🇺🇸 Lights, Camera, Freedom 🇺🇦
Documentary filmmaker and journalist covering Ukraine, Russian disinformation and warcrimes, attorney, Director of Ukraine Story
AUG 04, 2026
“First, let me thank you for everything you are. I know you are modest but here is the thing Tucker. People like me would have given up a long time ago if it were not for people like you. You blazed the trail which makes it easier for us to fight.” Elizabeth Lang, Russian propagandist and yesterday’s guest on Tucker Carlson show.
Tucker Carlson’s favor in the world of Republicans is on the wane. His unhinged conspiracies, efforts to present himself a sort of spiritual shaman, redefining Christianity and accusing leaders of demonic or even extraterrestrial inhabitation, and his trail of disinformation gradually unravelled, have certainly contributed.
But the perception of his virulent anti-semitism and antagonism toward the man he dedicated considerable efforts get elected as president, was the breaking point. He has been officially ostracized by the White House, even as he retains a close relationship with Vice President JD Vance.
But don’t mistake that waning favor as a loss of collective influence on the information ecosphere. He still controls a pulpit which reaches tens of millions of Americans where the repetition of outrageous lies about Ukraine and Russia seeps into the subconscious of his listeners. His work continues to be featured on Russian state media, and used by the Kremlin to reinforce disinformation to the population.
One of Carlson’s effective techniques is what might be called credibility laundering. Rather than persuading audiences through documented evidence or established subject-matter experts, he frequently elevates relatively obscure, highly partisan, or controversial figures by presenting them in the setting of a serious, long-form interview. The platform itself becomes a credential. Simply by appearing opposite one of the world’s most recognizable political commentators, guests who previously occupied the margins of public discourse acquire the appearance of authority. Their Carlson interview then becomes a résumé item that opens the door to money, additional podcasts, television appearances, conferences, and media interviews, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of perceived expertise.
This pattern can be seen in interviews with figures such as Yulia Mendel, former spokesperson for President Zelensky who has defected from the Ukrainian cause in pursuit of revenge, money and influence ; Elizabeth Lang, who has been identified as a pro-Russian state agent from Georgia, and Viktor Bout, the convicted international arms trafficker widely known as the “Merchant of Death,” and the Tate brothers, now in custody for allegations of rape and human trafficking, but who have used their platform to advance Russian narratives against Ukraine.
In most cases Carlson engages in techniques designed to manufacture legitimacy, create a Halo effect for the guest and model a form of elite cueing.
Each benefits from the same phenomenon: Carlson’s platform confers an aura of legitimacy that extends far beyond the interview. The interview signals to millions that these are voices worthy of serious consideration, and that signal is often repeated by other media outlets that cite the Carlson appearance as evidence of relevance or authority. In this way, the platform does not merely amplify a message, it can reshape the perceived credibility of the messenger.
DW Phillips
🇺🇸 Lights, Camera, Freedom 🇺🇦
Message from Ukraine: “Thank you for not forgetting about us.”
AUG 05, 2026
America made a promise to Ukraine. Our leaders have broken it.
But “we the people” can respond. That is why my son and I, and the entire Ukraine Story team, are committed to providing portable power to Ukrainian strike survivors, mobile air defense and medical responders.
And wherever we go, there is a simple message we hear on repeat: “Thank you for not forgetting about us.”
VIDEO HERE :
https://substack.com/home/post/p-209878401
With camera in hand, DW shares frontline stories of perseverance and humanity in the great battles of the 21st Century. He brings the perspective of a filmmaker, journalist and constitutional attorney to his commentaries.
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An article about Tucker Carlson would not be complete without something about his fellow traveler in evil; the astonishingly nasty Candace Owens. It turns out that her career started out as a leftist anti-Trumper :
Candace Owens
In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce an American conspiracy theorist, podcaster & antisemite, Candace Owens. She’s best known for spreading conspiracy theories, attacking Ukraine, promoting pro-Kremlin BS, and becoming a favorite of Russian state media.
Candace started her career as an intern at Vogue magazine but later moved into political commentary. Her early career focused on criticizing Republicans, calling their antics “bat-shit crazy.” In 2016, her blog even published an article about Trump’s penis size.
That same year, she launched a doxxing website called SocialAutopsy. In response, people began posting Owens’s personal information online. During the controversy, she gained support from figures such as Milo Yiannopoulos and Mike Cernovich. And just like that, she had become a conservative.
By late 2017, Owens had once again rebranded herself, this time as a Trump supporter. She began criticizing her previous positions on systemic inequality and soon became affiliated with figures such as Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and “Heil Hitler” rapper Kanye West.
In 2021, Owens launched her own show on The Daily Wire. She regularly interviewed prominent MAGA figures, including UFC president Dana White & even Donald Trump himself. She left The Daily Wire in 2024, reportedly due to controversy surrounding her antisemitic statements.
During her rise to infamy, Candace promoted the Freedom Phone, a cheap Chinese smartphone reportedly worth around $120, as a $600 “freedom” device. She also promoted the “anti-woke” bank GloriFi, which soon shut down after running out of money.
She has downplayed Nazi atrocities, such as Josef Mengele’s medical experiments, as just “bizarre propaganda”. She’s also promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the blood libel accusing Jews of kidnapping children for secret religious rituals.
The very real mass kidnapping of children by Russia doesn’t seem to bother her though. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Owens rarely discussed Russia or Ukraine. That changed in 2022, when she began copy-pasting many of the Kremlin’s narratives about the war.
Her unhinged claims ranged from Putin being better than Western leaders, to Western media being more propagandistic than Russian media, to Ukraine supposedly “not existing until 1989.”
Video courtesy of @TheMilkBarTV (do follow them!).
On the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion, bombing Ukrainian cities and civilians, Owens joined the “Russian Lives Matter” campaign, which was heavily amplified by Russian state media and Kremlin-linked troll and bot networks.
Throughout the war, Owens consistently argued against military aid to Ukraine and portrayed the conflict as a corrupt scheme benefiting politicians, defense companies, and unnamed global elites, the usual “they”.
Many of her claims focused on NATO expansion, which Candace framed as “the West expanding into Russian territory.” She never explained which territories she was referring to, and I would bet she has no clue either.
One of her most viral claims involved allegations that Olena Zelenska had spent enormous sums on luxury shopping during official visits abroad. As usual, the claims were quickly debunked, but that had little effect on her fan base.
Naturally, she has also attacked the Ukrainian president himself. She’s called Zelenskyy a “mobster” and the “ultimate criminal.” According to Owens, Zelenskyy is “stealing from our [US] people,” and she has even questioned his sexual orientation.
Owens also claims that Ukraine is persecuting Christians, when in fact it has only cracked down on the Moscow Patriarchate, basically just an extension of Russian intelligence agency FSB.
She neatly forgets that Russia has bombed hundreds of Ukrainian Christian churches.
Owens’s messages are heavily amplified by Russia’s media ecosystem. State media channels, officials, and Kremlin-linked bot and troll networks aggressively push her content, and since her visit to Moscow she has gained a large number of new followers.
Russian media frequently presents Owens as proof that “trad” Americans are turning against Ukraine and rejecting support for Kyiv. Her statements regularly appear across state-controlled outlets and pro-Kremlin media ecosystems.
Owens has also engaged publicly with Russian fascist Aleksandr Dugin, a leading advocate of Russian imperialism, and is now attending the same event as him. Dugin has repeatedly called for the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and for confrontation with the US and Europe.
Owens has increasingly portrayed Russia as a defender of traditional Christian values, while describing Ukraine and the broader West as morally and spiritually corrupt. Incidentally, she’s Catholic, a religion heavily persecuted by Russia, also a deeply racist society.
On 4 June 2026, Owens appeared at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (@SPIEF) as a prop. For the first 50 minutes she was barely acknowledged, and when she finally got to speak, she promoted her book and praised Russia. Her handler must have been pleased.
Candace is just yet another opportunistic grifter who picks her whole personality and politics based on the current trend or chance to make money. And Russia loves this type of immoral opportunist ready to promote its genocidal wars for clout or cash: a match made in hell.
Russia spends $5 billion a year on propaganda to manufacture support for its invasions through troll farms, bots and fake narratives such as those pushed now by Candace Owens. Fact-based research to counter it takes time and effort—please support our work:
Original article, with videos, can be seen on the Vatnik Soup website :
https://vatniksoup.com/en/soups/390/
“The very real mass kidnapping of children by Russia doesn’t seem to bother her though. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Owens rarely discussed Russia or Ukraine. That changed in 2022, when she began copy-pasting many of the Kremlin’s narratives about the war.”
Owens is a devil woman who must be arrested and incarcerated.
“One of Carlson’s effective techniques is what might be called credibility laundering. Rather than persuading audiences through documented evidence or established subject-matter experts, he frequently elevates relatively obscure, highly partisan, or controversial figures by presenting them in the setting of a serious, long-form interview.”
Carlson’s lies and trickery work. He needs to be locked up with Owens.
Joe Thomas Newsletter :
Candace Owens: “It’s not a coincidence that Justin Trudeau is gay, Obama is gay, Zelensky is gay, and Emmanuel Macron is gay and married to a trans man.”
There was a time when someone like Candace was locked away in a place with cushioned white walls, with a matching white dress, with multiple belts wrapped around her to stop her from hurting herself or others. Today that person has millions of followers, makes millions of dollars, and is considered a “truth teller” for many, many people.