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 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: