In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a British freelance journalist, agitator and propagandist, Graham Phillips. In his articles and videos he favors Russia heavily, even though he calls himself an "independent journalist".
1/13
Graham moved to Ukraine in 2010 and started working as an English teacher. He also started writing a blog, Brit in Ukraine, with articles on football, politics, history, and prostitution. The last topic was apparently his favorite, as he wrote a lot about prostitutes, ...
2/13
... students moonlighting as escorts and foreign bride-hunters. He wrote about his first encounter with a prostitute in Amsterdam in a following manner: "A new high had replaced the drugs, and I exhaled 'I love prostitutes' into an appreciative Amsterdam night."
3/13
He also interviewed prostitutes on a floating Brothel on the Dnieper River and concluded that "Ukraine speaks to the wildness in me".
After these sexual escapades he focused on his writings, but one of his books was withdrawn due to a threat of legal action & another one...
4/13
... - incidentally about an American searching for an Ukrainian bride - was never finished. He found himself unemployed, and his relationship ended because she was more interested in Euromaidan than in him.
5/13
His critical reporting of the mass protests caught the eye of RT producers, who asked him to comment the situation via Skype for propaganda purposes.He made good money as the Kremlin-sponsored propagandists, and for a while he was the only RT reporter working in Ukraine.
6/13
It seems that his experiences in Ukraine made him bitter, & he soon started talking about "Kiev [sic] junta" & "Ukrainian fascists". He started freelancing for RT, "reporting" around 🇺🇦. He's been caught by the AFU and deported several times, and each time he has returned.
7/13
In Sep, 2016 he taunted a disabled Ukrainian POW who had lost both of his arms and sight in a mine blast. Earlier that year he was disrupting the Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires events and was deported to Russia.
8/13
When looking at Graham's publicity stunts, there are MANY. In Aug, 2016, he entered the investigative journalism organization Correctiv's office and demanded an interview with MH17 investigator Marcus Bensmann.
9/13
In Jan, 2017 he was thrown out of the UK Parliament loudly condemning UK's support for Ukraine. He's been creating and spreading pro-Russian disinformation in Donbas area. In 2018, he disrupted a press conference by Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins, calling him a "NATO agent".
10/13
After 🇷🇺's invasion began, Phillips went immediately back to Ukraine. In Apr '22 he interviewed Aiden Aislin,a British-Ukrainian soldier captured by the Russians.Publishing interviews of POWs is against the Geneve Conventions & he may face a war crime prosecution for this.
11/13
For his "great work", Border Service (a branch of FSB) awarded him with a "Border Brotherhood" medal. He's also been awarded several medals by the Luhansk and Donetsk oblast separatists. In Nov, 2020, he was awarded the "War Correspondent" medal in Moscow.
12/13
In Jul, 2022, Phillips became the first British-born citizen to be sanctioned, when UK placed him under sanctions and froze his assets.
Today he has a tiny following on Rumble and Odysee, platforms that nobody gives a shit about.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
1/17
For years, Tsaulin was known for organizing marches and events glorifying the Soviet Union. Under the excuse of “remembering history,” these events were nothing more than Kremlin propaganda, wrapped in a red flag with a hammer and sickle.
2/17
One of his most infamous events was the “Immortal Regiment” march, held every 9th of May, where people carried portraits of Soviet soldiers. These marches are used by Russia to push the idea that the Baltics owe their existence to the Soviets.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan (@joerogan). He’s best-known for launching the biggest podcast in the world, promoting various conspiracy theories, his support for Donald Trump and his anti-Ukraine rhetoric.
1/22
Joe Rogan started as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, found fame on NewsRadio, and became a household name with Fear Factor. But his biggest impact came in 2009 when he launched The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the first major podcasts.
2/22
JRE started as casual but deep conversations, often covering countercultural topics like psychedelics, MMA & hunting. Joe’s podcasting style is largely non-confrontational, often allowing his guests to share their views without significant pushback or critical questioning.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce KOOS party leader and Estonian crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov. He’s best known for running shady businesses, spreading Russian false narratives in Estonia, and participating in the pro-Kremlin political party KOOS.
1/18
As a talented youngster, Oleg learned Estonian almost flawlessly, was a promising karate athlete, and landed a job at a law firm at just 20. He caught the eye of Estonian fuel entrepreneur Endel Siff, who quickly took him under his wing.
2/18
Oleg’s father, Vladimir Ivanov, was a longtime politician from the Russian-funded United People’s Party of Estonia. His career at the town hall ended abruptly when he was caught drunk at work. After that, he went into business with his son, Oleg.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
1/25
“Illiberal populists” like Trump reject democratic norms while claiming to speak for “the people.” They centralize power, attack institutions, and push nationalism over rights. Elections exist, but checks & balances erode. This is democracy in name, autocracy in action.
2/25
The media landscape has changed drastically over the past two decades. The Internet and social media have changed how we interact online & how we consume media,but it has also become our main source of news. In many ways,social media companies have control over information.