In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an American social media personality, conspiracy theorist and neo-Nazi, Angelo John Gage AKA Lucas Gage (@Lucas_Gage_). He's best-known for his rabid antisemitism, support for white nationalism, and his anti-Ukrainian statements on X.
1/16
In 2015, Gage was chairman of the National Youth Front (NYF), a far-right organization that's goal, according to Gage was "declaring our freedom from this oppressive, anti-white, globalist government that has been slowly subverting our country since the 1960's."
2/16
In 2016, Angelo started creating racist videos on YouTube, discussing topics such as "anti-racist is a code word for anti-white", "diversity is white genocide" and making videos with titles like "Make Whites Great Again".
3/16
As a clout chaser & opportunist,he soon realized that white supremacy is a losing strategy & after Trump's victory moved on to "ethno-nationalism" and populism. Ironically, he then stated that he's going to "get away from this internet bull****" and get into local politics.
4/16
He admired Trump's way to "attract broad support from Americans through a simple, hard-hitting and emotionally appealing style," and tried to distance himself from racist and antisemitic views as he realized that it would prevent him from getting political power.
5/16
In 2020, he published a blog post titled "My Journey In and Out of the Rabbit Hole of Racism," still being a rabid racist but now calling it "trait realism," while defending eugenics, antisemitism and opposing non-white immigration.
6/16
Basically, every narrative Gage spreads is revolving around Jews. He claims that the fabricated Russian text "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" is real. His X/Twitter feed mostly consists of anti-Semitic content and his criticism of Zionism.
7/16
In Feb 2023, Angelo tweeted that Russians had "intercepted a submarine in the Black Sea carrying a HUGE shipment of cocaine," then claiming that Zelenskyy reroutes military aid to Mexico in exchange to cocaine, and that Zelenskyy himself uses the dope.
8/16
According to him, "Jewish Supremacist are the MAIN DRIVER behind the Ukraine/Russia war." He's also spread the lie that the casualties are 7:1 in favor to Russia and that the US has "jihadist assets pulled from Syria" to assist Ukrainians with their defense.
9/16
He's also attacked the "Kyiv regime" and called for Ukraine to "kick out Zelensky and all the parasites" and stated that "I want Russia to feel secure at its borders." Angelo's also falsely stated that Zelenskyy refuses to have peace negotiations:
Naturally, he's called Zelenskyy Israeli asset, suggesting that he'll eventually flee to Israel after "Ukraine falls". He claims that Zelenskyy and his leadership takes orders from US/NATO and that he doesn't "give a shit about Ukraine."
In Jul 2023, he was a guest on RT.
11/16
Angelo is also trying to connect the situation in the Middle East to the war in Ukraine, by sharing a conspiracy theory called The Heavenly Jerusalem Project. It's a fake narrative over the plan to reduce the native Ukrainian population and replace it with Jewish settlers.
12/16
Angelo has legally changed his name to Lucas Gage and is now using this name on X/Twitter and YouTube. He's probably trying to wipe his past as a raging neo-Nazi and participating in far-right organizations in the past.
13/16
Before 7 Oct 2023, Gage's account went mostly unnoticed. After Hamas' terrorist attack against Israeli civilians, Angelo started promoting posts around the #GazaGenocide hashtag, gaining over 100 000 followers in one month. He's posted about the "evil Zionists" and a...
14/16
...summary of the fake scripture The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and quotes from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. In one of his more popular posts, he claimed that we should "STOP BEING SOFT ON JEWS!" and "that God is telling us to go HARD on them; they deserve it."
15/16
Angelo most probably does all this for attention and money. His book, "Thoughts and Reflections on Life", looks like 1 dollar store version of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. As is tradition, his angry and racist tirades have also been monetized by Elon's X.
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.