In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Danish medical doctor and conspiracy theorist, Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis). She's best-known for spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19, Russo-Ukrainian War, or basically any other trending topic.
1/19
Let's start with what is probably the wildest thing about this whole soup - Nastya is an actual trained medical doctor & she works at a emergency response in Denmark.
Allegedly her views and comments have been challenged in two...
2/19
...Medical Boards - The Medical Board for Patient Safety and the Medical Board for Medical Ethics. In Apr 2022, Danish tabloid newspaper called BT published an article discussing her social media presence. Many of her colleagues had complained about her conspiratorial...
3/19
..hot takes, but the clickbait-y article mostly focused on Nastya's Instagram "sexy" photos where she poses in skimpy underwear.
Now,take the crazies conspiracy theorist you know & then try to imagine an extra layer of craziness on top of that, and you'll have Dr. Loupis.
4/19
She is the ultimate contrarian, who thinks that everything happening is actually organized by the "deep state". All of her views are based on this premise.
The root of all this is what she calls "anti-Zionism," and its fueled by an age old trope originating from Russia.
5/19
In 1902, a fabricated text called "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" was published. The book described a "Jewish conspiracy against the world," and it's basically the basis of all "globalist Jewish elite taking over the world" tropes originate from.
6/19
In addition, Loupy now separates the Jewish people, who "don't need a state to survive" from the evil "Zionists" who are planning to take over the world with deadly vaccines, stealing all your possessions and by censoring brave people like her.
7/19
There is nothing unusual about this, as the deep state/World Economic Forum/Jewish elite ruling over the world is one of the most popular "super conspiracy theory" that is used as a basis for all other theories. For example, Nastya has grouped COVID-19, climate change,...
8/19
...the US elections, the "woke culture" and the Russo-Ukrainian War under this umbrella. To put it in simple terms: she will be a contrarian to any new trendy thing that makes the news and somehow connects it to the "deep state".
9/19
Nastya has made some peculiar statements over the war in Ukraine. According to her, Putin is a "hero" whose fight against the "The New World" is something we all should support. Since Feb 2022, she's been strongly defending Putin and his brutal and genocidal war in Ukraine.
10/19
She's also claimed that the US and Zelenskyy have "recruited ISIS terrorists to fight in Ukraine", that one of Ukraine's former Ministers bought a villa in Cannes with US & EU tax payers money, and that Ukraine is a "money laundering operation".
11/19
Incidentally, the first time Nastya tweeted about Ukraine, Putin, Russia or Zelensky was in Feb 2022. The first time she tweeted about geopolitics over Israel, Palestine or Hamas was in Oct 2023.
Before this, she simply didn't care as these topics weren't popular enough.
12/19
Many of her tweets refer to one of the most notorious fake news blogs in the world, The People's Voice. The site was formerly known as NewsPunch, and in 2017 BuzzFeed identified NewsPunch as being the second-largest source of popular fake stories spread on FB.
13/19
Nastya is also extremely transphobic, and often posts images of trans people while making fun of them. According to her, the "Trans Agenda" is again a scheme by the "deep state" to, among other things, depopulate the planet and to feed the "Big Pharma".
14/19
I usually refrain from judging people by their looks, but with Nastya I'll make an exception: if you look like you could be one of the Bogdanoff brothers, I wouldn't criticize absolutely anyone for how they look.
And Loupy: you CAN get help for Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
15/19
Now I wouldn't recommend it, but if you watch Loupy's interview with @PeterSweden7, another X/Twitter grifter, you'll see how these people believe every conspiracy theory out there, including the "Great Reset" & that labmeat is produced from "cancer cells". It's all there.
16/19
Loupis has enormous following on X/Twitter: as of today, she has almost 800 000 followers. You can even subscribe to even more crazier content through her X subscription service, that costs a measly 5,70 EUR per month. Nastya herself is of course subscribed to the...
17/19
...most rabid conspiracy theorists on X, including @ShaykhSulaiman, @dom_lucre, and @jacksonhinklle.
They might have actually organized a little club to see who can gather the most community notes, and all of these accounts are heavily monetizing disinformation on X.
18/19
To conclude: Nastya is a conspiracy theorist and disinformation superspreader who monetizes outrage.
I'll close this soup by showing you how Nastya wins an arms wrestling match in 2020, hope you enjoy!
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan (@joerogan). He’s best-known for launching the biggest podcast in the world, promoting various conspiracy theories, his support for Donald Trump and his anti-Ukraine rhetoric.
1/22
Joe Rogan started as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, found fame on NewsRadio, and became a household name with Fear Factor. But his biggest impact came in 2009 when he launched The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the first major podcasts.
2/22
JRE started as casual but deep conversations, often covering countercultural topics like psychedelics, MMA & hunting. Joe’s podcasting style is largely non-confrontational, often allowing his guests to share their views without significant pushback or critical questioning.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce KOOS party leader and Estonian crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov. He’s best known for running shady businesses, spreading Russian false narratives in Estonia, and participating in the pro-Kremlin political party KOOS.
1/18
As a talented youngster, Oleg learned Estonian almost flawlessly, was a promising karate athlete, and landed a job at a law firm at just 20. He caught the eye of Estonian fuel entrepreneur Endel Siff, who quickly took him under his wing.
2/18
Oleg’s father, Vladimir Ivanov, was a longtime politician from the Russian-funded United People’s Party of Estonia. His career at the town hall ended abruptly when he was caught drunk at work. After that, he went into business with his son, Oleg.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
1/25
“Illiberal populists” like Trump reject democratic norms while claiming to speak for “the people.” They centralize power, attack institutions, and push nationalism over rights. Elections exist, but checks & balances erode. This is democracy in name, autocracy in action.
2/25
The media landscape has changed drastically over the past two decades. The Internet and social media have changed how we interact online & how we consume media,but it has also become our main source of news. In many ways,social media companies have control over information.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Lithuanian far-right politician and Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis. He’s best known for his extremist political views and for falling for a scam that convinced him he was flying to New York to meet Elon Musk.
1/17
Like many vatniks before him, Remigijus worked as a lawyer before entering the world of politics. Once just another politician, he gradually embraced far-right nationalism and populism, following a trend seen across Europe over the past 15 years.
2/17
Instead of real policies, he tapped into fear, resentment, and anger, turning 4chan talking points into a populist political strategy. His speeches became more extreme, targeting minorities, Western institutions, and Lithuania’s support for Ukraine.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian businessman turned far-right politician and conspiracy theorist, Harry Raudvere. Raudvere is best-known for his neo-Nazi and pro-Kremlin politics, for his lingerie businesses, and for spreading anti-Estonia propaganda.
1/17
Raudvere started building a business empire in the 2000s, and a lot of his wealth comes from wind farms in Ida-Virumaa in Estonia. His family also owns a lingerie business, BonBon Lingerie. As tacky lingerie is popular in Russia, they were very active there before the war.
2/17
Raudvere promotes ideas that strongly resemble Russian propaganda talking points, and has no problem in undermining Estonia’s support for Ukraine. But at the same time, he is strongly aligned with far-right nationalist movements.