Open Britain Thame #FBPE

💣🔥 Let’s call this what it is: US State Department money being used to support Nigel Farage’s political ecosystem via Reform UK–aligned groups. 👉 That is foreign interference in a British democracy. The Financial Times reports a US “slush fund” targeting Maga-aligned organisations and speaking directly to Reform figures. This is about boosting Farage and Trumpism in the UK to turn off free speech and freedom.

Truman doctrine: US will aid nations against communist aggression. Reagan doctrine: US seeks not just to contain communist tyranny, but to overcome it. Trump doctrine: US will betray allies and reward aggressors to enrich corrupt insiders.

Devastating @wsj report on the real Trump-Russia deal: betray Ukraine in exchange for privileged business benefits for Trump insiders. wsj.com/world/russia/r…

Btw, I do hope people understand what they have seen today. It was a well-planned and deliberate ambush of Ukraine by Trump, to force the Ukrainians to bend the knee to Putin's dictatorship. It was not slip-shod, rushed, impulsive or an accident. It was prepared malice.

Hi All, just sent out this piece (mostly free). The Long Con of the Trump administration came to an end yesterday, as it was always going to do. We are back in the Oval Office with Trump and Vance ambushing Zelensky. The whole pivot to Ukraine was a sham to help Putin.

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else. theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/11/…

OK, sent out this free piece on the details of the Trump "final" plan for Ukraine that has been seen by Axios. The 5 points have basically been dictated by Putin. They set up a process which would allow Russia to expand into all of its neighbors.

theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/11/… #Trump #Ukraine

The most important news from today's reshuffle:

💰🦓 Viktor Orbán’s €30M Hatvanpuszta family dacha (ex-Habsburg estate) with zebras and antelopes around is now global news after dominating Hungarian media all summer. The world can see how “pro-family conservatism” simply masks classic post-Soviet kleptocracy. 🎥 by @Telexhu

@PhillipsPOBrien on.ft.com/45K1w00 US oilfield services group expands Russian unit despite new sanctions

Meet Colonel (ret.) Chris Romberg, former British army officer (29 Commando Regiment), military attache at UK embassies in Egypt and Jordan, and son of a Holocaust survivor. Chris was arrested today for supporting a terrorist organisation. A quick thread >

In today's Vatnik Soup, I'll discuss extensively why the West is losing the information war. The format is a bit different from earlier ones, but here goes: The West is losing the information war Countries like Russia and China have spent years turning disinformation into a central pillar of statecraft. They don’t just lie—they lie loudly, constantly, and across every available platform. They’ve mastered the art of sowing confusion, undermining trust, and deepening political divides inside democratic societies. This isn’t done by accident—it’s done through well-funded, highly coordinated campaigns that blend state media, covert troll farms, social media influencers, and manipulated algorithms. At the same time, they maintain an iron grip on their own information environments. In Russia, independent media is silenced, dissenters are jailed, and the internet is censored through so-called “sovereign” infrastructure that can block or throttle unwanted content. In China, the state filters all online speech through the Great Firewall, bans platforms like YouTube and Twitter, and floods domestic social media with tightly controlled propaganda. Algorithms are not tools for engagement—they are instruments of obedience. That’s the key to their advantage: they control what their citizens see while exploiting the openness of our societies. We can’t inject truth into theirs—but they can inject lies into ours. Their disinformation can reach our phones in seconds, while our facts can’t even get past their digital borders. It’s a deeply asymmetrical fight, where authoritarian states operate with speed, scale, and impunity—while democracies struggle to respond without undermining our own values of free speech and transparency. These regimes don’t wait around for approval. They don’t worry about press freedom or public debate. If they want to launch an influence campaign, they do it—quickly and quietly. They have entire networks producing and spreading their messages in dozens of languages, 24/7. Worse still, they’ve gotten very good at grabbing attention. They use social media superspreaders, conspiracy influencers, and flashy TikTok videos to package their propaganda into something that feels exciting, rebellious, or funny—even when it’s completely false. They tell simple, emotionally charged stories that spread like wildfire. And all this is supercharged with AI. And what do we counter that with? Dry press releases from EU officials. Long reports. Monotone statements from diplomats. Detailed debunking articles hidden behind paywalls, or buried deep in PDF reports that almost no one reads. Good intentions—delivered with all the flair of a tax form. Most of it never reaches the people actually being targeted by disinformation. It’s not that we don’t have the facts—it’s that we’re terrible at making people care about them. Meanwhile, the information battlefield has already shifted. In Finland, half of teenagers between 13 and 18 now get their news from TikTok. And it’s not just influencers and entertainment—even North Korea is now publishing propaganda on the platform. That’s the level of reach and adaptability we’re up against. Authoritarian regimes are speaking directly to the next generation, using their language and their media. And we’re still whispering from behind paywalls and official podiums. We’ve already seen how devastating information warfare can be when left unchecked. In January 2014, 60% of Russians had a positive view of Ukrainians. Then the Kremlin launched a relentless defamation campaign on national TV and social media—painting Ukrainians as Nazis, traitors, or puppets of the West. By 2015, the numbers had flipped: 60% of Russians now had a negative view of Ukrainians. This is how propaganda works. And when you control the entire information ecosystem, it works terrifyingly well. But at the same time, Ukraine learned to fight back. Since 2014, and especially after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainians have treated information like a front line. They’ve built partnerships between government, civil society, and creative communities. They’ve used humor, memes, music, and viral videos to expose lies and boost morale. They work around the clock—not because it’s trendy, but because they understand just how destructive these manipulation campaigns can be. In Ukraine, disinformation isn’t an abstract threat—it’s a weapon that softens targets before the bombs fall. Take Russia: it’s spending nearly $2 billion a year on state propaganda. China’s media operations are even more extensive and opaque. Meanwhile, the European Union is spending a tiny fraction of that trying to defend the truth. It’s not just about money—it’s about mindset. We’ve been playing defense, trying to fact-check lies after they’ve gone viral. That’s not enough. We need to get ahead of the problem. And we can’t just focus on short-term fixes. Both Russia and China plan their information strategies decades ahead—and we should too. That means giving more resources and support to modern media creators—influencers, podcasters, digital artists, futurists, analysts, visionaries. These are the people shaping how millions think and feel. We need to invest in the platforms, voices, and formats that actually reach people today. We also need to build long-term resilience. We need to build a vaccine against online disinformation. And that vaccine is education. That means warning people before the lies start spreading. It means teaching media literacy in schools, so young people know how to spot manipulation. It means putting clear, truthful, engaging content in the places where people actually spend time—YouTube, TikTok, Instagram—not hiding it away on obscure government and EU websites. But defense alone won’t win this war. We must take the fight to the adversary’s doorstep. Authoritarian regimes have real vulnerabilities—corruption, repression, inequality, and elite hypocrisy. These are pressure points we should be targeting with truth-based messaging that empowers dissent, exposes abuse, and undermines their control over public perception. This isn’t about regime change—it’s about using facts to challenge the myths they rely on to stay in power. Just like they exploit our openness, we must be willing to expose their rot. This isn’t about copying authoritarian tactics. It’s about defending the values we care about—freedom, transparency, democracy—with creative and bold strategies. Do we really need to wait until Russia is sending drones and troops across our borders to finally take this seriously? The information war is here. We don’t get to choose whether we’re part of it. But we can choose to stop losing.

Are you looking for a thread on the trade deal between the UK and India and the lies some people are telling about it, from a cat? If so, you're weird but in the right place... Yesterday the UK and India announced a new free trade agreement, which it s estimated will add £5bn a year to the UK economy gov.uk/government/new…

Excellent analysis as always by @PhillipsPOBrien 👇 The Trump administration very clearly now is an ally of Moscow, & seeks to undermine international order. The Western community needs to recognise this & act immediately & with the greatest urgency

The US constitution: a guide From the new Private Eye, out now.

As opposed to all the business with the Penguins--which is booming.

“Ruination Day”: The new Economist cover amid Trump’s tariff war. Trump has launched a global trade war, calling it a “Liberation Day.” As an economist, I know a thing or two about tariffs. So here are some predictions of what we should expect if this tariff war continues. 1/n

Remember, the great fraudster in the White House was going to end this war in a day, or hit Putin with super-duper sanctions. Where are those sanctions Trump-backers? You assured us they were coming....

Please enjoy this video of Marine Le Pen calling for "lifelong ineligibility" for elected officials convicted of "misappropriation of public funds". publicsenat.fr/actualites/pol…