Post

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
Click again on or Share Via icon
Click on Copy Link to Tweet
Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
More info at Twitter Help

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jul 31, 2024 • 21 tweets • 13 min read • Read on X

Scrolly

In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an American politician and author, JD Vance (@JDVance). He’s best-known for his strong stance against US aid to Ukraine, and for being the Republican party’s nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.

1/20

Vance hails from the small town of Middletown, Ohio. His parents divorced when he was a toddler, JD’s mother struggled with drug addiction, and he was raised primarily by his grandparents. Later he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and spent 6 months as a PR guy in Iraq.

2/20

In 2016, Harper published JD’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, in which he described his life and hardships, and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown. The book was very successful, and it was even adapted into a shitty Netflix movie. It also made JD famous.

3/20

During this time, JD had also moved to San Francisco to work as a venture capitalist in the tech industry, even (allegedly) working for Elon Musk’s and David Sacks’ old buddy, Peter Thiel in his firm Mithril Capital between 2016 and 2017.

4/20

But Vance had higher ambitions, and for those he had to move back to Ohio. First, he launched a non-profit organization that was supposed to focus on education, addiction, and other socioeconomic issues he had described in his book. The organization closed down just two…

5/20

…years after its launch with very few accomplishments. In 2022, JD’s rival Tim Ryan claimed that the NGO was a front for his political ambitions, and later Business Insider reported that it had spent more on Vance’s political advisor than on programs to fight opioid abuse.

6/20

And Vance’s old friend Peter Thiel also chipped in - he put a staggering 15 million USD into JD’s campaign to run for senator in 2022. Thiel had previously financed Vance’s venture firm Narya Capital that later helped fund the “alt-right” video platform Rumble.

7/20

As most of you have noticed, Vance has been a pretty bad choice for Trump as a VP candidate - he’s awkward, uncharismatic, not funny, and also extremely hostile. For example, after the Trump assassination attempt, he quickly blamed Biden for the incident.

8/20

So why was JD picked? My bet is on money. Vance’s connections to Silicon Valley investors like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Ben Horowicz, Marc Andreessen and David Sacks bring in huge campaign contributions to Trump who at times has been strapped for cash.

9/20

In return, Vance has allegedly promised to deregulate crypto and remove safeguards around AI development. And as an investor, having your favorite candidate in the White House can’t be bad for business, eh?

10/20

Like his investor buddies, JD is also extremely opportunistic. In 2016, he was strongly against Trump’s presidency, calling him “divisive and arrogant” and “America’s Hitler”, referring to himself as a “never Trump guy” and calling Trump’s voters “idiots”.

11/20

But apparently his wealthy overlords changed their minds about Trump: in 2021, after announcing his senate candidacy, JD had been politically cuckolded by Trump. This led to JD deleting some of his old social media posts and publicly apologizing for his past behavior.

12/20

And like Trump, Vance also has a way of polarizing whole societies. He’s alienated a bunch of voters by saying that people without children are often "most sociopathic,” “psychotic,” and “deranged”. He’s also suggested that people without children should pay more taxes.

13/20

Probably in order to suck up to Trump, Vance has parroted the claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that the Jan 6 rioters are unjustly prosecuted. He’s also said that journalists should be investigated for “colluding against Trump” in 2020.

14/20

JD’s stance on the Russo-Ukrainian War has been in line with the tech bros that support him. In Apr 2022, he stated that “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other”.

JD hasn’t also been shy about sharing literal Russian disinformation, when he…

15/20

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1648640636680118272

… claimed that the US is sending money to Ukraine “so that one of Zelenskyy’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht”. The fake story about Zelenskyy (not his ministers) buying a yacht was spread by super-vatnik and conman John Mark Dougan:

16/20

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1648640636680118272

He’s also published a Senate memo claiming that Ukraine isn’t accounting for the aid they’re given (Ukraine established a parliamentary commission for this sole purpose in 2022) & that Ukraine has too few soldiers - the latter may be true at this point, but they now have…

17/20

… 14 fresh and trained brigades waiting to rotate to the frontlines, but the troops are not properly armed due to delays in Western aid. And as most of you know, these life-costing delays were mostly due to political decisions made by JD’s MAGA gang & speaker Mike Johnson.
18/20

He’s also stated that Ukraine should just cede land and cut a deal with Putin - a man who has broken pretty much every treaty and ceasefire in the past. JD apparently also ignores the fact that Russia is now funneling 35% of total government spending on military.

19/20

To conclude,JD is a VP candidate that was probably chosen because he brings in a lot of money from the tech bros.He doesn’t seem to have any set of permanent values & his former roommate called him a “sellout”, “angry”, “vindictive”, & “the perfect fit for Trump’s revenge”.
20/20

You can now pre-order my upcoming (Fall of 2024) book titled “Vatnik Soup - The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” from here:

kleart.dk/webshop/p/vatn…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @P_Kallioniemi

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jun 6

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire and media tycoon. He’s best known for building a powerful media empire and for reshaping editorial lines across French media and publishing, pushing them toward far-right and pro-Kremlin positions.

1/25

Born in 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt to a family of industrialists, Vincent studied law at Paris Nanterre University. He took over the family business and turned it into a sprawling conglomerate spanning logistics, port infrastructure in Africa, advertising, and media.

2/25

Bolloré’s African logistics empire also became the subject of a long-running corruption investigation in France. Legal proceedings against Vincent Bolloré personally are still ongoing, with a trial planned in December, after a judge refused to approve a plea deal.

3/25

Read 25 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jun 4

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll introduce an American conspiracy theorist, podcaster & antisemite, Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO). She’s best known for spreading conspiracy theories, attacking Ukraine, promoting pro-Kremlin BS, and becoming a favorite of Russian state media.

1/21

Candace started her career as an intern at Vogue magazine but later moved into political commentary. Her early career focused on criticizing Republicans, calling their antics “bat-shit crazy.” In 2016, her blog even published an article about Trump’s penis size.

2/21

That same year, she launched a doxxing website called SocialAutopsy. In response, people began posting Owens’s personal information online. During the controversy, she gained support from figures such as @Nero and @Cernovich. And just like that, she became a conservative.

3/21

Read 23 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 27

In today’s Wumao Soup, we’ll talk about Taiwan, the sovereign country the Chinese Communist Party insists is not a country, but constantly threatens to invade just like a country, while the “antiwar” crowd is eagerly encouraging them to start that war, endangering millions.

1/20

Taiwan is a country, a state. It has its own territory, government, army, police, courts, taxes, passports and elections, just like any other country.

The only difference? Its neighbor, imperialist China, wants to invade it, and other countries try to please the big bully.

2/20

Taiwan’s official name is the Republic of China, or ROC. The ROC was founded in 1912, after the fall of the Qing dynasty. The People’s Republic of China, or PRC, was founded by democidal dictator Mao Zedong and his communist party, in 1949, after fighting against the ROC.

3/20

Read 20 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 25

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll introduce Russian propaganda operations around military targets like Starobilsk. For over a decade, the Kremlin has used similar strategies, combining crisis actors, “independent journalists” and fabricated evidence.

1/13

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1611980244252258304

First, let’s go back to 2014. Russia funded separatist groups and sent its mercenaries to Donbas, which led to the creation of two puppet states, Donetsk and Luhansk, governed by Russian propagandists and soldiers like Igor Girkin.

2/13

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1611980244252258304

The fake genocide was touted as one of the main reasons for Russia’s war during the early stages of the full-scale invasion, and the claim was made even by Putin himself. Before his mutiny, late Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said that all this was fabricated bullshit.

3/13

Read 14 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 11

In this 9th Debunk of the Day, we’ll discuss “legitimate military targets”. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine, with no declaration of war, hiding behind a “special military operation”. Yet vatniks & useful idiots pretend Russia has any legitimate or lawful targets in Ukraine.

1/8

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1938237244537479275

Russia started the war in 2014 by seizing Crimea with unmarked soldiers, “little green men”. Russians have been waging an undeclared, illegal war with endless war crimes ever since, whether it’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children with genocidal intent…

2/8

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1938237244537479275

… the concentration camps for Ukrainians under occupation, conscripting Ukrainians from occupied territories, or the terrorist, deliberate bombing of civilians, including their infamous “double tap” strikes.

So no, Russia does not have any “legitimate targets” in Ukraine.

3/8

Read 8 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 1

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce Hasan Piker, a Turkish-American streamer and millionaire. He’s best known for his champagne socialism, rabid criticism of the US and Israel, support for the Soviet Union and for Chinese and Russian invasions, and for mistreating his dog.

1/20

Born in 1991, Piker grew up in a privileged and well-connected environment. His father held senior roles at big corporations and his uncle, Cenk Uygur, is the founder of The Young Turks media network. He graduated cum laude from Rutgers, a top-tier university in New Jersey.

2/20

His main activity and primary source of income consists of hours-long livestreams on Twitch where he comments on news and yells at videos. He also keeps his dog in place the whole time with a shock collar.

3/20