In today's #vatniksoup, I'll talk about a phenomenon called information laundering. It refers to an activity where false or deceitful information is legimitised through a network of intermediaries, such as fake news blogs and/or social media networks.
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When for example the Kremlin wants to spread a narrative, they spread it through various channels to legitimatize it. As basically no one trusts the Russian TASS anymore, Russian propagandists must get creative and use various backchannels to legimitise the information...
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...in order to inject into the mainstream. To do this, they'll have to "pass the information" around some other news outlets, preferably that the people (at least some) trusts. The groundwork for these outlets has been created a long time ago - for example a well-known...
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...conspiracy theory website, Veteran's Today, was established already back in 2003, and the pro-Kremlin financial blog and "news aggregator" Zero Hedge was launched in 2009. Some of these may have even started as a legitimate info sources, but at some point they...
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...turned into information laundering platforms. Also, many of the Facebook groups that were later exposed to be troll farms were established already around 2013.
Like money launderers who use shell companies, info launderers rely on certain social media accounts or fake news blogs that can then mask the original source and its intent.
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Social media can also help with the legitimisation process, as people often perceive stories that are liked and shared as something important. In addition, a study has shown that fake news tends to spread much, much faster than factual news.
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Troll farms can also be used to spread these messages even faster,and since Elon's takeover, these farms have regained their power to spread disinfo on Twitter.Both Russia & the CCP also use diplomat and embassy accounts actively to spread disinformation and false narratives.8/20
Social media platforms can also be the original source which is then spread throughout the fake news blogs. For example photoshopped images (Ukrainians with Nazi flags, doctored documents, etc.) or old videos with wrong context often start spreading on social media, ...
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...after which the fake news blogs publish articles on them, hoping for the mainstream to take the bait.
The goal with all this is to "layer" the disinformation so, that it spreads from its point of origin to more credible sources.
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This credibility can then be increased with reposts, likes and shares on social media. For example, the hacked Podesta e-mails in 2016 were spread through various middle-men, including WikiLeaks. These seemingly authentic platforms provided credibility and the ...
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...hack-and-leak operation wasn't immediately identified as a Russian intelligence operation. The illusion of legitimacy of fake news blogs and/or individual "journalists" can also be increased by awards and nominations. One example of this is the "Serena Shim Award for...
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...Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism", that's been awarded to totalitarian regime bootlickers like Max Blumenthal, Aaron Maté and Jackson "Z" Hinkle.
Both Russia and China also like to use Western public figures to propagate their agenda and strengthen it in their own..13/20
...news outlets. Outlets like TASS and Global Times often interview MEP's like Clare Daly, Mick Wallace or Maximillian Krah to promote their ideology, for example in case of genocide denial in Xinjiang or in Ukraine.
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One example of relatively successful information laundering was the "secret bioweapons labs in Ukraine" hoax. The bioweapons lab theory (re-)surfaced on the same day when Russia started its invasion in Ukraine, and it was initially suggested by QAnon podcast host Jacob...
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..."RedPill78" Creech from the US. He claimed that the Russians only bombed the locations of these bioweapons labs, and that this was the reason for the invasion. Three days later the story was tweeted out by the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and from there...
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...it quickly spread to fake news blogs and eventually to the mainstream media. It was even discussed on Tucker Carlson on many occasions and Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia repeated the allegations.
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But information laundering isn't limited just to news blogs - it is often used in academia, too. The information laundered through these "scientific journals" is often outright propaganda camouflaged as research. Especially Alexander Dugin has been active in establishing...
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...credibility for pro-Kremlin narratives in academia. Once published, these propaganda pieces can be used to counter publications of Western academia (which to be fair, can also be straight up propaganda).
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To conclude: information laundering is relatively effective method of injecting disinformation and propaganda into the mainstream, and it's yet another form of hybrid warfare in which Russia and China have been forerunners for a good decade.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about the recent EU elections and what are their implications for both the Kremlin and Ukraine. Right-wing political parties, some pro-Kremlin, won a lot of seats around Europe, and this result can also change the EU’s stance on Ukraine.
1/19
But before we start, I want to promote a truck fundraiser I'm doing together with the fantastic @ArturRehi and @69thSB.
Our goal is 20 000 USD, and you can contribute to this important fundraiser here:
EU’s support of Ukraine is essential for their survival against genocidal Russia. So far,this support has been delayed mostly by Orban’s Hungary (& to some degree, Fico’s Slovakia). Now, this support will probably be challenged by many new members of the European Parliament.
3/19
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss a specific propaganda/disinformation that the Kremlin likes to use – antisemitism. I also talk about how the Russian society itself has become riddled with antisemitism & how this has led to a decrease in Jewish population in the country.
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Russian antisemitism works on many levels, and their narratives vary depending whether they’re targeting a local audience or people in Europe and the US. For example for the latter, Russia attempts to create a false narrative of Ukraine being an antisemitic “Nazi state”.
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But before diving deeper, let’s look at a survey data of Russians in 2023: Nearly 30 million Russians harbour antisemitic attitudes, and 15% of those surveyed believed that “Jews were responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% think that the Jews have...
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Ukrainian media personality and propagandist, Diana Panchenko (@Panchenko_X). She’s best-known for betraying her own country by peddling anti-Zelenskyy and anti-Ukraine propaganda and disinformation for the Kremlin.
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Panchenko was born in 1988 in the Mykolaev Oblast in Ukrainian SSR in 1988. She studied publishing and editing at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and later graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in law.
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After graduating, Diana worked briefly for the news site . Between 2010 and 2015, Panchenko was a presenter for KyivTV, but she found her true calling as a pro-Kremlin propagandist after she was hired by a national “news channel” called NewsOne.