In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Dutch, far-right political party Forum voor Democratie (FvD for short; @fvdemocratie). They're best-known for their anti-Ukraine and pro-Kremlin politics, and for their tendency to support the craziest conspiracy theories out there.
1/19
FvD was initially founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2015. Their main goal was to oppose the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine and the Dutch membership in the EU, calling for a referendum act on the issue.
2/19
Otten was kicked out of FvD after he allegedly led the party apparatus in a dictatorial way and transferred some money from party donors to his own consultancy company, without permission. Baudet has been introduced on #vatniksoup previously:
In Sep 2016, FvD was converted into a political party and announced its intention to take part in the 2017 general election, in which they won two seats in the House of Representatives. After that, the party grew fast, and in 2019 they had nearly 31 000 members.
4/19
FvD really took off in the 2019 provincial elections, when they won 86 seats. They were the largest party in three provinces, and 2nd or 3rd in many others. Most of their candidates had no prior experience in politics or in political parties.
5/19
FvD suffered from internal issues due to their rapid growth, and in 2018 many prominent members left the party because they felt it lacked democracy in its decision-making. In 2020, the party was again a target of controversy, when its youth wing made racist...
6/19
... and homophobic comments. The party leader, Baudet, was also accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. Baudet temporarily stepped down as party leader, only to return for the 2021 general election. The party campaigned against COVID-19 lockdowns,...
7/19
... and managed to win 8 seats. Due to controversies such as comparing the COVID-19 lockdowns to Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and protesting against Zelenskyy's speech to the House of Representatives, many of the party's representatives abandoned the party.
8/19
From the beginning, FvD along with its leader has called for better relations between the Netherlands & Russia. Baudet strongly opposed the sanctions against Russia after the occupation of Crimea & co-signed a letter calling for new investigation on the shoot down of MH17.
9/19
In 2020 Dutch TV program Zembla published Whatsapp group messages with interaction between Baudet and Russian Vladimir Kornilov. Based on NYT, Kornilov has ties to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, and in his messages Baudet described him as "a Russian who works for Putin."
10/19
In one of the messages, Baudet told Otten that he wanted to stop working as a commentator on the the TV network Powned, and suggested that "Maybe Kornilov wants to pay some extra". After the messages were published, Thierry switched immediately to damage control mode...
11/19
...declaring that the conversations about Kornilov were a "running gag" and "playful exaggeration". The messages also revealed that he wanted Netherlands to leave NATO, despite the party's election program declaring that Dutch collaboration with NATO should be increased.
12/19
In addition, Baudet has promoted conspiracy theories about "evil reptilians" and the "globalists" ruling over the world, the EU being a "a cultural Marxist project destroying European civilization," and that George Soros introduced the COVID-19 virus.
13/19
Thierry is a big fan of Putin, and he's called him the "hero that we need". He's also claimed that "he must win the war" in Ukraine and "we must do everything we can to support him". His former buddy Otten called him a "Manchurian candidate" over his support for Putin.
14/19
FvD has received a lot of help from anti-EU political strategist John Laughland, who has allegedly designed the political blueprint for the party. Laughland is part of an international conservative network with direct ties to the Kremlin:
In Jul 2023, Baudet and Laughland organized a Twitter Space called "The Decline of Western Civilization", to which they invited Russia's fascist #1 Alexander Dugin:
FvD, like so many other pro-Kremlin parties around Europe, has been described as ideologically national conservative, eurosceptic & right-wing populist. With the likes of Le Pen & Wilders, the rise in their popularity was already evident in the 2014 EU Parliament election.
17/19
Today, FvD is an unremarkable party and its leader Baudet is mostly being ridiculed, but a similar blueprint, with emphasis on anti-immigration, anti-EU/anti-NATO policies and populism, will be used to gain popularity in the future, too.
18/19
Similar policies brought success to Geert Wilders' PVV in the 2023 Dutch general election, when it became the largest party in the Parliament. Some political commentators have said that Wilders gained votes from former fans of newer parties like FvD:
19/19
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
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.