In today's #vatnik soup, I'll introduce an Irish writer and retired journalist, Eoin Ó Murchú (@Eomurchu). Ó Murchú is a devout communist and a contributor to Tuairisc.ie (@tuairiscnuacht), a @ForasnaGaeilge funded Irish language website.
1/17
As you can guess, this self-described "professional journalist" (probably, "independent", too) has spread more Russian narratives than TASS and RT combined. Usually you see people picking up the stories that fit their world view, but Eoin just went and picked them ALL.
2/17
Before the full-scale invasion, Ó Murchú was of course skeptical about Russia attacking Ukraine. He stated that the invasion wouldn't have any purpose, and that the only way the war could start is by "US agents" conducting a false flag attack in Donbas and by stopping NS2.
3/17
Then we have the biolabs, or as Eoin put it, "the US funded biological warfare labs found in Ukraine". He was also bummed that the Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster RTÉ didn't find this worthy of reporting.
4/17
Let's move on to Mariupol - On 11 Mar, 2022, Ó Murchú defended the Russian bombing of five (!) hospitals & simply copy-pasted the Russian lies about these war crimes. Apparently there were only "evil Azov Nazis" left, like the pregnant lady who was evacuated during the siege.5/17
It's worth noting here that Russians and the al-Assad regime had a campaign (!) of hospital bombings, including a bombing of Tarmala Maternity and Children's Hospital in South Idlib, so this has already become a kind of a trademark for the Russian military.
6/17
Of course he also denies any Russian genocidal activities. He quoted Lavrov on the Bucha massacre, stating that the mass murder was a "false provocation". Then he did the same with Izium, claiming that Zelensky will "produce some bodies, like he did in Bucha".
7/17
The bodies found in Izium had their genitals hacked off, they were tortured and many of the bodies had broken jaws and ribs and cracked skulls. Regarding Bucha, there is plenty of video and photo material supporting the fact that the Russians murdered civilians en masse.
8/17
And what was his reasoning for the Russian invasion? Of course the age-old lie that the Ukrainians shelled Donbas, killing 14,000 people, mostly civilians. Read more about what actually happened here:
Then there's the Kramatorsk railway station attack. Ó Murchú stated that the missile that was used was actually Ukrainian, referring to Scott Ritter's report on the "AltWorld" blog. This was of course contradicted by the Amnesty and Conflict Intelligence Team reports,that...10/17
... said the Russian forces had used these missiles in multiple parts of Ukraine prior. After the strike, Russian media claimed they'd made a successful attack in Kramatorsk and denied the attack only after it became clear that there were a lot of civilian casualties.
11/17
He has said that "when the Ukrainians are expelled from the Donbas you will hear the voice of the people." Ethnic Ukrainians made up over 57% of the population of the Donbas according to the last census before the start of the conflict in 2014.
12/17
In 1991, when Ukraine had their Independence Referendum, 83% of people from Donbas voted for it.
Ó Murchú writes a regular column for @tuairiscnuacht, and his column on 14 Jan 2023 was headlined "Beware the Ghost of Racism".
13/17
He criticized recent anti-refugee protests in Ireland, stating that it is "shameful" that people were "shouting insults and threats" at refugees. This didn't stop him from attacking @NadiaDobryanska, an actual Ukrainian refugee in Ireland.
14/17
He's often talked about "Ukrainian Nazis". According to Ó Murchú, "Slava Ukraini" is a "Nazi slogan" and Ukraine is under Nazi control. This type of rhetoric was also used by the Russian soldiers who killed innocent civilians in Bucha.
15/17
Some have speculated that Murchú is a contributor in the magazine The Phoenix (@ThePhoenixMag). All the articles in it are written anonymously, but its content about Ukraine is remarkably like Ó Murchú's output, right down to his dislike of the 🇺🇦 refugee Nadia Dobryanska.
16/17
To conclude: there's nothing new about Eoin Ó Murchú - he's just an Irish copy of other pro-Russian communists you can find in most countries. But there's just something icky about a person who spreads outright lies and calls themselves a "professional journalist".
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.
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: