In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce an American social media personality, Samantha A. (@zukosmadre).
She's best-known for anti-Imperialism (but only when it comes to the US), and for her hot takes on the Russo-Ukrainian War and the conflict in the Middle East.
1/17
After reading the previous tweet, your first thought is probably "Who?"
Well, @zukosmadre is a relatively quickly growing social media account that focuses on commenting on geopolitical issues, occasionally posting seductive selfies and thus addressing her "fans".
2/17
I consider Samantha to be a part of the group of "relatively attractive, young women who promote pro-Kremlin narratives" along with people like Sarah Bils, Maria Butina, Alina Lipp and Liu Sivaya (@liusivaya).
Her activities also closely resemble how @Partisangirl started.
3/17
Like @PartisanGirl, Samantha probably discovered a long time ago that her looks and attractive selfies would bring her followers and reach on social media, which can then be beneficial once you start pushing your ridiculous and genocidal political agenda.
4/17
She's has been actively engaging in Russian war crime denialism and apologism, denial of Ukrainian sovereignty, "US/West/NATO bad" rhetoric, and general pro-Kremlin talking points ever since before the invasion of Ukraine began, ramping it way aggressively up afterward.
5/17
Sam's views seem to stem from the support of feminist communism and socialism, and she's heavily against "colonialism" - except if it's done by the Russians or Soviets in Ukraine.
For her, the US is the "imperial core & global hegemon," yet she chooses to live there.
6/17
She's called Holodomor "literally Nazi propaganda," and opposes any military or humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and according to her, NATO and Ukraine are full of Nazis. She's also stated that the West and Ukraine don't care about women, and anyone who thinks that is a fool.
7/17
Then there's of course the "8 years of shelling of Donbas" narrative,a story that's been debunked so many times that it's extremely difficult to find people who believe in that shit anymore. Well, here's one I guess.She also believes in Taibbi's & Maté's silly RussiaGate BS.
8/17
To Sam, Ukraine's a country full of Nazis and she proves this by sharing a UN voting map on Russia's UN resolution they've used both for propaganda and for justifying their genocidal attack on Ukraine.
Incidentally, she doesn't talk about Russia's massive neo-Nazi problem.
9/17
Sam's often called for people who support Ukraine to "take that energy and go fight for Ukraine". Now this is something that you see quite often, as some people don't realize that war efforts can be helped in many ways, including countering disinformation online.
10/17
Incidentally, Sam is doing what she's accusing other people of - she's arguing with Ukraine and Israel supporters online, often resorting to namecalling and ad hominems.
As of today, she hasn't allegedly done anything other than arguing online to "help" Palestinians.
11/17
After Hamas' terrorist attack against Israelis on 7 Oct 2023, Samantha ramped up her genocidal rhetoric going as far as to say that every single Israeli person, literal babies and toddlers included, are "all settlers", and that they all deserved it.
12/17
She hopes that everyone who "condemns Hamas" drowns in piss and claims that these people "helped manufacture consent for genocide". She also apparently doesn't like the claim that killing and kidnapping civilians are "Hamas methods" (which they of course are).
13/17
Sam's actually working as a bartender/server in a very popular, Jewish-owned bar in Connecticut. She's probably used to serving Jews and Ukrainians every time she is behind the counter.
But I suppose her boss is not part of the "evil Zionists" clan she so much despises.
14/17
Probably due to the lack of tipping culture, She also despises "Europeans" (probably calls them "Nazis") and her messages to work group chats reveal her hate and bigotry against them.
In fact she’s told her work group chat to tell Europeans "tell them to kill themselves".
15/17
She's allegedly studying to become a public defender, and she's paid big bucks for companies to erase her online history.
That's probably a good idea, if you want to become a prominent lawyer, as lately she has promoted threats against people like @drewpavlou.
16/17
To conclude: Sam is an edgy feminist/communist/far-left type that spews typical anti-Ukraine rhetoric and pro-Kremlin narratives. Lately she's been more focused on the conflict in the Middle East, supporting terrorist group Hamas and fighting against "evil Zionists".
17/17
This research was done in collaboration with The Unintelligence Agency (@UnintelAgency).
I have paused personal donations for now, please support @U24_gov_ua by donating to the #HopakChallenge and sending me the receipt:
In today’s Wumao Soup, I’ll introduce how and where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) online propaganda and influence operations work. Due to China’s massive population and advances in AI, CCP-aligned online content has become increasingly visible.
1/20
Like Russia’s troll farms, China has its own troll army: the “50 Cent Party” or “Wumao” refers to state-linked online commentators who are reportedly paid ¥0.50 per post to steer discussions away from criticism and amplify CCP narratives on social media.
2/20
Back in 2017, a research paper estimated that the Wumao produced almost 500 million fabricated comments annually to distract readers and shift topics. In that sense, Wumao operates very similarly to the Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” model:
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce the main themes of Russian disinformation on TikTok. Each day, there are thousands of new videos promoting pro-Kremlin narratives and propaganda.
It’s worth noting that Russians can only access European TikTok via VPN.
1/10
There is currently a massive TikTok campaign aimed at promoting a positive image of Russia. The videos typically feature relatively attractive young women and focus on themes of nationalism and cultural heritage.
2/10
Ironically, many of these videos from Moscow or St. Petersburg are deceptively edited to portray Ukraine in a false light — claiming there is no war and that international aid is being funneled to corrupt elites.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about Finland and how pro-Kremlin propagandists have become more active in the Finnish political space since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since 2022, they’ve gained some political power in Finland.
1/16
Russia’s political strategy in countries with Russian-speaking minorities (such as Finland and the Baltics) is typically quite similar: it seeks to rally these minorities around issues like language and minority rights, and then frames the situation as oppression.
2/16
At the same time, Russian speakers are extremely wary and skeptical of local media, and instead tend to follow Russian domestic outlets like Russia-1 and NTV, thereby reinforcing an almost impenetrable information bubble.