In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an international pro-Kremlin network called DD Geopolitics (DDG; @DD_Geopolitics). They're best-known for spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation, and for collecting and donating money to Russian outlets like Rybar and Killnet.
1/22
When discussing about Donbass Devushka/DD Geopolitics, the focus has been solely on its founder and owner, Sarah Bils. But as she has stated, it's actually a bigger group of people from around the world, and today's soup will introduce some of them.
2/22
In case you need to catch up on Donbass Devushka/DDG, read this article:
DDG is basically just a re-hash of the Donbass Devushka brand with some admin changes (for example, @squatsons is no longer part of the group).
This research spans over 8 months of work by The Unintelligence Agency using open data sources. All people introduced in these soups had administrator privileges on the DDG Telegram channel.
4/22
As of today, DDG has over 120 000 followers on X/Twitter, and even with artificial inflation it's one of the largest English-speaking, pro-Kremlin social media networks online. Recently, the account was shadowbanned, probably due to the inorganic growth via troll farms.
5/22
The group's Telegram chat is extremely intolerant and pro-Russian, and the discussions range from fantasizing about killing Ukrainians and criticizing the "woke culture" to calling for genocide in Ukraine.
Pretty much the only topic that's shunned is supporting Ukraine.
6/22
At least in the past, the group has strongly supported the notorious PMC Wagner. Back in Spring 2023, the channel's logo featured the Wagner logo and sledgehammer, and DDG members have often discussed about how to actually join the group.
7/22
The group has promoted donations to West-sanctioned DPR & LPR, and the Kremlin-connected neo-Nazi Rusich Group. DDG has also allegedly sent money to pro-Russian hacker group Killnet,that has conducted cyberattacks on several Western countries due to their support of Ukraine.
8/22
DDG is part of the larger "vatniksphere" who often collaborate on various projects. Recently, they've been coordinating a pitiful coup d'état attempts in Ghana together with Simeon Boikov (@aussiecossack), who's best-known for attacking pensioners and coercing his grandma.
9/22
But as was mentioned earlier, DDG is not just a one person (even though Bils sometimes claims otherwise), so let's take a look at some of the administrators of the DDG Telegram group.
10/22
David E AKA david - The son of a German Die Linke politician who has deep hatred for Ukraine and its people. He is a big Wagner fanboy, collects their patches and allegedly even helped have foreign volunteers tracked down and killed in Ukraine.
11/22
On 18 Sep 2023, Die Welt published an article on David and his activities:
His anti-Ukrainian rhetoric reminds me of the so-called "4chan lingo" with a genocidal twist. When interviewed by @KatjaBody, he claimed to be "regretting" his...
...radicalization and stated that he had left the group back in Apr 2023, but in reality he was still wishing for the death of Ukrainians and even participating on a Telegram channel that focuses on doxxing anyone who helps Ukraine and Ukrainians.
13/22
Matt M AKA akhMATT sila - US citizen LARPing as a survivalist. Constantly calls for domestic political violence while stocking up on guns, armor and ammo. Prays for the end of society so that he can "kill whoever to take what I want." At some point wanted to join Wagner.
14/22
Matt was often grooming the younger members, including David, to more radical thinking and lifestyle. He also likes to collect pro-Russia and Wagner patches and constantly calls for murder of Ukrainian civilians. He often dreams of the collapse of the US society.
15/22
Here's some additional messages from the DDG chat from Matt:
16/22
Kristopher Karl Barrett - Barrett, a Wyoming resident, participates in the chat under his real name. He describes himself as "firearms and aviation enthusiast" as well as "pro-Russian". He also dreams of a total collapse and civil war, and for being a 62-year-old...
17/22
...he writes like an edgy teenager. At one point, he tried running for public office, but failed miserably. According to the man himself, he's involved in the American Village Project in Russia,...
18/22
...which attempts to relocate American fascists, far-right extremists and white nationalists to live in a village in Russia.
I'm not an expert on The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but this really stinks like one.
19/22
Justin F AKA Konstantin - A Canadian who actually moved to Russia a long time ago and got married there, unlike so many other Kremlin fans. He cheers for the made-up republics of DPR and LPR, often refers to Ukrainians as Nazis, and refuses to call Ukraine a real country.
20/22
Joe J AKA @rocknrollAL. He's one of the original founders of the group and is partly responsible for the group's merch designs. He's currently one of the main admins on DDG's chat. Many of the Z-merch designs you might've seen probably came from Joey.
He also loves yoga.
21/22
In the next #vatniksoup, I'll introduce more of the DDG admins from countries like Slovenia, Russia (most live outside of Russia, of course), Romania, UK, France and Mexico. I'll also talk about how the group's connected to the rest of the "vatniksphere".
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll reintroduce an American political commentator and pro-Kremlin propagandist, Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson). He’s best known for his promotion of crazy conspiracy theories and for his support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
1/24
Tucker’s career spans decades, but he’s also been very active in recent years, so a lot has happened since our previous soup on him, which can be found here:
Once described as “the most powerful conservative in America”, Tucker has now fully transformed into a grifting conspiracy theorist and propagandist willing to work for whoever pays him the most. It’s unclear whether Tucker truly believes his endless conspiracy theories or…
3/24
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian-Estonian businessman, Oleg Ossinovski. He is best-known for his deep ties to Russian rail and energy networks, shady cross-border dealings, and for channeling his wealth into Estonian politics.
1/14
Oleg made his fortune via Spacecom Trans & Skinest Rail, both deeply tied to Russia’s rail system. Most of this is through Globaltrans Investments PLC, a Cyprus-based firm with 62% held via Spacecom and tens of millions in yearly profits.
2/14
Ossinovski’s Russian-linked ventures made him Estonia’s richest man in 2014, with an estimated fortune of ~€300M. His business empire stretched across railways, oil via Alexela shares, and Russian bitumen imports from Help-Oil, a supplier to the Defense Ministry.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Swiss/French writer, Alain Bonnet, aka Alain Soral (@officielsoral). He’s best known for his rabid antisemitism and for his pathetic support for all the worst authoritarian regimes from Russia to North Korea.
1/22
Alain’s childhood was problematic, as his father has been characterized as a “narcissistic pervert” who beat his children and did jail time for fraud. Alain himself has said he was “programmed to be a monster.” Born Alain Bonnet, he took the stage name of his sister,…
2/22
… actress Agnès Soral. She wasn’t too happy about this, commenting “How would you like to be called Agnès Hitler?”. Like many grifters, he became a pick-up/seduction artist writer, à la late Gonzalo Lira, writing books and even making a B-movie, “Confessions d’un dragueur”.
3/22