Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Aug 20, 2023 21 tweets 11 min read Read on X
In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an attempt to create a pro-Kremlin fifth column in Ghana, Africa. This attempt was done by two prominent propagandists, @DD_Geopolitics (DDG) and Simeon "AussieCossack" Boikov.

This research was conducted by the Unintelligence Agency.

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Recently, Niger became another African country where the army seized control of the government and ditched the remnants of the French colonialism. Before this, the same had happened in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Chad, all former French colonies.

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Now, there's nothing wrong with getting rid of old colonial powers, but one should remember that all this was done with strong presence of pro-Kremlin powers like PMC Wagner. They've been accused of executing and raping civilians in Mali, and many of the new military...

3/20
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...leaders have hailed Russia as their strategic allies. As I have written before, Russian media networks RT and Sputnik have strong presence in Africa, and there are no real alternatives to their narratives:



4/20
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Therefore it's difficult to imagine these uprisings being grassroots events,rather than coup d'états with strong support coming from Russia.And apparently, the next country they'll try to "flip" is Ghana. In Aug 2023,a ridiculous ad for "West African Freedom Rally" surfaced.
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Soon after, both DD Geopolitics and Boikov started promoting the rally, claiming that they'd send "food, water, and clothing" to the event, and that they'd also, for some weird reason, send Russian flags to this grassroots "freedom rally".

6/20

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.@DD_Geopolitics is just a rebranding of the Donbass Devushka, an English-speaking, pro-Kremlin network that was exposed in Apr 2023. The leader of the network turned out to be Jersey girl and LARPer Sarah Bils. This network now has administrators from over 10 countries.

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The other organizer, Simeon Boikov is a pro-Kremlin mouthpiece who is cowardly hiding in the Russian consulate in Sydney, after he pushed an elderly man down the stairs. Boikov has been responsible for organizing several pro-Russian demonstrations in Australia.

8/20
Soon after Boikov's contribution, Bils started asking for donations to their PayPal. She claimed that she'd use her ad share revenue from X to fund the rally, and that she doesn't actually use PayPal for anything even though the DDG donation link goes to straight to PayPal.

9/20
During the same Twitter Spaces event, they introduced their contact in Ghana, a man named Michael Asiedu. Boikov declares that they've sent "hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of [Russian] flags" to Michael, and that the Soviet Peace Fund is very interested in their project.

10/20
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Michael says that he's representing TNT Radio (Boikov's channel) and DDG, and that he's organizing the rally on the ground. But the rally is already facing problems - the police had contacted Michael, saying that the rally didn't align with Ghana's politics towards Russia.

11/20
The group was also planning to burn the French flag, dance with the Russian flags and if needed, "beat the police and military".

Boikov claims that Michael is backed by "Russia, Wagner, by him personally".

12/20
Eventually, Bils gets frustrated over the "boys fighting", has a total breakdown and leaves the event. It seems that planning a coup in foreign countries is hard work and can stress out even the best of us.

13/20
Boikov's claims were later challenged by another man, who said that Boikov and DDG can't guarantee Asiedu's safety and that they might get arrested for the event as they had been warned beforehand by the police.

14/20
She also seemed to have difficulties to decide whether the event was a political rally or a charity event where DDG fed a thousand hungry Africans.I mean,they could've just spent the money on food rather than on useless Russian flags that'll probably be outdated soon,anyway.15/20
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Then, on 13 Aug 2023, the rally happens. Naturally, as with most things organized by DDG, it's a complete failure as only around 20 people turn up. DDG account quickly explains that it's not actually the main event, but people mock the rally for the lousy turn up.

16/20


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Even though Boikov stated that Michael and his crew were under protection, they were eventually allegedly arrested by the Ghanaian authorities.

But as always, both Bils and Boikov seem to have no interest in actually protecting these people they use as pawns.

17/20
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When it comes to the money, some transactions were allegedly made to fund the rally. Bils declared that DDG bought 200 Russian flags for the rally, but these were actually bought by Boikov. There is also discrepancy between what DDG claims to have sponsored and the...

18/20

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...prices of the items, but we'll let the authorities sort that out. Many states in the US also have laws regulating the solicitation of funds for charitable purposes, but I'm sure the DDG posse has all this figured out.

19/20

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To conclude: Many pro-Kremlin actors are instigating violence and unrest in African countries, and some of these campaigns have led to actual coups. The example shown here was a farcical show, but it outlines the strategies these actors often use.

20/20
All soups:
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More from @P_Kallioniemi

Jul 28
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.

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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.

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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.

3/20 Image
Read 21 tweets
Jul 27
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.

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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!").

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Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.

Country code for the phone number is in Pakistan.

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Read 5 tweets
Jul 15
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 Image
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.

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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.

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Read 23 tweets
Jul 14
While Ukrainians are terror bombed on a daily basis, rich Russians live in Europe like kings and queens.

This young lady lives in Portugal, and travels freely to Ibiza...
...the Alps...
... and of course Paris.
Read 5 tweets
Jul 7
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.

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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.

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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.

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Read 23 tweets
Jul 6
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.

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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.

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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:

3/15

vatniksoup.com/en/soups/
Read 15 tweets

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