In today's #vatniksoup I'll introduce a conspiratorial fake news blog called Mintpress News (@MintPressNews). The site's best-known for spreading disinformation and propaganda, and for its support of totalitarian regimes.
1/24
Mintpress News is headquartered in Minnesota, US, but as is the case with the Grayzone blog, its funding remains mostly unknown. The blog was found by Mnar Muhawesh (now Adley) back in 2012.
2/24
She's claimed that the site was originally funded by "angel investors" and "retired businesspeople", but in 2013 Muhawesh stated that she's the "sole investor of MintPress".
3/24
Some describe Mintpress as a "far-left" website, but I'll outright refuse to do that since I don't see anything "left-wing" about it - it's simply an anti-US propaganda outlet wooing the various totalitarian regimes around the globe.
4/24
MintPress can be seen as part of the disinformation/propaganda fake news blog network, including sites like The Grayzone,Truthout and Antiwar.com (MintPress actually lists them as "news partners" on their site).
5/24
At the beginning, the blog was reporting on "American imperialism" in the Middle East and on its support for Israel. Based on MintPress, the Americans were assisting on "the humiliation and slaughter of innocent Arabs" in the Middle East.
6/24
As is tradition, they've also been pushing Soros related conspiracy theories, as they made a connection between Soros' funding and the Pandora Papers, somehow implying that revealing corruption would somehow be a bad thing.
7/24
MintPress has shared content from Kremlin-owned RT and Sputnik. They've also "partnered up" with Peace Data, a fake news blog run by Prigozhin's Internet Research Agency.
The site also provided platform for GRU troll with the codename "Alice Donovan". In "her" articles,...
8/24
..."she" criticized Turkey and later started instigating political movement of African-Americans against Hillary Clinton. During 2016, "she" published at least 30 political pieces on various "left-leaning" blogs, including MintPress.
In Aug, 2013, Mintpress article written by Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh claimed that the Syrian rebels were responsible for the Ghouta chemical attack. Human Rights Watch found no evidence for this claim, and Foreign Policy magazine described it as...
10/24
..."one of the most crazy conspiracy theories" when it comes to chemical attacks in Syria. Gavlak, who had also freelanced for Associated Press, later tried to get his name removed from the article, suggesting that Ababneh was the sole author of the article.
11/24
He also said that the report had not been verified. Gavlak later got suspended from AP, possibly due to the article. MintPress put up an additional text stating that Gavlak wasn't actually in Syria, but wouldn't remove him from the author list.
12/24
Instead of posting international human rights organization reports, MintPress has been reporting on the "other side" of the war by publishing interviews from al-Assad and other pro-al-Assad and anti-US/anti-rebel material.
13/24
Just like great humanitarian figures such as Jackson "Z" Hinkle and Vanessa "Al-Assad tortures but I'd never say it publicly" Beeley, MintPress has received the Serena Shim award for their "outstanding journalistic efforts".
14/24
The site's also amplified Beeley's conspiracy theories on the Syrian NGO, The White Helmets.
Some frequent contributors of MintPress include Vanessa Beeley, Eva Bartlett, Max Blumenthal, Lowkey, Kit Klarenberg, and always unfunny Lee Camp. I'm sure you can guess what's...
15/24
the connection between all of them. Latest articles on the site include conspiracy theories about "US/CIA-funded coup in Georgia", article that downplays the role of Russian collusion in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and RT-reporter Chris Hedges' op-ed titled...
16/24
..."Ukraine's death by proxy". They've also amplified the NO2NATO movement in the UK and provided platform for various far-right, pro-Russian actors. For example, a Brazilian analyst Pepe Escobar wrote an article on how he met and had great discussions with Alexander...
17/24
Dugin in a "New Horizon" conference in Iran. Another author, Whitney Webb, has spread classic anti-Semitic tropes of Rotschilds controlling the IMF. Her source for this rather bold claim was the True Activist article titled "The 5 Biggest Threats To Humanity Exposed".
18/24
Climate change and mass extinction didn't make the list.
MintPress also re-published William Engdahl's anti-Soros article, originally written for Russian-controlled New Eastern Outlook. Engdahl's also contributed to several other Russian propaganda mills, including Global..19/24
...Research, Veterans Today and Katehon. The article itself discusses the Great Replacement conspiracy theory and George Soros.
Today I learned that being considered "far-left" includes being anti-Semitic and promoting fringe far-right voices.
20/24
They also have a podcast, MintCast, which covers the same topics as the blog. By their own description, it's a podcast that features "dissenting voices, independent researchers and journalists the establishment would rather silence".
21/24
Of course they feature the loudest anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia voices online, including Michael Tracey and Rania Khalek. They also have quite active YouTube channel with new videos published almost on a daily basis.
22/24
In May, 2022,PayPal shut down MintPress' account along with the account of another propaganda mill,Consortium News. Naturally "freedom of speech advocates" like Branko Marcetic and Matt Taibbi defended these noble "left-wing" establishments and their efforts for free speech.23/24
One funding source for the site is Patreon, and with 381 "patrons" the site makes anywhere from 1150 to 40 000 USD per month. MintPress are also asking for cash, BTC and credit card payment donations via their website.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.
1/17
In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.
2/17
Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
1/17
For years, Tsaulin was known for organizing marches and events glorifying the Soviet Union. Under the excuse of “remembering history,” these events were nothing more than Kremlin propaganda, wrapped in a red flag with a hammer and sickle.
2/17
One of his most infamous events was the “Immortal Regiment” march, held every 9th of May, where people carried portraits of Soviet soldiers. These marches are used by Russia to push the idea that the Baltics owe their existence to the Soviets.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan (@joerogan). He’s best-known for launching the biggest podcast in the world, promoting various conspiracy theories, his support for Donald Trump and his anti-Ukraine rhetoric.
1/22
Joe Rogan started as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, found fame on NewsRadio, and became a household name with Fear Factor. But his biggest impact came in 2009 when he launched The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the first major podcasts.
2/22
JRE started as casual but deep conversations, often covering countercultural topics like psychedelics, MMA & hunting. Joe’s podcasting style is largely non-confrontational, often allowing his guests to share their views without significant pushback or critical questioning.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce KOOS party leader and Estonian crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov. He’s best known for running shady businesses, spreading Russian false narratives in Estonia, and participating in the pro-Kremlin political party KOOS.
1/18
As a talented youngster, Oleg learned Estonian almost flawlessly, was a promising karate athlete, and landed a job at a law firm at just 20. He caught the eye of Estonian fuel entrepreneur Endel Siff, who quickly took him under his wing.
2/18
Oleg’s father, Vladimir Ivanov, was a longtime politician from the Russian-funded United People’s Party of Estonia. His career at the town hall ended abruptly when he was caught drunk at work. After that, he went into business with his son, Oleg.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
1/25
“Illiberal populists” like Trump reject democratic norms while claiming to speak for “the people.” They centralize power, attack institutions, and push nationalism over rights. Elections exist, but checks & balances erode. This is democracy in name, autocracy in action.
2/25
The media landscape has changed drastically over the past two decades. The Internet and social media have changed how we interact online & how we consume media,but it has also become our main source of news. In many ways,social media companies have control over information.