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 #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.