In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a German-Finnish entrepreneur, conspiracy theorist and propagandist, Kim Dotcom. He's best-known for his illegal online activities and projects, for his hate towards the US, and for his unwavering support for Putin's imperialism.
1/18
During the 90s, Kim rose to notoriety in Germany for various hacking activities. In 1998 he was convicted on several charges of computer fraud and data espionage and received a 2-year suspended sentence. In 2003, he was arrested in Thailand and was deported to Germany,...
2/18
...where Kim pleaded guilty to embezzlement and was sentenced to jail, only to flee to Hong Kong to avoid going to prison. He was eventually granted a citizenship in New Zealand through their "investor plus" system, after he'd invested over 10 million USD in the country.
3/18
Dotcom's best-known online project was probably Megaupload, launched in 2003. It was an online file hosting and sharing service, churning out 175 million USD in revenue. He was eventually charged by the US authorities with racketeering, conspiring to commit copyright...
4/18
...infringement, and conspiring to commit money laundering, and was sent to prison. He was later released on bail. Most of his assets were also seized, even though he got some of them back later due to poorly made warrants.
5/18
He's blamed the Hollywood, Obama and the US for his arrest, suggesting that the US government charged him at Hollywood's request, in exchange for support for Obama. So it's pretty clear that Kim is driven by his hatred for the West and especially for the US.
6/18
He's a fan of Donald Trump, though, and he's often shared Trump's speeches about taking down the "deep state".
When it comes to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Kim's tweets are pretty much what you'd expect: praise of Putin and Xi, defaming and mocking of Zelensky and Biden, ...
7/18
...fuming about "Ukrainian Nazis", bioweapons labs, deep state, and all that jazz. As is tradition, Kim Dotcom became a fervent peace advocate very soon after Russia organized fake referendums at the four Ukrainian Oblasts and Putin declared them as part of Russia.
8/18
At the start of the war, Dotcom was speculating that "Putin is playing chess while the West plays tic tac toe". He's fantasized about "Russian super weapons" (funny how they all turned out to be a joke and they had to resort to Wish to Alibaba-grade components) and that...
9/18
..Putin is actually just wrecking the Western economies. You know, coping at maximum level.
In 2017, Dotcom claimed that he worked with Seth Rich, a US citizen and employee on the Democratic National Committee who was murdered during a suspected robbery.His death spawned..
10/18
..several conspiracy theories stating that he was a whistleblower who had leaked documents damning Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager,John Podesta. The hack-and-leak operation was actually conducted by Russian intelligence service GRU's hacker group called Fancy Bear.
11/18
Rich's family called Dotcom's false statements "ridiculous, manipulative, and non-credible", and their spokesman tweeted to Dotcom that "have an agenda or are a sociopath". It could be both, though. He also shared a fake FBI document related to the case on Twitter.
12/18
Kim has also called #NAFO a 100 million USD "CIA botnet", offering little real evidence on his claim. Also, it seems that he has no clue how the Twitter algorithm or engagement transfer between social media platforms works.
13/18
He's also ready and willing to spread disinformation and fake images when it fits his agenda. After the photos of General Valerii Zaluzhnyi wearing a "Nazi bracelet" started spreading, he ignored NAFO's debunking of it, probably because it didn't fit his narrative.
14/18
He's also blamed NAFO for manipulating the polls he has conducted for his cozy little pro-Russian bubble. He even went as far as tweeting a whole thread on how Twitter should do something about the "NAFO problem" and how it all is just a big conspiracy coordinated by the...
15/18
..US and Ukraine intelligence services. I don't know what this guy is smoking, but I don't want it.
On Twitter, Dotcom is nothing more than a propagandist. He will not engage in any conversation, and he definitely won't listen to any disagreeing voices - he'd rather ...
16/18
...just block them and preach to his +1 million audience. His tweets are full of conspiracy theories, baseless claims and outright lies, of which all seem to stem from his hatred towards the US authorities.
17/18
Kim has also released music. His album "Good Times" was released in 2014 under his Kimpire Music label.
CORRECTIONS:
2/18: Based on Kim, he left Thailand voluntarily & was not deported.
3/18: Kim was given a probationary sentence & didn't flee to HK.
5/18: NZ courts released some of Kim's assets to cover his legal fees & living expenses, but this wasn't due to poorly made warrants.
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In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the state of X in May 2025. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, this platform has rapidly transformed into his personal political tool and a breeding ground for hate speech and disinformation.
1/22
Not everyone is following this shitshow as closely as I am, so I thought it would be good to write a summary of all the changes that have happened on this forum and outside of it. These changes have drastically changed how the platform operates and who gets “a voice” here.
2/22
Elon’s team has been tweaking the algorithm many times after the takeover. One of these tweaks happened already around Nov 2022, when the platform heavily suppressed the visibility of pro-Ukraine accounts. This change was then noticed & reported by many pro-Ukraine accounts.
3/22
In today’s 350th Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American comedian and podcaster, Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith). He’s best-known for his numerous appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience and for his unhinged takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/22
Smith has a massive megaphone - he’s a good friend of Joe Rogan, and he’s appeared on Joe’s podcast a whopping 16 times. Naturally, he’s also visited Lex Fridman’s podcast and frequently appears on Fox News’ Kennedy and The Greg Gutfeld Show.
2/22
Dave is part of the Kremlintarian section of the Libertarian Party called Mises Caucus. They took control of the party in May 2022, and with the help of their new leader, Angela McArdle, turned it into an extension of the MAGA Republicans:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian journalist, Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin). He’s best-known for posing as a Russian dissident, while at the same time sneakily promoting the Kremlin’s narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/20
On paper, Leonid doesn’t look like your typical Kremlin apologist - he’s written and worked for prestigious Western outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and he’s even written some Lonely Planet guides for the Baltic countries!
2/20
But Ragozin’s public commentary often seems to walk a fine line: condemning the war while pushing narratives that shift blame, dilute responsibility, or quietly carry the same old imperial baggage Russia - or its opposition - has never truly forgotten.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a bank that is well-known in both Austria and Russia: Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen. It is one of the few foreign banks that still does business in Russia.
1/21
Raiffeisen’s Russian branch was founded in 1996 and expanded dramatically after the acquisition of Russia’s Impexbank in 2006. A year later, it was the largest bank trading in foreign capital (seventh in size) in Russia.
2/21
In the early 2000s, Raiffeisen opened new branches in Russia, including in Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar. After 2018, it focused on digital expansion and by 2021 it had a digital presence in more than 300 cities.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”
1/20
Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.
2/20
Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.
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.