In today's #vatnik soup I'll be introducing an Australian propagandist and ex-news reporter, Mary Kostakidis (@MaryKostakidis). She's best known for her storming out from the SBS newsroom in 2007, after which she's been mostly doing hot takes on the US & NATO, Russia & China.1/11
Mary was setting up the SBS Television in the early 80s, and presented World News on the channel until 2007. In Aug, 2007, she stormed out of the SBS newsroom, protesting the increase in advertising time during the program and never looked back.
2/11
She's a former Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation, a non-profit that's associated with the University of Sydney. They present the annual "Sydney Peace Prize", and some of the winners of this trophy include John Pilger and Noam Chomsky.
3/11
On 20, Feb, 2022, she was one of the signees in an open letter to the Australian government, calling for "US de-escalation" on the situation in Ukraine. The letter stated that "for more than a month now we have been subjected to cries of 'an imminent invasion of ...
4/11
... Ukraine by Russian forces' by the western press. We have been told that Putin has an invasion plan but no evidence of that has been given. Putin has consistently said that no invasion by Russia is planned or intended."
Russia invaded Ukraine four days later.
5/11
Her online presence is mostly on Twitter, where she retweets and comments on most prominent pro-Russian propagandists, including Caitlin Johnstone, Vanessa Beeley, Patrick Lancaster, George Galloway, Eva Bartlett, the Grayzone bloggers and Cameron Leckie.
6/11
I think that the most unbelievable thing about Kostakidis is that she worked almost thirty years in the newsroom, and today pretty much the only news she quotes come from fake news blogs and disinformation mills, or from paid pro-Russian propagandists.
7/11
But tweets speak louder than words, so here's some of the gems from her timeline (yes, I went through the thing and yes, it was painful):
8/11
- Mary celebrates BRICS collaboration with Putin and friends
- Mary shares the made-up story of "genocide in Donbas", as reported by the fake news blog CovertAction Magazine
- Mary shares Russian disinformation with paid actors in Mariupol
9/11
Naturally she has also parroted the Russian revisionism of NATO expansion.
10/11
Also, she's shared straight-up conspiracy theories about the MH17 plane shot down by the Russians, lies about "thousands of young Ukrainians" being tied to poles and tortured, and of course some high quality TASS propaganda.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American propagandist Alexandra Jost, aka “Sasha” (@sashameetsrus). She’s best known for being paid by the Russian state to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda — and for doing it with a big smile.
1/23
Alexandra, now 26, was born in Hong Kong. Her father is from Texas, and her mother is from Siberia. According to her, she has “dreamed of living in Russia since childhood.” Sasha's mother runs a dance studio in Moscow and her younger brother is avoiding mobilization.
2/23
Since the beginning of her creator career, Sasha has been adamant about one thing: that she’s “never had to be paid” to speak of her “love” for Russia. But, as always with Russia, this turned out to be nothing but vranyo — a Russian “tactical lie.”
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll reintroduce an American political commentator and pro-Kremlin propagandist, Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson). He’s best known for his promotion of crazy conspiracy theories and for his support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
1/24
Tucker’s career spans decades, but he’s also been very active in recent years, so a lot has happened since our previous soup on him, which can be found here:
Once described as “the most powerful conservative in America”, Tucker has now fully transformed into a grifting conspiracy theorist and propagandist willing to work for whoever pays him the most. It’s unclear whether Tucker truly believes his endless conspiracy theories or…
3/24
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.