In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a Dutch "independent journalist", a columnist and a conspiracy theorist, Sonja van den Ende (@SonjaEnde). Sonja was recruited to report on Ukraine by Alexander Dugin through his Euroasia organization in March, 2022.
1/12
Before the invasion, she was reporting from Syria, and even claimed to be related to the al-Assad family through her now-ex husband. She has accused the US and Israel of mass murder in Syria, and has praised Putin for his help in "defending the Syrian people".
2/12
Van den Ende has spread conspiracy theories about the Syrian volunteer group the White Helmets, and she was also (naturally) involved in various COVID-19 and WEF related conspiracies.
3/12
She has contributed to GRU-owned disinformation mills InfoRos and Oneworld. She also has her own column in the Prigozhin-owned RiaFan. Some of her works include a made-up story of a Dutch woman harvesting organs from Ukrainian soldiers and sending them ...
4/12
... to countries such as Israel and Germany.
In 2017 she visited Ukraine by the invitation of Russian propaganda group Global Rights of Peaceful People (who comes up with these ridiculous names?). She has also protested against the official MH17 investigation.
5/12
Sonja was also one of the "foreign observers" in the sham vote for the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Russia accepted anyone who'd come to "observe the legality of the vote", and Sonja was of course one of the volunteers.
6/12
Others include European far-right politicians, pro-Russia bloggers and propagandists, and people from the African National Congress Youth League. As most of us know, nobody took these annexation votes seriously, but it didn't stop these people from celebrating the result.
7/12
Together with the other usual suspects such as Alina Lipp & Eva Bartlett,Sonja attended the international conference "Evidence of mass war crimes of the armed forces & national units of Ukraine",which is basically a Kremlin-organized propaganda event defaming Ukrainians.
8/12
In Jan, 2023, she also attended International Press Forum "Journalists under the scope: attacks on freedom of speech & reprisals against reporters. How to preserve lives and guarantee safety?", a propaganda event by a Russian propagandist Mira Terada (real name Oksana Vovk).
9/12
So far van den Ende has refuted Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Mariupol hospital. She's also denied any Russian wrongdoing in Bucha, and blamed the Ukrainians for Olenivka prison massacre.
10/12
Van den Ende has stated that she can't go back to the Netherlands because she'd be arrested. As of today, there are no ongoing investigations on her activities, and no sanctions have been imposed on her.
11/12
The Kremlin has paid and provided her with a flat in Moscow, where she allegedly resides when she's not doing false flag operations in Donbas. She often travels around with her 22-year old daughter, who does the photographing and filming for Sonja.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll explain the context of the upcoming Budapest Blunder, and how it follows the infamous Alaska Fiasco from two months ago and Trump’s absurd delaying of serious aid to Ukraine and effective sanctions on Russia for the past nine months.
1/20
Two months ago, Trump embarrassed the United States by rolling out the red carpet for war criminal dictator Putin and overall acting like a pathetic servant eager to meet his master. Of course, the Alaska Fiasco didn’t bring peace any closer.
Worse, the main outcome of the humiliation was to delay serious sanctions, which the US Congress, in rare bipartisan unity against Russia, was on the verge of passing. Two weeks by two weeks, Trump Always Chickens Out, postponing any real pressure on Putin for 9 months now.
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.