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. 3/18
The Kremlin knows this very well, which is why they aggressively pushed their own false versions of events like the MH17 downing, the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, or the Skripal poisonings — they came up with over 20 different stories about what had happened for this one. 4/18
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, MAGA-aligned accounts rushed to blame political opponents. Among the provocateurs were Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and Donald Trump, president of a waning yet still dominant superpower. 5/18
The President of the United States also swiftly blamed rhetoric from the “radical left” for inciting political violence, implying that it was such discourse that had created the conditions that led to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. 6/18
Elon Musk tweeted, “The left is the party of murder,” @realmattforney called it an “American Reichstag fire” (after which Adolf Hitler persecuted German communists), and @LauraLoomer urged shutting down, defunding, and prosecuting “every single Leftist organization.” 7/18
One of the main narratives was a call for civil war — major MAGA-aligned accounts like @libsoftiktok, Gunther Eagleman (recently souped), and even Elon Musk echoed this, with their posts amplified by X’s bot and troll networks: 8/18 https://x.com/Havoc_Six/status...
Another target was the Democratic Party, with accounts like @JoeyMannarinoUS (our favorite “Black woman”), @Anc_Aesthetics, and @seanmdav calling to label it a “terrorist organization,” while many others demanded the party be shut down entirely. 9/18
It’s worth noting that these claims came before any evidence at all about the shooter emerged. This is a textbook example of agenda-setting 101, showing how MAGA Republicans have borrowed a strategy from the Kremlin’s authoritarian playbook. 10/18
The killing has already sparked several conspiracy theories from both ends of the political spectrum. As usual, @shayan86 has been actively debunking these, and I highly recommend giving him a follow. I’ll also go through the main narratives below. 11/18
The most widespread anti-MAGA narrative claims Donald Trump may have ordered Charlie Kirk’s assassination to distract from the Epstein files and spark civil unrest, allowing him to declare martial law and delay the upcoming midterm elections. 12/18
Anti-American communist propagandist @jacksonhinklle claimed the assassination may have been orchestrated by Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, whereas Australian Gi — sorry, “Syrian Girl” — spread the same story pushed by Harrison H. Smith of InfoWars. 13/18
Anonymous accounts like @UBERSOY1 began doxxing entirely innocent people. That account quickly jumped on the transphobic bandwagon, doxxing a 17-year-old. The post is still up, hasn’t been Community Noted, and will even earn UBERSOY money. 14/18
The polarization of social media is clear when reading comments about the murder on Bluesky (typically more left-leaning, as X is right-leaning). Many left-aligned users are even celebrating it, showing how deeply divided the US society has become: 15/18 https://x.com/avidseries/statu...
Many of these narratives have already been amplified by bot and troll farms, and even by Russian officials like Drunk Dima. For them, it’s a prime opportunity to stir the pot and provoke civil unrest in the United States. 16/18
Another recent example of exploiting tragedy for politics is the gruesome murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in the US. People who once demonized both Ukrainians and refugees switched to accusing the media and pro-Ukraine voices of ignoring the terrible crime. 17/18
Kirk was a polarizing figure, and I personally disagreed with many of his statements on Ukraine. But he was also a husband & father. Sadly, cynically exploiting the death of anyone deemed convenient or timely has become routine political practice. 18/18 https://x.com/charliekirk11/st...
The 2nd edition of “Vatnik Soup — The Ultimate Guide to Russian Disinformation” is officially out! You can order your copy here: https://vatniksoup.com/en/book...
@P_Kallioniemi Never was a fan of Kirk. But truth be told, your demonization of him was/is but another contribution to his dehumanization. That is also why I was always against this “vatnik” calling of people, and this despite being a Ukraine supporter from day one. You eliminate nuance and box
@P_Kallioniemi It’s quite likely that a Ukrainian Nazi killed Charlie Charlie was against the NATO created war in Ukraine, and the corruption of the neocons/defender contractors The shooter seemed to be ex-military based on the precision of the shot, and the way he escaped
@P_Kallioniemi I'm pretty sure you are one of those who applauded when cunt with balls kicked a girl's face in the last Olympics boxing ring. Because you can't describe a girl. So little man with so little brain. 🤷♂️
@P_Kallioniemi We should consider the possibility, that this asassination, only hours after Russia has contested NATO airspace in Poland, was no coincidence....
@P_Kallioniemi Sorry but preliminary evidence shows the assassin is a leftist anti-fascist who is pro-trans or trans themselves. We will soon uncover their full identity. Also the “doxxed” transgender had this to say about Charlie Kirk that you conveniently didn’t show.
@P_Kallioniemi The "journalist" who started the "foreign intelligence" rumour has links to people who previously worked with Russian intelligence services: https://x.com/ConflictDISP/sta...
@P_Kallioniemi Thanks for the review. I have similar thoughts about this – everyone rushed to use this murder for their own purposes. But most are just hypeing.
@P_Kallioniemi what tragedy?
@P_Kallioniemi A few posts from Putin’s ideologue, Dugin. They know exactly what they want and are working toward it: a civil war in the U.S. - or at least blame Ukraine.
@P_Kallioniemi @OckersM Bookmarked. This will be significant.
@P_Kallioniemi @threadreaderapp unroll
@P_Kallioniemi Nothing much to say, just wanted to help the range of this :)
@P_Kallioniemi Look. Kirk wasn't allie of Ukraine. But to declare him a vatnik it's retarded. You will enrage republicans who are in power in USA (and probably will stay for long time), and UA needs their support to survive. Don't be retarded and don't play this into RU hands.
@P_Kallioniemi Interesting thread. I think it is more likely it was a political move made to stir hatred between US groups. He was not that popular, so he could be used as a pawn. If it was an angry leftwinger, then the left would only draw even more negative opression upon itself.....
@P_Kallioniemi This kind of problem deeply disturbs because so many people contributing to it are doing so unwittingly. They are at once grave national security threats and not consciously guilty of anything. No one knows what the ethics of dealing with this should be
@P_Kallioniemi It's interesting someone could call it an "American Reichstag fire." Putting aside that most people believe Hitler had it burned (I don't), I thought it was universally remembered as the top symbol of abusing a situation for political gain - not a just reaction to provocation.
@P_Kallioniemi What an absolute and total mess the political world is right now, holy hell.