Comments by "chaosXpert" (@chaosXP3RT) on "Operator Starsky: Standing with Ukraine | Jake Broe Podcast (E020) @StarskyUA" video.

  1. So you guys both touched on the topic of Russian and Chinese propaganda, and while I agree with Operator Starsky and Jake a bit about the bots and influencers, I don't think you guys quite hit the mark on how they affect the American people. And I think it's important to understand this effect because if we want to change minds, as well how our politics in the US function, we have to understand how people (in this case, conservatives) are being manipulated. I have been following the conflict in Ukraine ever since 2014 with the Euromaidan Revolution thanks to Vice News. Most Americans (esp. conservatives) don't have that background of knowledge and so I don't think they're quite manipulated by Russian propaganda like you think. As a factory worker, I hear what many of my conservative co-workers say, and the biggest issue is stuff they don't care about Ukraine. It doesn't matter if Russia is going to win or not, they see the conflict as not our business. They believe that Ukraine is a corrupt country, a money laundering scheme by the US government and President Zelensky just in it for American money. American conservatives have lost trust in the US government and have fallen deep for conspiracy theories. It's gotten so bad that many, unwittingly, will work to sabotage their own country believing they are saving it. This is how some of them can believe that "Russia and China are the good guys". Sarcismatron did a great video on how conspiracy theories started here in the US have been used by Russia to further their own agenda. It's called "The American Origins of Putin's Madness" (https://youtu.be/7OFyn_KSy80?si=1jxgvjojFsoJI2tH). But the crux of it is, the Russians and Chinese don't care about the politics in the US, they just need to sew enough confusion and distrust that the American people will advocate for the US to stay out of Russia's and China's way. These conservative Americans (many who bought Trump's "Drain the Swamp" conspiracy), are unknowingly being turned against their own principles because of ignorance, confusion and fear. I don't know how to break this, but I've shown them videos and evidence to show that they're wrong and I've had many get so exasperated that they just give up. They get so confused by the lies and misinformation on the web, that their argument still falls back down to, "Well, Ukraine is still a waste of money. We should focus on home."
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