Russian state-controlled international news network RT shared a post from podcast/radio talk show host Charlie Kirk, where he offered an “apology” to the Russian people earlier this week and suggested, “Very few Americans want war with you.” Kirk was just one of several podcasters and online celebrities who offered similar requests for forgiveness from Russia with some even offering their apologies directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kirk also maintained, “The people obsessed with fighting you forever are a minority—and they’re on their way out of power. We want peace.”
These posts began soon after Putin announced changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, and set out new conditions under which it would consider employing nuclear weapons. The new doctrine says that an attack from a non-nuclear state if backed by a nuclear power, would be treated as a joint assault on Russia.
It was first proposed in September but made official on Tuesday, which also marked the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine. In addition to merely rattling sabers, the Kremlin also employed an intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday, marking the first time such a weapon has been used in combat.
These moves followed Washington’s decision a day earlier that would allow Ukraine to fire long-range American-made missiles in Russia.
Russian Disinformation Campaign On Social Media
Even as few Americans—or even anyone in the world—would like to see a nuclear confrontation unfold, the personalities have gone even further, suggesting most Americans don’t support Ukraine either.
This commentary has appeared largely on X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter—but it isn’t limited to the United States, and is now coming from other NATO countries, notably from accounts that were only created in recent months. Many seem to be highly pro-Moscow.
“This tracks with how a disinformation campaign would operate,” warned Dr. Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of National Security and Political Science at the University of New Haven.
“The Dnipro attack was aimed more at Western populations who are irrationally afraid of Russia attacking them. Creating unverifiable ‘apologies’ and claiming equally unverifiable numbers of those apologies is in turn airmen at the Russian public, to stoke the widespread belief that the U.S./UK are the puppet masters of war against Russians via Ukraine,” said Schmidt. “In this way, the missile attack served as a pretext for an information op that targeted both Putin’s enemy and his own public.”
Support For Russia Is Still Real
While online personalities like Charlie Kirk and Jackson Hinkle have maintained pro-Moscow leanings for much of their careers, they have received a significant boost on what was Twitter after tech entrepreneur Elon Musk obtained the platform two years ago.
They are far from alone.
It was in September that news broke that several well-known personalities—including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson—were secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “consistent” with Moscow’s views.
“Several things made these influencers more potent,” said geopolitical analyst Irina Tsukerman, president of Scarab Rising. “Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter/X and active boosting of their accounts, including his retweets or praises; and the involvement of celebrities with huge audiences such as Joe Rogan the podcaster, Kanye West—who has also traveled to Russia—and even politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who boost both the narratives and the accounts, giving far more exposure to these narratives, normalizing them among regular users.”
That in turn has given credibility and amplified the voices of their lesser-known activist counterparts.
“But this entire process has been systematic and ongoing for years; Russia, its oligarchs, and assorted fellow travelers put in financial resources in setting up troll factories in the U.S.—amplifying unknown voices via algorithms, and courting politicians and other well-known figures who amplified the narratives which in turn gave credibility to otherwise unappealing or unknown activists,” cautioned Tsukerman.
From the Fringes
While we’re seeing the pro-Russian messages on social media this week, social media has allowed those with beliefs that were once considered on the fringe to find a wider audience.
“All these influencers effectively jumped on anti-woke narratives, post-Covid government distrust, increased polarization and isolationism among both parties, and anti-war movements among libertarians and others, and hijacked and amplified issues of trust in authorities, media, experts, big pharma, biotech, and general concern about corruption,” added Tsukerman. “That appealed to even those who were not otherwise sympathetic to corruption, and effectively courting different interest groups and demographics by exploiting inherent vulnerabilities that were otherwise not being heard or addressed by mainstream institutions.”
