Russian Trolls' Vast Library Of Insulting Images

Ever wonder where the droves of Russian-language Internet trolls get those satirical graphics they deploy to smear Western and Ukrainian leaders? Turns out there's a website with a vast archive of images helping them pepper their posts with visual invective.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on April 2 that the website with the Cyrillic address[...]translates from Russian as "in the headquarters") hosts thousands of these ready-made images for use by hundreds of paid trolls working for a secretive organization in St. Petersburg.

The images -- mainly crude mash-ups or regular photographs touched up with sarcastic and juvenile captions -- are largely aimed at heaping abuse on Western and Ukrainian officials or portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin as a suave alpha male of the international scene.

Many have racist overtones, like those that portray U.S. President Barack Obama as a monkey (bananas are a consistent motif in these images). Others show Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dressed in women's clothing or wielding sex toys.

Guardian journalist Shaun Walker linked the website to the St. Petersburg troll factory based on an interview with a man identified as Marat, who says he worked there for two months before leaving what he described as demeaning working conditions, including fines for tardiness or veering from the pro-Kremlin and anti-West messaging dictated by the bosses.

In an interview with RFE/RL last month, Marat alluded to the role that these satirical graphics -- known as demotivators -- play in the St. Petersburg troll farm. "There's a LiveJournal department, a news department, a department where they create all sorts of images and demotivators," he said.

One online database, however, shows that it was registered on March 29, 2014, less than two weeks after Russia's takeover of Ukraine's

How to Become a Homeland Security Detective

Individuals who want to pursue homeland security detective jobs should first obtain a number of years of experience by working in local or state law enforcement. Many candidates also pursue bachelor’s or master’s degrees in criminal justice or a similar field. In addition, detectives in homeland security also often have military backgrounds.

Before securing a job as a homeland security detective, individuals should expect to undergo a comprehensive background investigation, complete a written examination, and successfully pass a number of specific training programs and exercises.

Criminal investigators/detectives in federal agencies must meet specific education and experience requirements, depending on the pay grade. In general, however, individuals are required to possess at least one full year of graduate-level education beyond a bachelor’s degree or superior achievement (3.5 GPA or higher in all courses related to the major field of study and rank in the upper one-third of the graduating class) in an undergraduate degree.
Salary Statistics for Homeland Security Detectives

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that detectives earned a median annual salary of $55,010, with the top 10 percent earning more than $88,870.

In addition, recent job postings in federal positions show the following salary ranges for detectives/investigators:

Investigative Operations Assistant, Department of the Army: $42,209 – $54,875
Federal Trade Investigator, Federal Trade Commission: $50,408 – $115,742
Supervisory Investigators, Office of Personnel Management: $89,033 – $115,742

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.