In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an American businessman and politician, Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy).
He's best-known for his stock promotion schemes, for his staunch support of Donald Trump, and for his hot takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/16
Ramaswamy is a stock promoter, which basically means that he promotes stocks and then allegedly performs a so-called "pump and dump" scheme.
@MattGertz concluded his "get rich quick" scheme neatly: first, find a firm with hedge fund/VC money, then buy a patent for a...
2/16
...drug that's failed 4 trials already, raise more money, take the company public and cash out.
Naturally, the patent failed to deliver in the end, but Vivek and his family got rich so it doesn't matter.
3/16
To maximize profit and minimize tax payments, the company was based in Bermuda - the man sure is a real American hero!
He's also allegedly used his presidential campaign as an excuse to dodge a legal battle.
4/16
In his presidential campaign, Ramaswamy has branded himself as a "scientist" who has "developed a number of medicines." In reality, he has Bachelor's in biology and was never a scientist but a financier and entrepreneur.
5/16
While launching his presidential campaign, Vivek's team hired a Wikipedia editor to alter his biography. The editor removed references to Ramaswamy's funding received from the George Soros-funded Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
6/16
Incidentally, his team wanted his involvement with the Ohio COVID-19 Response Team scrubbed, too.
We can probably safely say, that these edits were done to appease the conservative, antivaxx and conspiratorial voter-base of the US.
7/16
Ramaswamy has past in the Libertarian Party, but he supported Trump in the 2020 election. He's stated that he might consider the conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. as a potential running mate.
8/16
Vivek's also dabbled in conspiracy theories, when he suggested in an interview with The Atlantic that "federal agents" might've been "on the planes that hit the Twin Towers" during the 9/11 WTC attacks.
9/16
He's also called "the climate change agenda" a hoax, saying that "people should be proud to live a high-carbon lifestyle". He also falsely stated that "more people are dying" from climate policies than "actual climate change." I guess he has no time to read the news.
10/16
In regard to the Russo-Ukrainian War, his views have been heavily supportive of Russia's goals.He favors ending all US military aid to Ukraine,he would exclude Ukraine from joining NATO & would allow Russia to occupy regions of Ukraine if Russia end its alliance with China.
11/16
He's also called Zelenskyy a "bully", stated in an interview that "Our goal should not be for Putin to lose," that the US involvement in Ukraine is strengthening the Russia-China military alliance, and that this can be only prevented by giving Putin what he wants.
12/16
This appeasing attitude towards authoritarian leaders is something that we saw with Trump, too, when he figuratively kneeled before Putin at the infamous Helsinki Summit in 2018:
In one of his recent interviews, Vivek claimed that a "post-Zelensky warlord" will take power in Ukraine with American military equipment, basically comparing the situation to the Mujehadeen & Al-Qaida in Afghanistan after the Soviets left.
14/16
Now that DeSantis' campaign is practically over, we can expect all the other GOP candidates to suck up to Trump, try to climb up the US political hierarchy, and possibly run again in four years after Trump has been completely defeated.
15/16
To conclude, Ramaswamy is Trump's cheerleader whose wealth came from an alleged biotech pump and dump scheme via a company that wasn't even registered in the US. His views on Ukraine have been controversial, but they're also naturally in line with Trump's policies & views.
16/16
Some of the ingredients for this soup came from here and from @OldNorthShore:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explain the Alaska Fiasco and how it marks the peak of Trump’s two-year betrayal of Ukraine. What was sold as “peace talks” turned into a spectacle of weakness, humiliation, empty promises, and photo-ops that handed Putin exactly what he wanted.
1/24
Let’s start with the obvious: Trump desperately wants the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly because Obama got one. That’s why he’s now LARPing as a “peace maker” in every conflict: Israel-Gaza, Azerbaijan-Armenia, India-Pakistan, and of course Ukraine-Russia.
2/24
Another theory is that Putin holds kompromat — compromising material such as videos or documents — that would put Trump in an extremely bad light. Some have suggested it could be tied to the Epstein files or Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about engagement farming: a cynical social media tactic to rack up likes, shares, and comments. From rage farming to AI-powered outrage factories, engagement farming is reshaping online discourse and turning division into profit.
1/23
Engagement farming is a social media tactic aimed at getting maximum likes, shares, and comments, with truth being optional. It thrives on provocative texts, images, or videos designed to spark strong reactions, boost reach, and turn online outrage into clicks and cash.
2/23
One subset of engagement farming is rage farming: a tactic built to provoke strong negative emotions through outrageous or inflammatory claims. By triggering anger or moral outrage, these posts often generate 100s or even 1,000s of heated comments, amplifying their reach.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the autocratic concept of “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars”: the idea that the leader is wise and just, but constantly sabotaged by corrupt advisors. This narrative shields the ruler from blame, and it’s used by both Putin and Trump today.
1/20
The phrase “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars” (Царь хороший, бояре плохие), also known as Naïve Monarchism, refers to a long-standing idea in Russian political culture: the ruler is good and benevolent, but his advisors are corrupt, incompetent and responsible for all failures.
2/20
From this perception, any positive action taken by the government is viewed as being an accomplishment of the benevolent leader, whereas any negative one is viewed as being caused by lower-level bureaucrats or “boyars”, without the approval of the leader.
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.
1/20
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.
2/20
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.
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.
1/5
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!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
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
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.
2/21
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.