In today's #vatniksoup I'll introduce a British blogger and propagandist, Vanessa Beeley (@VanessaBeeley). She's best-known for spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation about both the Syrian civil war and about the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/19
Beeley is a daughter of a former diplomat from the UK, Harold Beeley. Like so many other "independent journalist" who defends dictator-ruled regimes around the world, Vanessa started her blogging career writing about the Palestine-Israel conflict.
2/19
Then in 2015, she started focusing on the Syrian civil war. In 2016 she met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus as part of a US Peace Council. She later described the event as her "proudest moment". Beeley was also on the steering committee for the Syria...
3/19
...Solidarity Movement, an association that has received almost 2 million USD in support from undisclosed donors. This association supports he Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a fascist and "rabidly anti-Semitic" political party.
4/19
After Syria, Vanessa naturally moved on to Russia, where she met with Russia's deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Maria Zakharova. Bogdanov has been described as one of the main strategists for Syria in Russia.
5/19
Beeley's been appearing frequently on RT and Sputnik, providing a pro-al-Assad and pro-Russian point of view on the war.
Like so many like her, Vanessa has received the "Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism" from a pro-Assad lobby group the...
6/19
...Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees. Other prominent activists that have received this prestigious award are Jackson "Z" Hinkle, the "MAGA communist" grifter, and Max Blumenthal, the Grayzone blogger.
7/19
It was suggested that Beeley was a finalist for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, however it was later revealed that there are no finalists for said award and only winners are published.
8/19
As a "journalist", Vanessa has published some weird takes on world events. Some examples include calling the Human Rights Watch a "fake" NGO, claiming that the Charlie Hebdo shooting was a false flag operation, and that Al-Qaeda had nothing to do with 9/11.
9/19
Beeley is part of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, which is another pro-Assad group that tries to defame the White Helmets. White Helmets are a group of people who help Syrian civilians in war zones.
10/19
They have also documented bombings of hospitals and use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, and for this reason they have been a target of disinformation campaigning for years.
11/19
Beeley has suggested together with the Russian government that they are connected to Al-Qaeda and that they are involved, among other things, in organ harvesting. She has also suggested that the group is a "legitimate military target".
12/19
Hackers hacked and obtained Beeley's private Facebook conversations with the blogger Scott Gaulke, where she admitted that the Syrian government has tortured but that she would never say it publicly.
13/19
Vanessa was 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 she was of course one of the volunteers.
14/19
James Delingpole interviewed Beeley on Rumble in Oct, 2022, and the whole thing was pure comedy. They showed the West as a main source of disinformation, whereas Russia was presented as a beacon of truth.
15/19
They also said that the Russian economy is thriving she even called herself an "independent delegate" for the annexation vote. She also claimed that Russia hasn't committed any war crimes and that many Ukrainian refugees she has interviewed have praised Russia.
16/19
Beeley is a big fan of the conspiracy theory "deep state", and often refers to this in her rambles. She's also shared several conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Vanessa's also claimed that she's on a "UK kill list" along with 300 children, but it is unclear if she...
17/19
...actually referred to Myrotvorets, a list of who the authors call to be "enemies of Ukraine". At some point pro-Russians started calling it a "official Ukrainian government kill list", which it of course isn't: disinfowatch.org/disinfo/russia…
18/19
Even though Beeley is mostly focusing on events in Syria, he's still a prominent figure in spreading Russian disinformation and propaganda, even participating in their hoax referendums.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and disbarred lawyer, Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani). He’s best-known for meddling with the pro-Kremlin forces in Ukraine, and for organizing the infamous Four Seasons Landscaping press conference.
1/22
Giuliani rose to fame as the mayor of NYC between 1994 and 2001. He adopted an aggressive enforcement strategy and organized crackdowns on relatively minor offenses like graffiti and cannabis possession. His role in the 9/11 aftermath made him a global superstar.
2/22
This fame gave Rudy new opportunities, and in 2006 he was invited to the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group (ISG), a group that assessed the situation in Iraq. He was soon kicked out of the group due to being more interested in making money by public speaking gigs.
In today’s 300th #vatniksoup, I’ll go through some of the most heroic feats that Ukrainians have achieved since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
In the last 900 days, under-equipped underdog Ukraine has fared well against the imperialist and genocidal Russia.
1/23
As in most conflicts, Ukraine relies heavily on leadership. For this reason, the Kremlin first focused their main propaganda efforts on Zelenskyy, even claiming that he had already fled from Ukraine to Poland. Soon after these allegations, Zelenskyy and his cabinet…
2/23
… published a video from the streets of Kyiv to fight this propaganda campaign. This video quickly became one of the biggest morale boosters for Ukraine, and it has become one of the most legendary and symbolic videos of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a British far-right activist, Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra). He’s best-known for his role in the far-right, Islamophobic organizations like the English Defence League (EDL) and his close connections to the Kremlin.
1/23
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was born in Luton and during his youth delved into a life of crime, serving four prison terms between 2005 and 2019. He used several pseudonyms to hide his criminal past, finally sticking to Tommy Robinson.
2/23
Tommy joined the fascist and far-right British National Party (BNP) in 2004 but left a year later. The party didn’t allow non-whites to join and was then led by Nick Griffin, who today is better known for sharing video game footage while claiming it’s real.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and author, JD Vance (@JDVance). He’s best-known for his strong stance against US aid to Ukraine, and for being the Republican party’s nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.
1/20
Vance hails from the small town of Middletown, Ohio. His parents divorced when he was a toddler, JD’s mother struggled with drug addiction, and he was raised primarily by his grandparents. Later he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and spent 6 months as a PR guy in Iraq.
2/20
In 2016, Harper published JD’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, in which he described his life and hardships, and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown. The book was very successful, and it was even adapted into a shitty Netflix movie. It also made JD famous.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the Wagner Group, its founders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, and the mutiny they started on 23 Jun 2023. The event marked the climax of the Wagner Group–Russian MoD conflict, and finally led to the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin.
1/22
Wagner has been used in many conflicts around the world, but they came to global prominence during the war in Donbas in 2014-2015. Wagnerites helped the Donbas separatists fight against the Ukrainians during the conflict, which helped Putin to “outsource” the insurrection.
2/22
The group doesn’t have any central ideology, but many of its members and leaders have ties to various neo—Nazi movements in Russia. For example, Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin had several Nazi symbols tattooed on his body. Neo—nazi group Rusich has also fights as part of Wagner.
3/22
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an Amsterdam-based propaganda channel, Bonanza Media (@bonanzamedia2). It’s best-known for producing & spreading online pro-Kremlin propaganda videos while closely coordinating & collaborating with the Russian intelligence agency GRU.
1/19
Russian intelligence has been extremely active in the Netherlands for a long time. For example in 2018, four GRU agents were caught while trying to hack into OPCW,an organization that monitors the use of chemical weapons. In addition, the International Criminal Court (ICC)…
2/19
…and the MH17 investigation have become targets for the Russian intelligence and propaganda operations. These operations are often complemented with “investigative journalism” media outlets, that often echo the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation.