In today's #vatniksoup, I'll discuss the current state of Twitter/X. After @elonmusk took over, the site's gotten rid of most their safety rules & monetized people who agree with Musk's politics & constantly use lies and deceit to create outrage and increase their audience.
1/19
On 14 Jul 2023,Musk started paying ad share revenue to X's "creators". Besides some meme and Musk-fanboy accounts,these creators mostly consisted of accounts that regularly spread disinformation & outright lies.Many of them have also tried to manipulate their follower count.
2/19
Many of these "creators" will shift their narrative as soon as a new trend evolves. Today, they'll talk about Bud Light, Hunter Biden and Ukraine, but tomorrow it's going to be something else - something that's trendy. These people are also experts on absolutely EVERYTHING.
3/19
As the @CommunityNotes on X are generally considered to be a joke, and these outrageous claims garner millions of views, the accounts are good way to collect ad revenue.
So, here are some of the "creators" Elon gave revenue to:
4/19
Jacob Creech AKA @WarClandestine, a far-right QAnon follower who started the "bioweapons labs in Ukraine" narrative that was picked by mainstream media on 24 Feb 2022. Jacob made around 500 USD a month from spreading lies and conspiracy theories.
5/19
Nick Sortor AKA @nicksortor, a some sort of far-right "citizen journalist" who spreads disinformation and promotes other grifters like @tuckercarlson and the MAGA gang. Nicky made around 750 USD a month from his "journalism".
6/19
Rogan O'Handley AKA @DC_Draino, a far-right conspiracy theorist and "conservative commentator" who spreads lies and disinformation for engagement. He also seems to be a strong advocate for Putin's imperialism. O'Handley earned around 1400 USD a month from his lies.
7/19
Ashley St. Clair AKA @stclairashley, apparently a conservative comedian who makes fun of the "woke culture" and shares photos to her thirsty fans. To be fair, some of her jokes aren't that bad. Apparently she works for the @thebabylonbee. She made 1430 USD a month.
8/19
Benny Johnson AKA @bennyjohnson,a far-right podcaster and Trump supporter,who spreads outrageous lies & disinformation. In his most recent,he insinuated that the Obama's might have been involved in the death of one of their staff members. He made 1900 USD a month from lying.
9/19
Ian Miles Cheong AKA @stillgray, a Malaysian grifter who will do anything for a quick buck.
Andrew Tate AKA @cobratate, a far-right social media personality and alleged serial rapist and human trafficker.
He made around 4000 USD a month on X.
11/19
Brian and Ed Krassenstein AKA @krassenstein and @edkrassen. The "controlled opposition" who challenge Elon's views, but not really.
They were suspended in 2019 for allegedly operating fake accounts. They became popular as the "Trump reply guys".
12/19
They allegedly promoted Russian Ponzi schemes on one of their websites, but were never charged for any of it. I recently asked Brian a question regarding X, but he apparently forgot to answer:
The strategy is very simple: Musk is giving money to people who promote his products (Tesla, SpaceX, etc.) or to people he agrees with in politics.
And the list is not comprehensive, and accounts like @catturd2 and @dom_lucre are also in the subscription system.
14/19
When I said that X has gotten rid of their safety rules, I meant it. On 26 Jul 2023, @dom_lucre was suspended for posting "child exploitation pictures".
@elonmusk himself revealed this, and the account was reinstated on the same day.
Apparently,if @elonmusk likes your account, posting CSAM content gets you a slap on the wrist.
This is simply absurd, coming from a guy who just month ago considered Instagram's vast pedophile networks "extremely concerning".
16/19
X's new blue checkmark system has also evolved into a huge disinformation promotion tool, and by spending small amounts of money, troll farms can promote and augment any kind of false narratives on the platform. This is why some old, big troll farms have resurfaced again.
17/19
Also, in a recent and desperate measure to collect more ad revenue, X has started forcing brands to spend on advertising in order to keep their "gold checkmark", or the verification for being an authentic brand, organization or company.
18/19
To battle the disinformation on X, I suggest you follow accounts like @Shayan86 and @hoaxeye.
Oh, and if the profile says anything about being "citizen/independent journalist", steer clear.
Now let us watch some of these smaller accounts I mentioned, try and gain more traction and following from the thread, and the bigger ones staying completely silent as they have nothing to gain from it all.
APPENDIX: The content, called "Daisy's Destruction", that @dom_lucre allegedly shared was produced by Peter Scully, a notorious pedophile who was sentenced on five counts of rape by sexual assault of underage girls in 2018.
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.
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.
1/19
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”.
2/19
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.
1/22
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.
2/22
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.