post against the Obama's and generally supporting the wackiest conspiracy theories out there.
Greene knows her audience and campaigns accordingly: ...
3/15
... she's shared a meme of herself holding a AR-15 rifle next to collage of various Democratic politicians. Nancy Pelosi called this a "threat of violence" and the post was removed, after which Marjorie said that she was being the victim of "cancel culture".
4/15
Later on she went and called Pelosi a "hypocrite" & a "bitch". She's also expressed support for execution of FBI agents & some leading Democrats, including Pelosi, Obama and H. Clinton. When asked about their hangings, she said "Stage is being set. [...] We must be patient."
5/15
In the eyes of Trump, Andy Biggs, Matt Gaetz, Charlie Kirk, and L. Lin Wood, she was apparently the perfect candidate to represent the US demographic who loved guns, conspiracy theories (and possibly opiates, too).
Marjorie is also a stout supporter of Russia and Putin.
6/15
In Mar, 2022, she said that "Ukraine just kept poking the bear, poking the bear which is Russia, and Russia invaded" and that "There is no win for Ukraine here". She concluded that "Russia is being very successful in their invasion."
7/15
She also declared that "NATO has been supplying the neo-Nazis in Ukraine with powerful weapons and extensive training" and concluded her message with the hashtag #NATONazis. She has also voted against every sanctions proposal against Russia and aid package for Ukraine.
8/15
Greene identifies as a "Christian nationalist", which may also explain the close relation with the Russians: Putin has been described as a global leader of the Christian nationalist movement.
9/15
Marjorie has supported many, many conspiracy theories in the past, including white genocide, Great Replacement, Sandy Hook school shooting, Camp Fire space solar generators and of course QAnon.
10/15
Greene hasn't only supported existing conspiracy theories, she's also made her own - she has suggested, that to make Republicans go along with gun control, 4th of July Highland Park mass shooting was organized to happen during "MAGA month".
11/15
Marjorie has suggested that there are links between Hillary Clinton, pedophilia and human sacrifice, and she has stated that the Pizzagate is real. She discovered QAnon through Liz Crokin, and said that many of Q's prophecies "have really proven to be true".
12/15
In her famous quote, she said that "There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president [referring to Donald Trump] to do it."
She later distanced herself from the QAnon movement.
13/15
Marjorie was condemned and criticized by several representatives, which eventually made her to delete some of her old social media posts. She was also removed from House Committee assignments. Greene might also be the first person to be condemned by the CrossFit community.
14/15
She's also referred the US Capitol police as "gazpacho police", confusing the delicious Spanish soup gazpacho with the secret police of the Nazi Germany, Gestapo.
Greene's personal Twitter account was reinstated by Musk in Nov, 2022.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian-Estonian businessman, Oleg Ossinovski. He is best-known for his deep ties to Russian rail and energy networks, shady cross-border dealings, and for channeling his wealth into Estonian politics.
1/14
Oleg made his fortune via Spacecom Trans & Skinest Rail, both deeply tied to Russia’s rail system. Most of this is through Globaltrans Investments PLC, a Cyprus-based firm with 62% held via Spacecom and tens of millions in yearly profits.
2/14
Ossinovski’s Russian-linked ventures made him Estonia’s richest man in 2014, with an estimated fortune of ~€300M. His business empire stretched across railways, oil via Alexela shares, and Russian bitumen imports from Help-Oil, a supplier to the Defense Ministry.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Swiss/French writer, Alain Bonnet, aka Alain Soral (@officielsoral). He’s best known for his rabid antisemitism and for his pathetic support for all the worst authoritarian regimes from Russia to North Korea.
1/22
Alain’s childhood was problematic, as his father has been characterized as a “narcissistic pervert” who beat his children and did jail time for fraud. Alain himself has said he was “programmed to be a monster.” Born Alain Bonnet, he took the stage name of his sister,…
2/22
… actress Agnès Soral. She wasn’t too happy about this, commenting “How would you like to be called Agnès Hitler?”. Like many grifters, he became a pick-up/seduction artist writer, à la late Gonzalo Lira, writing books and even making a B-movie, “Confessions d’un dragueur”.
3/22
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.