-
Prigozhin’s Propagandists Scurry After His Plane — and His African ThinkTank — Go Up in Flames
Read more: Prigozhin’s Propagandists Scurry After His Plane — and His African ThinkTank — Go Up in FlamesMaria Butina told me last year that she worked for the Foundation for the Protection of National Values, a thinktank that the U.S. government sanctioned for aiding Yevgeny Prigozhin’s global propaganda efforts. The website is now defunct, like him. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the notorious Russian leader of the invasion of Ukraine and the failed coup against…
-
Indicted Russian Responds to My Recent Lawfare Article
Read more: Indicted Russian Responds to My Recent Lawfare Article“[YOU] CALL ME FOREST GUMP hinting at amateurism on my part. Here I want to answer you, Forest, although he was a simple man […] conquered the hearts of Americans and became a hero.” Last month, freelance Aussie journalist Elise Thomas and I published an article for Lawfare about Russian businessman Alexander Ionov, who has…
-
Russia’s Latest Troll Site is a Total Failure
Read more: Russia’s Latest Troll Site is a Total FailureTHE FOUNDATION TO BATTLE INJUSTICE claims to be a human rights organisation for victims of state violence in predominantly English-speaking countries. Dubbed the “Russian FBI” in its home country, the organisation is, in fact, the latest project of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was recently added to the American FBI’s “Most Wanted” list for allegedly organising online…
-
“Putin’s Cook” Behind New Russian Action Film
Read more: “Putin’s Cook” Behind New Russian Action FilmTHE FILM marks Yevgeny Prigozhin’s third foray into film-making — and the arrival of a reality-bending new species of Russian propaganda. On Wednesday, a trailer for upcoming Russian action film, ТУРИСТ (“Tourist”), dropped on YouTube. The film ostensibly tells the true story of Russia’s involvement in the Central African Republic (CAR), and, according to promotional…
-
From the ICYMI Files: The Bizarre Campaign to Free a Notorious Russian Political Operative (Now With U.S. Sanctions!)
Read more: From the ICYMI Files: The Bizarre Campaign to Free a Notorious Russian Political Operative (Now With U.S. Sanctions!)ALEXANDER MALKEVICH has been sanctioned by Biden admin for spreading Kremlin propaganda. Here’s a round-up of my reporting from 2019/2020 about his global campaign to free a Russian operative from a Libyan prison. Alexander Malkevich will likely be familiar to readers of this blog. Throughout 2018, I gleefully documented his misadventures as editor of Russian…
-
Here is the (Now-Suspended) Twitter Account of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” Russian Troll
Read more: Here is the (Now-Suspended) Twitter Account of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” Russian TrollHe’s wanted by the FBI, but you won’t find him on Twitter. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian catering oligarch widely believed to be behind St. Petersburg’s infamous troll farm, was booted off Twitter late-January — one month after joining the site — for a series of trollish tweets that veered drunkenly into self-parody. Here are some…
-
Russian Parliament Votes to Exclude Bloggers From Bill Branding Foreign News Outlets as “Foreign Agents”
Read more: Russian Parliament Votes to Exclude Bloggers From Bill Branding Foreign News Outlets as “Foreign Agents”The controversial proposal was devised by Alexander Malkevich, the U.S. government-sanctioned former editor of Russian propaganda site USA Really. Via Malkevich’s Telegram earlier today (courtesy of Google Translate): I’ll be honest: I’m upset; I personally voted in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation against softening the bill on foreign agents. And this is what…
-
Charlie Sheen Thanked After Accused Russian Troll is Released From Libyan Prison
Read more: Charlie Sheen Thanked After Accused Russian Troll is Released From Libyan PrisonA U.S.-sanctioned Kremlin policy adviser has thanked Sheen after the star was seemingly paid $400 to record a video in support of Russian political operative Maxim Shugaley, now free after spending 18 months in a Tripoli prison. The video, addressed to Shugaley, was posted on YouTube in September by an obscure Russian channel named “Интер…
-
Cambridge Analytica-Linked Data Company Behind Trump Phone-Canvassing Campaign
Read more: Cambridge Analytica-Linked Data Company Behind Trump Phone-Canvassing CampaignGOP-funded websites managed by data-mining firm Bridgetree, Inc. allowed users to canvass for Trump in key states such as Pennsylvania. In an effort to rally support for incumbent Donald J. Trump in the lead-up to election day, the Republican National Committee hired a data-harvesting firm whose services were once sought by Cambridge Analytica, the disgraced U.K.…
-
39 Satirical Images of Indian PM Scrubbed From Buzzfeed
Read more: 39 Satirical Images of Indian PM Scrubbed From BuzzfeedTwo BuzzFeed listicles poking fun at Indian prime minister Narendra Modi have been scrubbed following a 2018 legal threat. Update, October 16, 2020: In a comment, BuzzFeed said that the most recent removals were not the result of further legal threats from Mumbai police, but the result of updates to BuzzFeed’s old content. Here is…