The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It.

"Putin is much like an abusive spouse. He makes threats, acts out violently, and when confronted says “you made me do that!” For over 75 years Russia held half of Europe in abject slavery to a hideous political system that imprisoned and murdered opponents wholesale, not to mention threatening the West with nuclear annihilation. When those countries finally shook off their yoke and decided it wouldn’t happen to them again Putin called it a tragedy. Since then he’s invaded 2 sovereign countries in illegal wars of conquest. Not to mention the fact that his merry band of gangsters has been raping the Russian people to enrich themselves beyond their wildest dreams for decades. The above in NO way constitutes an endorsement of the Ukrainian government. Their corruption differs only in scale. Nor does it mean I approve of handing tens of billions of taxpayer dollars over to them. I don’t. If the Ukrainians want our weapons they can pay cash for them. But If Russia wants the war to stop all they have to do is go home."

Yes, but what of his legacy? I surmise that as a dying man, he wants to go down in Russia history (written by his equivalent of what the Left lust for) as a hero who regained Soviet real estate (and its resources), even though it cost him more than he figured on.

"But for some reason a whole bunch of, I thought anyway, freedom loving Freepers have cast their lot with the Russians because there may or may not have been a few hundred or even a few thousand neo-Nazi goofballs running around."

The latter is used as justification, but I think many are libertarian types who see in Putin a noble rebel against the Left, and even against government authority, and representing the type of militant rebellion they hope for. Yet Putin himself excels in government overreach and oppression, even banning all sharing of faith apart from sanction of his pet state church. As said, both the Left and China-friendly Putin are anti-Christ.

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