In today's #vatniksoup, I'll introduce a Dutch right-wing activist, conspiracy theorist & social media personality, Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@evavlaar). She's best-known for her promotion of the "decline of the Decadent West" trope, and for promotion of pro-Kremlin narratives.
1/19
Eva's main audience is conservative traditionalists, and basically everything she does revolves around this theme. She also promotes various conspiracy theories about the "global elites", COVID-19 and vaccines, World Economic Forum and digitalisation of society.
2/19
She's also a raging populist, and is not afraid to take current events and rally around them to get more attention to her conspiratorial ramblings. Recently, she's been involved with the protests by European farmers against increasing costs and tiny margins.
3/19
In 2016, she joined the far-right political party, Forum voor Democratie (FvD). Some years later she became an intern at the FvD faction in the European Parliament, and soon left her position at the university in order to fully focus on her political career with the FvD.
4/19
FvD leader Thierry Baudet soon announced that Eva would fill the 5th spot on FvD's candidate list for the House of Representatives.Few months later FvD faced a huge crisis when its youth wing had made some extreme remarks, including praise of Anders Breivik & Brenton Tarrant.5/19
Soon after this, many members resigned from the party. Eva was one of them - she joined a morning talk show in which she announced that she had chosen sides against the FvP leader and her former boyfriend (or "fling", as Eva called it), Thierry Baudet.
6/19
For the time being, she left politics and focused more on political commentary and promoting herself on podcasts, talk shows and right-wing political events. She promotes various conspiracy theories, and often talks about the "The Great Reset" and its dangers.
7/19
In 2021, she appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, stating that Europe is becoming "a tyrannical regime, of mass surveillance and control". In the same year, she also worked as presenter of her own YouTube talk show "Let's Talk About It".
8/19
The show was part of Swedish media outlet Riks, which is affiliated with the far-right party Sverigedemokraterna. It seems that the show ran for only 10 episodes. She was also working as a legal advisor at a law firm, but her employment was terminated just after 4 months.
9/19
Eva then continued her career as a political commentator and speaker, calling for people to "reject Globalism and embrace God" at events like the Brussels National Conservatism Conference. She also became a regular commentator on European matters at Carlson's show on Fox.
10/19
She's also appeared as a regular commentator on Mark Steyn's YouTube show, on which she's commented - among other things - about how "young girls are being sacrificed on the altar of mass migration," and how the governments are trying to control us with digital currencies.
11/19
Like most conspiracy theorists, Eva often creates doomsday scenarios around topics she has no clue about, like for example cybersecurity and the threat of "cyber pandemics", which according to her would lead to martial law and the adoption of Europe-wide mass surveillance.
12/19
Eva doesn't speak a lot about Ukraine, but when she does, she condemns it as a pointless money sink. She's also claimed that the whole thing is just another scheme to make weapon manufacturers and companies like BlackRock even wealthier.
13/19
After the Carlson interview with Putin, she praised the dictator's 30 minute revisionist history rant, stating that it has "current political relevance", and that no other leader could give such a detailed (biased and made-up) "historical account" as Putin did.
14/19
She also commented on the Tucker video about the "low prices" in Russian supermarkets, stating that the Western standard of living is low "by design" and that it was "made by people who hate us." Almost half of Russians state that their salary doesn't cover basic spending.
15/19
It doesn't take a genius to see the conclusion here - Putin as a traditionalist is in the right by "defending Russia" and the "decadent West" in the wrong by giving up all power to "global elites" and by sending military and monetary aid to Ukraine. The whole narrative...
16/19
... is based on a silly conspiracy theory there is some kind of clandestine power that is trying to enslave the whole of humanity through degradation of "conservative values", lockdowns, vaccines, mass surveillance, and depopulation.
As is tradition.
17/19
As a traditionalist, Eva's been desperately looking for that far-right love of her life - between 2012 and 2014 she dated far-right fascist Julien Rochedy, after which she had a "fling" with Baudet. In 2022 she got engaged with Will Witt, but I don't think that worked out.
18/19
Oh, and Eva: if you're reading this, here are some of the lies Putin told to Carlson:
And below is Tucker making excuses why he didn't ask Putin any tough questions and basically calling him a killer.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American propagandist Alexandra Jost, aka “Sasha” (@sashameetsrus). She’s best known for being paid by the Russian state to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda — and for doing it with a big smile.
1/23
Alexandra, now 26, was born in Hong Kong. Her father is from Texas, and her mother is from Siberia. According to her, she has “dreamed of living in Russia since childhood.” Sasha's mother runs a dance studio in Moscow and her younger brother is avoiding mobilization.
2/23
Since the beginning of her creator career, Sasha has been adamant about one thing: that she’s “never had to be paid” to speak of her “love” for Russia. But, as always with Russia, this turned out to be nothing but vranyo — a Russian “tactical lie.”
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll reintroduce an American political commentator and pro-Kremlin propagandist, Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson). He’s best known for his promotion of crazy conspiracy theories and for his support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
1/24
Tucker’s career spans decades, but he’s also been very active in recent years, so a lot has happened since our previous soup on him, which can be found here:
Once described as “the most powerful conservative in America”, Tucker has now fully transformed into a grifting conspiracy theorist and propagandist willing to work for whoever pays him the most. It’s unclear whether Tucker truly believes his endless conspiracy theories or…
3/24
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.