A wave of Russian disinformation swept Donald Trump into office: Fake articles on Facebook blared the Pope’s endorsement. The New York Post informed us Hillary was going to be indicted and die of a rare disease next week.
Since then, Trump has adapted that fake news operation to turn around the negative publicity from 91 felony counts.
And Trump and Putin’s success – in dictating that the House end US aid to Ukraine against the Russian invasion, while unleashing a host of anti-Ukraine social media trolls – represents the second most successful intelligence operation by a foreign adversary in US history, after the one that got Trump elected.
Much has changed since Reagan said “Tear down this wall” and Americans unanimously supported brave Ukrainian defenders against hordes of Russian war criminals.
One thing that has not changed is the set of standard methods Russian intelligence employs, and which Trump has adopted to use on any audience gullible enough to believe that “Mexico will pay for the wall.”
Here are some of the Russian ploys specifically identified by Western intelligence agencies:
Pokazuhka – Perception management or thought control. Since the Soviet days, Russian security services use this both internally for control of the people and against foreign media to skew, influence and misdirect.
There could hardly be a better example than Tucker Carlson letting Putin drone on for 45 minutes about the ancient history of the Rus that proves that Russia was justified to invade Ukraine. By that logic, the Louisiana National Guard should make contingency plans for invasion by the French, the Spanish, and the Choctaw Indians.
Putin is a "Small Pathetic Man" Who Needs More Wars to Survive
Then there was Tucker Carlson showing us the shiny Moscow metro as an example of advanced Russian civilization, without showing us the arctic gulag prisons where political opponents go for a walk and never come back alive.
Poleznyy Durak (useful idiot) – Manipulatable, gullible and naive foreign individuals — private, governmental or media, at whatever level by playing on their inattention, indifference, ignorance, obliviousness.
In the Tucker Carlson interview, Putin got to cut out the middleman. But Carlson was soon back on the airwaves to prove his aptitude for employing the Russian intelligence playbook, combining Poleznyy Durak with Pokazuhka by going to the grocery store in Moscow to show how much better consumers have it under Putin than in the wasteland of American carnage. Carlson showed off all the groceries he could buy for $100 that would cost $400 under Bidenomics.
Carlson forgot to mention that the average monthly wage in Russia is $787, for a grand total of less than $10,000 a year, hardly the envy of the American worker.
Kompromat – Compromising or contorting a point of view or political position by subliminal suggestion, dropping a hint via disinformation, planting a “hypothetical or bombshell idea.”
Sometimes it is not so subtle, as in the recent firehose of disinformation from the Russian Embassy – that Russia did not initiate the war in Ukraine and tried to achieve peace through the Minsk agreements concluded under coercion of Russian troops already inside Ukraine that Russia accuses the West of never intending to follow. The Russian Embassy does not mention that Russia never abided by the agreements that required a cease fire and withdrawal of foreign troops.
MAGA trolls willingly repeat this disinformation about how much better life is under Putin than Biden.
It is not hard to find a US useful idiot to repeat Russian kompromat, like Mollie Hemingway, who says the Russian cyberattack against US elections in 2016, was a “hoax” that was suggested to Hillary Clinton by the CIA.
This constant MAGA refrain flies in the face of conclusive proof that the Trump campaign did, in fact, collude with the Russian cyberattack. Repeating that propaganda requires ignoring the contrary findings of the Republican Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020.
Vranyo – These are lies that everyone knows is a lie, but the media will nonetheless repeat to give legs to the lie. Often Putin wants everyone to recognize a lying denial as a lie by which Putin is actually claiming responsibility. This applies to journalists who fall out of windows and Prigozhin’s plane exploding.
Carlson helped Putin top the charts with the claim that Poland started World War II, just like Ukraine started the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022. This is also a threat to Poland for helping Ukraine and moving away from the autocracy Putin seeks to reassert in the countries that formerly languished behind the Iron Curtain of Soviet domination.
Lately, there is no better conduit of Russian Vranyo than Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville has repeated a litany of fallacious, simplistic Kremlin talking points identified by a former US intelligence operative, effectively pushed by Russian intelligence to raise questions whether the US should support Ukraine.
These include Tuberville’s Putin-friendly pronouncements, direct from Russian influence operations, cleared for release by the Prepublication Classification Review Board:
- Russia is too big and powerful to be defeated.
- Putin is the peacemaker who wants to negotiate.
- Ukraine support is draining the US defense budget, and the money should be spent elsewhere (southern border).
The irony of all this assistance Russia is receiving from sympathetic and gullible Americans in its influence operations is that, make no mistake, Putin does not return the affection.
Putin hates America and his goal is to send it into chaos if not destroy it.
These need no intel confirmation, as the words are plain from Putin’s own mouth. Of course, in true Vranyo fashion, Putin also claims the opposite, that it is the West that seeks to divide Russia. The irony extends to Putin’s contempt for his Polezni Durak sycophants that spout Pohhazuka, Kompromat and Vranyo.
One thing US intelligence confirms for sure: It is time for decisive leadership, in place of this handwringing.
Putin, like most bullies, is always testing weaklings and quislings, but backs off whenever his deceptive devices are met with a strong and unwavering rejection. It is high time the Tubervilles stop playing into Putin’s hands.
If House Speaker Mike Johnson really believes he is ordained to be Moses leading America to the promised land, it is time to show that leadership against the evil regime that just killed Navalny, not to serve as a lackey for Americans who look up to Putin.
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Comments (11)
Let me put it simply for you. It is unrelated to Zelensky or Putin. It is unrelated to liking Zelensky, loving Ukraine, or detesting Putin or Russia.
Putting the needs of Americans first means putting America first. That means American roads, bridges, health care, law enforcement, border defense, and social security. Republicans are fed up with being told that America is the world's piggybank and that we should handle any crisis that crops up halfway around the globe while neglecting our own domestic needs. Russia is the issue facing Europe, not America.
We owe 32 trillion dollars. Trillions of dollars went into Afghanistan and Iraq. The Biden administration cannot even clearly define the end of the war for which we are borrowing money.
@Just Dave, Every once in a while even actual Ukraine supporters get caught up in the KyivPosts necessary russian troll sweep. After all, this journal is to inform the English speaking world of Ukraine's war needs, accomplishments and the many, many crimes putin inflicts upon them. Why would a country under attack want its MRGA enemies to spread putins propaganda on its own publications>
At any rate if there is a specific post I've made that you want a link to its credible source let me know.
It's important the MRGA / putinrump brainwashed sheep in the MAGA cult get on the same page as the rest of Ukraine's supports about this two foul kindred spirits relationship, lies and crimes.
By the way...I'm just a volunteer in another country (Canada) with no affiliation to Ukraine or Kyivpost. You won't believe me, but that's okay.
It should actually be more concerning to you that I'm just doing all this pro-bono in my spare time. Just one of many it would seem, that hit their threshold for watching putin and putinrumps crimes and lies not get the public attention they require.
Cheers
Ukraine and Russia have a shared history, a shared religion, shared political philosophies and same styled government types. Both are democratic nations in which leaders seek to perpetuate their power forever and know every trick in the book to seek and destroy political rivals to the point of sending them to the front line to advance their interviews with the Maker.
Ukraine was part of the USSR, together with Russia by its own will. Many of us in the West who fought during the Cold War do not view either of you as our friends or have you in any good regards. Endless numbers of youngsters were recruited and granted college scholarships to study in the U+U duet. Those who returned were very much seasoned, deformed-to-the-core radical communist terrorists who we had to keep in check by ways of force.
The U+U inherited the same structure from the USSR and as such all the same number of thieves and backstabbers who steal every day from the defense efforts and who send others to fight and die all the while enriching themselves and becoming oligarchs, tycoons, and moguls. A longer war implies more opportunities to steal NATO aid and serve new masters to rebuild the obliterated infrastructure.
It is hard to prefer the Ukraine over Russia when both of you have worked so very close together for so long to destroy our freedoms in the Western world. Your joint history will make you allies again over time. You are not to be trusted.
@troll jack SHAMELESSLY OFFERING ANOTHER TRUMP conjugal visit:
Ah...MRGA troll's daily insult of Kyivpost.
You'd think for a troll that insults the quality of Kyivpost 119 times already this year, that it would come up with new material to post.
We know it has to come back because the MRGA troll farm is now offering overtime. The price of eggs in russia has doubled and it wants to make an angel food cake in putin's bare shirt image.
@Alaine. You forgot to first post a comment under your new name, so I'm not sure to which of my troll rebuttal posts you are referring.
Or is it you just object to my posting the derogatory quotes of rumps' former top appointees in the White House, or the clips from multiple credible sources of his astounding number of past violations the USA's legal code (+4091 legal cases), or is it the quotes I post from his own mouth where he lavishes praise on putin, or debases his own legal, national security, intelligence and defense institution, or any media that is brave enough to call him out on the list of +30,500 lies told by him in his 4 year term?
If you disagree with any of those the well cited facts / accurate quotes it would not be very flattering as to your ability to research and assimilate facts. Wouldn't it be easier for your ego (but perhaps not your soul) to just be cool with being called a troll?
Please provide more detail.
With the grocery price illustration, Humphrey's wisely provides another great illustration of how 'putintucker' blindly supports his masters' propaganda even when it gets really, really obviously stupid.
Putintucker never reports truthfulness, or at best its truth taken widely out of context......like a criminal clipping words from multiple magazines to construct an 'anonymous' ransom note.
Instead putintucker fabricates fake news himself and generously lies for fabricators like putinrump and their dark lord putin.
That in turn gets putintuckers past media bosses at Fox having to pay out $800 million settlements to the innocent victims of his lies. He is a huge liability risk for any legitimate media outlet (not saying that term applies to Fox though).
His narrow focused allegiance with putin and his cronies putinrump, putinorban..etc), 'putins' him well within reach of 'chief russian nazi propagandist' designation. Joseph Goebbels had a similar role in Hitlers' regime. He and Hitler committed suicide within a day of each other in their bunkers once their jig was up.
What fate awaits putintucker (and putinrump) when putin's regime and their related 'payola' falls .....we shall see.
I've got news for you Humphreys, the Davos mafia with Herr Klaus Schwab and the WEF hate America as well. America is the target for all the royalty offspring which reside mostly in Europe. Davos wants it all, global serfdom based in Geneva. Putin wants to be the new Czar and USSR 2.0. There are a lot of whack jobs in the land of the colonizers...Europe. And China. And Russia.
Zelenskiy and Trump are in similar positions, to protect and preserve national sovereignty from the predatory class looking for land and asset grabs. US religious conservatives have been conned by Putin, you are right. However, the Geneva mob which to indenture and to absorb Ukraine into its GreatReset experiment needs to use their money in Ukraine.
The WEF Mob is trying to impoverish America via Uncle Joe Biden and a flood of illegal invaders just as it's done in EUROPE. Americans need to stop paying the bills for the predators in Geneva, weakening America further.
Come on Davos, fewer corporate jets and more weapons for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy needs to outwit the WEF Mob, get all the weapons he can from these reptiles, kick Russia to the curb, and declare Ukraine's sovereignty as the most ass kicking military on the continent. Ukraine and America could be the most go-to places on earth very soon.
@Ben in Kiev, Well.... most obvious of russian paid trolls that I've seen today, you have never supported Ukraine one iota so what you have to say means zippo, zilch, zero.
You only sow discord to try to burden Ukraine further for your master. If you were here of your own volition perhaps you might not come back after a disappointing experience. However we all know you do not have a choice.
You are paid to come here and spread propaganda. You are well aware of what happens to putin subordinates that don't follow orders. You will be back, but as always your impact is nothing (other than wasting putin's money).
For the rest of us, we like Kyivpost just fine. A great selection of thought provoking, informative and often inspirational topics to keep us inspired towards supporting Ukraine's defence against putin's evil russian orcs.
See you soon.
This is a good introduction to how Russian propaganda operates. It’s sad how many Right-wingers in the US fall for it, and actively support Russia’s genocidal ambitions.
Biden is your guy because he is stupid and corrupt? I was a big Ukraine fan until Inread this article. I won’t be reading this paper any longer nor following and advocating for Ukraine.
@Beau bidenish, Everyone knows that Donald Trump is an honest businessman, with an impressive culture, History, Geography, International Politics…. Only in illiterate third world countries and the likes of Russia, Iran, North Korea and China could a person like Donald Trump become President.
@Beau bidenish, rebranded troll 'Jack Griffen', you forgot to use your favourite term 'briben". Here are some links revealing the ethics of the leadership you prefer:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/six-notable-moments-trumps-civil-rape-trial-2023-05-09/. - $88 million awarded to victim.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-guide-to-the-criminal-cases-against-donald-trump/. - Charged with 91 felonies. Only US president ever indicted.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68323487. - "In a stunning blow to his business empire, Donald Trump has been found liable for almost $355m (£281m) ...in a long-awaited conclusion to the billionaire's fraud trial."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_and_business_legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump. -
Before taking office: "involved in over 4,000 legal cases in U.S. federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes.[1] He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, with one accusation resulting in Trump being held liable"
Even 24 of his own Republican past top White House appointees have been quoted as essentially saying he has contempt for the rule of law and is unfit for office.
I can provide all their quotes if anyone thinks he deserves more attention.
Putinrump is the kind of guy only a MRGA troll would admire.
There is a mistake. It is not MAGA, but MUGA. Donald Trump says "Make USSR Great Again".
@Barruntaranchos, I've been using the acronym 'MRGA' and referring to his USA minion as 'putinrump'.
Ultimately these putin controlled, con-men led, cult movements all serve putin's interest in destabilizing allied democracies.
@John, I totally agree. One question I don´t understand from Europe is how it is possible that so many people in the US can support a scunbag like Trump. He is not hiding his extreme ideas, total lack of culture and decency, etc. Is education in the US in such disastrous situation as to vote for such person? In Spain Mr. Abascal, these days in US joining Trump, gets less than 5 % of votes (2% in last week election in Galicia).
@John, so let me get this straight…if I disagree with you… the author, I am to be coined Russian troll.. or maga troll…? An interesting play. Obvious, to any reader - the attempt to skirt accountability in one’s blatant, partisan editorial attempt(s).
@Alaine, There is a 3rd option. You might just be really, really bad at verifying the lies putin and putinrup spread, or in general just bad at researching and mentally processing facts. Some MAGA sheep that drank putinrump Koolaid fall in that category. They probably already bought his new $59 putinrump approved 'Bible' being sold to suckers to pay for his legal fees. Talk about hypocrisy.
Regardless I'm not sure I have the skills to bring them around to reality. I have a one of those in my family even. That one crazy relative which everyone else hopes does not show up at family gathering.....sigh.