In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an American far-right conspiracy theorist and social media personality, Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer). She's best-known for her unethical activism and "journalism", and for promoting the most outrageous conspiracy theories.
1/16
Laura graduated in 2015 with bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, but apparently she skipped the course on journalistic ethics altogether, as she immediately started doing highly controversial and biased reporting, including interviews while wearing concealed camera.
2/16
In 2015, she used a hidden camera to record her discussions with university officials about start a club called "Sympathetic Students in Support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria". The school then asked the name to be changed to "Students in Support of the Middle East".
3/16
With clever editing by a far-right grifter James O'Keefe, the tape was then made to look like the university official was not bothered by a university organization that was supporting the Islamic State. Loomer was then suspended for violating the student code of conduct.
4/16
Soon after this, Loomer and two other women attempted to entrap Hillary Clinton's campaign workers into accepting illegal cash donations. At this time, he was allegedly already working for O'Keefe and his far-right activist group Project Veritas.
5/16
In 2016 during the US presidential election, Laura went to the polling station dressed in a burqa and asked for a ballot under the name of Huma Abedin. In Jun 2017, she gave a speech "anti-sharia" protest in NYCand condemned "liberals who aligned themselves with sharia law."
6/16
In 2017, Loomer disrupted a Shakespeare in the Park presentation of Julius Caesar in NYC, calling for an end on "political violence against the right". She then went on to collect over 13 000 USD from donations to help her "legal defense".
Is that @jackPosobiec filming?
7/16
In addition to to working for Project Veritas, Loomer has also collaborated and worked with the Geller Report, The Rebel Media and InfoWars. All of these are known for publishing fake news and disinformation.
8/16
As you can guess from some of the examples above, Loomer's pet peeve is Islam. She's declared to be a "proud Islamophobe" and have even tried to popularize a hashtag with the same message. She's also probably the first person to be banned from both Uber and Lyft.
9/16
She's also promoted a bunch of conspiracy theorist, mostly related to mass shootings. She's claimed that school shootings in Florida and Texas in 2018 were staged, and that the 2017 Vegas shooter was affiliated with ISIS.
10/16
In 2020, Laura won the Republican primary, after which Trump expressed his support for her by tweeting "Great going Laura. You have a great chance against a Pelosi puppet!" She was also congratulated by @RepMattGaetz, who's best-known for hanging out with 17-year old girls.
11/16
In 2021, Loomer tried to unseat Republican Rep. Daniel Webster in the primary election, but lost. She refused to concede, though, and blamed unspecified voter fraud and "big-tech election interference" for her loss. Loomer's X/Twitter account was reinstated in Dec 2022.
12/16
Laura has been banned from numerous social media sites, payment processors, and other platforms for, among other things, violating policies on hate speech and spreading disinformation. Her meltdown over this made even Alex Jones uncomfortable.
13/16
When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Laura's cheering for the Kremlin. She's called Zelenskyy to "stop antagonizing Russia", that "much of the conflict and chaos in the world always traces back to Ukraine", & that "Ukraine’s biggest supporters are Nazis & Nazi sympathizers".14/16
Recently, Loomer accused a US citizen and serial liar Kent Boneface McLellan of fighting with the Azov Brigade in Ukraine, and even blamed "Ukrainian spy operatives" for "penetrating the Capitol" during Jan 6th United States Capitol attack.
15/16
Of course Loomer is no longer talking about any of this, as there are more trendy topics around. Currently she's attacking Hamas/Palestine supporters and fellow "citizen journalists" like @ShaykhSulaiman who disagree with her.
In today’s 350th Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American comedian and podcaster, Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith). He’s best-known for his numerous appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience and for his unhinged takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/22
Smith has a massive megaphone - he’s a good friend of Joe Rogan, and he’s appeared on Joe’s podcast a whopping 16 times. Naturally, he’s also visited Lex Fridman’s podcast and frequently appears on Fox News’ Kennedy and The Greg Gutfeld Show.
2/22
Dave is part of the Kremlintarian section of the Libertarian Party called Mises Caucus. They took control of the party in May 2022, and with the help of their new leader, Angela McArdle, turned it into an extension of the MAGA Republicans:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian journalist, Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin). He’s best-known for posing as a Russian dissident, while at the same time sneakily promoting the Kremlin’s narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War.
1/20
On paper, Leonid doesn’t look like your typical Kremlin apologist - he’s written and worked for prestigious Western outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and he’s even written some Lonely Planet guides for the Baltic countries!
2/20
But Ragozin’s public commentary often seems to walk a fine line: condemning the war while pushing narratives that shift blame, dilute responsibility, or quietly carry the same old imperial baggage Russia - or its opposition - has never truly forgotten.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a bank that is well-known in both Austria and Russia: Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen. It is one of the few foreign banks that still does business in Russia.
1/21
Raiffeisen’s Russian branch was founded in 1996 and expanded dramatically after the acquisition of Russia’s Impexbank in 2006. A year later, it was the largest bank trading in foreign capital (seventh in size) in Russia.
2/21
In the early 2000s, Raiffeisen opened new branches in Russia, including in Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar. After 2018, it focused on digital expansion and by 2021 it had a digital presence in more than 300 cities.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”
1/20
Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.
2/20
Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.
1/17
In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.
2/17
Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.