“What is #vatniksoup?”

#vatniksoup is a Twitter thread series (and a hashtag!) where I’ll introduce pro-Russian actors and propagandists from around the world, be they so-called “independent journalists”, politicians, military personnel or just regular grifters looking to get some easy money.

The series also has introductions and deeper insights on how online propaganda and disinformation works and is spread. For example, I’ll talk about troll farms, social media manipulation and Russia’s online information operations.

I feel like it is important to introduce these bad actors along with the strategies they employ in the information space. Only this way we can pursue the one thing that’s usually referred to as the first victim of the war: truth.

Enjoy the soups, follow me on social media, and let me know what you think of this project – I’m always ready for good discussion!

“There’s so many entries, where should I start?”

If you are interested in Russian culture and power politics, read these two entries:

• Russkiy mir
• Russkiy mir 2

If you want to get an introduction on how the whole propaganda/disinformation machinery works, start with these:

• Russia’s propaganda themes
• Russian narratives
• Social media manipulation
• Troll farms
• Disinfo content types
• Firehose of Falsehood

If you need some background about Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine:

• Vladimir Putin
• Peace negotiations
• Genocide in Ukraine
• Russification
• Russian nazis
• NATO expansion
• The Revolution of Dignity

After getting acquainted with the system in general, dive deeper into the vatniks and their stories.