As you all know by now, a couple of days ago the Justice Department indicted a pair of Russian nationals who work for the propaganda outlet RT. They are charged with secretly bankrolling Tenet Media, a startup content farm that churned out right-wing videos. But why?
Unlike Russian efforts to seed social media with low-quality bots and trolls that earn little, if any engagement, the alleged scheme helped to launch Tenet as a serious player in conservative media, fueled by content from Trump-supporting personalities who questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election, had well-known views hostile to U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and advanced narratives that at times aligned with Russian talking points.
I doubt this was part of an effort to reelect Donald Trump. Tenet's viral videos were quite obviously aimed at true believers who were already committed to Trump.
Most likely, its aim was simpler: persuading right-wingers not to support Ukraine. They're the ones listening to Tenet, after all, not centrists or liberals. And Russia has been remarkably successful in this. What's interesting is that their efforts all along have been aimed at conservatives, who would normally be thought of as tougher sells. But the combination of Ukraine being "Biden's war" along with Donald Trump's sympathetic views of Russia made the far right natural targets. It's worked pretty well.
It’s kind of weird, but when Trump appears to be speaking, look closely and you can see Putin’s lips moving.
What happens when Putin drinks a glass of water? 😛
Trump starts drooling
"What's interesting is that their efforts all along have been aimed at conservatives, who would normally be thought of as tougher sells." Depends on what you're selling. Apparently they know what to sell conservatives. Conspiracy theories and hate of the other are my guess.
They have basically completely taken over the NRA as far as I can tell
It seems to me that MAGAts are pretty much by definition suckers. You can sell them red hats, golden sneakers, bibles, Truth Social stock, and Trump. Selling them Russian propaganda should be a cakewalk.
And saying this isn’t aimed at getting him elected is silly.
Trump voters need to be juiced to turn out. They may be committed to him, but getting them to actually turn out to vote isn’t always easy. So this type of propaganda is very much directly aimed at putting Trump back in office.
A decade ago during the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, the US right praised Putin for his admirable stance against gays and punk rock. Of course Russia would throw a few rubles their way.
Punk Rock? Why are conservatives against Punk Rock?
Because punk rock is against them.
Nationalism is often a misnomer as it's usually a global movement of Nationalists working together to subjugate their own people with a handshake and a nod.
Apparently Russian military intelligence, FSB, and Putin still knows how to find and exploit useful stooges, like Trump, and the US right wing MAGA/GOP. Given the continued anti Ukraine propaganda heard regularly on Faux News and resulting in the months long delay in approving additional military aid to Ukraine by Congress, it has been very effective.
Kamala should absolutely call Trump a Russian stooge next week, and see his head explode.
I can accept that Trump's reelectino campaign wasn't the primary goal of the Russian influence effort. At the same time, we're in an environment where small effects at the margins have a lot of leverage. I mean, ow many people actually cared about the handful of emails that Hillary Clinton received that contained snippets of classified info? But the furor surrounding the story was sufficient to put some voters off, leading to Trump's election.
Likewise, people like the folks at Tenet Media aren't going to directly convince fence-sitters to come over to Trump's side, but they create and perpetrate a flood of controversies that raise doubts about Trump's opponent.
"The Russians" entire effort is to discredit the US democracy. Creating chaos is a method that does not interfere with their other "methods".
I mean, ow many people actually cared about the handful of emails that Hillary Clinton received that contained snippets of classified info?
No one, because those emails did not contain classified information when she received. a handful of them were retroactively marked as such.
What turned just enough people away from her was the head of the FBI publicly saying she was under criminal investigation just a couple of weeks before the election.
Putin's power is based it not occurring to, whatever X% of the Russian population would wake up and go "man, this oligarch of oligarch thingie is not working out for us, we might as well try to be at least Poland."
To that end, one of Putin's points is that it is better to have a strong man in charge who at least keeps everything straightforward and certain, as opposed to messy democracies.
Nothing says "messy democracy" better that video of American's protesting against each other. So, the more that can be encouraged the better.
Of course, the Ukraine position is another obvious reason, but the deeper reason is making democracy in general look bad.
I'd say Putin's power is based on the sad reality that opposing him means risking harm and/or death to oneself and one's loved ones.
Foreign influence peddlers always target social conservatives and psychotically conceited narcissists.
Where those two lines intersect is gold for corruption.
We’re just doomed. There are way more evil people than good ones in the world. Democrats need to revise their approach to, well, everything.
Justin: I disagree. We preceive that there is more evil than good, mainly because our MSM methodology encourages the display of evil (because it sells).
Suggestion: Get out and help others.
I help those I know personally. As for the rest… this is no longer a reasonable request. It was possible years ago to imagine that charity and good works were useful, but that’s no longer the case. I suppose we can debate why that is.
Justin is a psychopath that would happily have everyone else in the world be killed so as to not be bothered by them anymore. That's why his worldview is always such a dark and terrible one.
I saw this first on Digby’s web site. It is one of the podcasters on Tenemt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9SI9tmbr4g
I don't think you are wrong about Ukraine. However, I think there's a much more basic, and more easily achieved, goal, which is to get Americans mad at each other, and make it harder for them to cooperate.
Well said.
I was in grad school with bunches of foreign students, and one thing they would remark on when they got comfortable enough with you was how much we Americans hate each other. This was back well before the Cold War ended. Since then we've had the HW years, the Clinton years, the W years, the Obama years, and the then-culminating trump years to bear them out and sharpen the sentiments.
Dividing Americans is child's play. And the right's general tendency to regiment itself behind authoritative figures while indulging its Reagan-stoked suspicion of government and expertise, and the fringe right's paranoia and worship of violence, mean the right is by far the more cost-effective target.
I think there's no point in making that kind of distinction. It's all part of the same plan.
To me the connection between Trump, Putin, and the far right has been so pervasive and obvious I really cannot understand why we are not able to capitalize on it. It's obvious to anyone looking at it. Here's what ChatGPT thinks, couched in a chapter of a novel about the subject:
Chapter: "The Shadow of Moscow"
In the years leading up to the 2020 election and beyond, Donald Trump's relationship with Russia and its enigmatic leader Vladimir Putin has become one of the defining narratives of his presidency and political legacy. What began as whispers of secret connections during the 2016 campaign evolved into a sprawling drama that entangled both American and international politics, leaving a lingering sense of mystery over the true nature of these ties.
Act I: The Origins of Suspicion
The seeds of suspicion were planted well before Trump’s election. As a businessman, Trump had long pursued deals in Russia, showing a keen interest in building a "Trump Tower Moscow." His public admiration for Putin’s strongman style only further fueled intrigue. Trump described Putin as a leader who was “doing a great job,” and, in a time when US-Russia relations were fraught with tension, this praise seemed oddly out of sync with traditional American diplomacy. Was it just flattery, or did it hint at a deeper connection?
As Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign took off, reports of Russian interference in the election sparked a media frenzy. US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had orchestrated a coordinated effort to sway the election in Trump’s favor. What followed were years of investigations, with the Mueller probe at the center, seeking to uncover whether Trump's campaign had colluded with Russia. The results were mixed, leaving the world without a clear answer. While no direct collusion was proven, the investigation uncovered a litany of contacts between Trump’s team and Russian operatives, leaving lingering questions about intent and influence.
Act II: The Helsinki Moment and a New Cold War
The relationship between Trump and Putin reached its most dramatic moment during their July 2018 summit in Helsinki. In a shocking press conference, Trump stood beside Putin and publicly questioned the conclusions of US intelligence agencies, suggesting that he believed Putin's denial of Russian interference in the election. This public deference to Putin rattled America’s foreign policy establishment and cast a long shadow over Trump’s presidency.
Many critics, including members of Trump's own party, saw this as a clear sign that Trump was overly aligned with Russia’s interests. The US media ran rampant with speculation, and the phrase "Russia, if you're listening," from one of Trump’s 2016 campaign speeches, became a symbol of potential cooperation between Trump and the Kremlin. But whether Trump was compromised or simply admired Putin’s authoritarian model remained an unanswered question—one that only deepened the public's unease.
Act III: A Waning but Persistent Influence
The years following Trump's presidency have seen his ties to Russia remain a focal point for those tracking global political currents. In the midst of Trump's failed re-election bid and the January 6th insurrection, some continued to speculate that Russian interests might be subtly at play. The idea that Trump had emboldened Russia on the global stage persisted, especially as Putin continued to maneuver Russia's military and geopolitical influence, culminating in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump’s praise for Putin, even after leaving office, remained controversial. As the war in Ukraine unfolded, Trump called Putin “savvy” and “smart” for his actions leading up to the invasion, prompting backlash even from some of his staunchest allies. Though Trump's direct ties to Russia faded in terms of overt influence, the legacy of his relationship with Putin had already shifted the geopolitical balance.
Act IV: The Putin-Trump Parallel
The novel would explore the idea that Trump and Putin represent two sides of the same coin—a mutual admiration rooted in their shared defiance of liberal democracy, their mutual disdain for globalism, and their populist styles of leadership. Both men utilized the media, manipulated public perception, and held tight control over their narratives, even if their methods differed.
In the waning days of Trump’s presidency, it became clear that whether or not there was direct coordination, Russia had successfully used its cyber capabilities to exploit the political divisions within the US, creating an environment where disinformation and chaos reigned. Trump’s part in this was less about collusion and more about his willingness to play into Russia's hands by undermining the credibility of American institutions, sowing discord, and prioritizing personal power over democratic norms.
Epilogue: Unresolved Ties
By the end of the novel, the ties between Trump and Putin would remain shrouded in ambiguity, emblematic of the uncertainty that still surrounds their relationship. Did Putin see Trump as a useful tool in weakening Western alliances, or was it simply a case of mutual admiration between two leaders with an unconventional approach to power?
The novel would leave readers with an unsettling realization: that in a world of shifting loyalties, personal ambition, and geopolitical power struggles, the full story may never be known. Instead, the narrative would highlight the profound impact these two leaders had on global affairs, even as the truth remains elusive.
This kind of narrative would blend fact and interpretation, drawing on real-world events but allowing for some creative exploration of motivations and behind-the-scenes interactions that may remain hidden in reality. It would portray the Trump-Putin relationship as a defining subplot in the larger story of a world increasingly shaped by populism, disinformation, and the erosion of democratic norms.
Argumentum demonstratum. Causam concludo.
Putin is 70, Trump is 78. Who's up next?
Putin created the Russian oligarchs; which one will succeed him?
America-based oligarchs chose and prop up Trump & Co. and will try to anoint Vance as his successor.
All this was obvious even before Anne Applebaum's recent book, "Autocracy, Inc."
All of this disinformation and chaos peddling is a facet of their war. Anything to stop the flow of ass, vipers, bang bang, and one five five mike mike. And in that vein, whether we want or not, are at war with Russia. We'd better wake up to that fact sooner rather than later.
One to secure victory. Two, to start putting these treasonous people in their proper places.