WEBVTT - DC Freemasons & Russian Psyops

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<v Speaker 1>Something strange is going on.

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<v Speaker 2>Who is killing Russian billionaires? Another Russian oligarch has been

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<v Speaker 2>found dead. Reports suggests that he hanged himself, fell out

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<v Speaker 2>of a window.

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<v Speaker 1>Slashed his wrists, was poisoned, murdered his whole family. Last year,

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<v Speaker 1>more than a dozen Russian oligarchs died in the space

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<v Speaker 1>of nine months. Many of the debts are suspicious with

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<v Speaker 1>links to the Kremlin. This is sad Oligach, an investigation

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<v Speaker 1>into these recently dead Russian billionaires. It's created by me

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<v Speaker 1>Jake Hanrahan and my colleague Sergey Slipchenkov. Sad Oligach is

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<v Speaker 1>a h eleven production for Kulso Media and iHeartRadio. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the final part of the curious case of Dan Rappoport.

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<v Speaker 1>He was pretending to be a Pentagon analyst, which worked

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<v Speaker 1>for the circles he was trying to infle. But on

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<v Speaker 1>the flip side, it allowed Russia to quote a Pentagon

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<v Speaker 1>analyst that was borderline threatening them with this rhetoric. The

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<v Speaker 1>Russian Ministry of Defense media outlet TV Zavezda published an

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<v Speaker 1>article titled Pentagon plans to obliterate Russian Federation in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>days and let NATO govern it. To be fair, they

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<v Speaker 1>did say that it was unknown whether dubog was legit

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<v Speaker 1>or not, but the damage was done. With the headline

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<v Speaker 1>another article in Russia's state news service Aria Navosti asked

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<v Speaker 1>the question is the US preparing a new Operation Barbarossa

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<v Speaker 1>against Russia? Operation Barbarossa being the invasion of the Soviet

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<v Speaker 1>Union by Nazi Germany. The article was viewed half a

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<v Speaker 1>million times. Duberg's message was spreading across Russia already, though

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<v Speaker 1>pro Kremlin journalists were saying that Duwberg was a fake,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no doubt that Putin himself would have been

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<v Speaker 1>made aware of David Duberg at this time, and therefore

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<v Speaker 1>I think Dan Rappaport an old fox emerges. At this point,

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<v Speaker 1>various bloggers and rioters across the world began to attack

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<v Speaker 1>drew Berg, correctly calling out his fraud. In turn, Drew

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<v Speaker 1>Burg slash Rappaport did various corny things to try and

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<v Speaker 1>prove his legitimacy. This included posting a photo of his

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<v Speaker 1>laptop with the Dwberg Facebook page open on the screen,

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<v Speaker 1>with a block four five pistol with two loaded magazines

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<v Speaker 1>sat there on the keyboard in front of him. Duburg

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<v Speaker 1>also apparently emailed the blogger saying quote, you better be

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<v Speaker 1>looking over your shoulder. I will find you now. After

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<v Speaker 1>all of this, how do we know David Duberg was

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<v Speaker 1>actually done? Rappaport, Well, journalist Alexi Cuzamenko is extremely good

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<v Speaker 1>at what he does. He laid it all out perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>in his article for Bellingcat with all the receipts to boot.

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<v Speaker 1>Dan Rappaport, on his real profile as himself was posting

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<v Speaker 1>photos of David Duberg. Remember, the image of dw Berg

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<v Speaker 1>was just his Texan mate Steve Ferrow, but publicly Rappaport

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<v Speaker 1>claimed it was dw Burg and said that they knew

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<v Speaker 1>each other, not him and feroh, him and du Burg.

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<v Speaker 1>He was shaking his own hand. Dan Rapperport, whilst in

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<v Speaker 1>one of his many Facebook arguments about Russia's technical capabilities,

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<v Speaker 1>threaten someone saying that David Duberg would write a letter

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<v Speaker 1>from the Pentagon to his employer real bully boy shit,

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<v Speaker 1>Rapperport wrote, quote, David Duberg will write a letter from

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<v Speaker 1>Pentagon to textra on Monday, America police. Is the world

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<v Speaker 1>better worse than trying or Russia? Ends quote Rappaport did

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<v Speaker 1>this a lot. To be honest, he seemed like a

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<v Speaker 1>bit of a maniac. At times. He text an email

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<v Speaker 1>people he didn't agree with, essentially threatening to set Drew

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<v Speaker 1>Berg on them. I am David's all lack of self discipline. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>Rappaport would even place himself as a conduit to Duberg.

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<v Speaker 1>A former Russian politician and putin opposition figure named Ilya

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<v Speaker 1>Ponomarev said that Rappaport was open about having a work

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<v Speaker 1>in relationship with David Duberg and that he put him

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with him. Ponomarev also openly endorsed du Burg,

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<v Speaker 1>which boosted his profile massively in the Russian dissident scene.

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<v Speaker 1>Regularly friends of Rappaport were friends of Duburg. One Russian

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<v Speaker 1>expert even confirmed that Duburg was Rappaport Schuzumenko writes quote.

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<v Speaker 1>In June twenty seventeen, Dubog posted a link to a

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<v Speaker 1>Voice of America Russian Service interview with well known American

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<v Speaker 1>Russian expert David Satter, adding a comment that Sata was

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<v Speaker 1>his personal friend. Sata was also listed as Dan Rappaport's

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<v Speaker 1>friend on Facebook almost a year prior In September twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>du Berg made a Facebook post about a presentation of

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<v Speaker 1>SA book at a Washington bookstore, also calling Sata a

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<v Speaker 1>personal friend. David Satter himself liked the post on Facebook.

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<v Speaker 1>When Satur was asked via email if Rappaport was in

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<v Speaker 1>fact David Duberg, Sata confirmed, I am aware that David

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<v Speaker 1>Duberg is a non de plume for Dan Rapperport. Dan

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<v Speaker 1>is a friend of mine and I have no objections

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<v Speaker 1>to him reprinting the article with the va Ends quote.

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<v Speaker 1>But it seems Dan Rappaport didn't act alone.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't create some loser alter. You've got to make

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<v Speaker 2>myself feel better.

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<v Speaker 1>The first rule of David Dubog club is that you

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<v Speaker 1>don't talk about David Duwburgh club. Problem is they all did.

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<v Speaker 1>A pattern clearly emerges when looking at the various social

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<v Speaker 1>media interactions between Drew Berg, Rapperport, and the many people

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<v Speaker 1>who boosted the jew Burg fraud. These people would also

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<v Speaker 1>post on Duwberg's Facebook timeline or to related Facebook groups,

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<v Speaker 1>explaining his temporary absences, such as when he was temporarily

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<v Speaker 1>banned from the social network, and tracing these individuals. They

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<v Speaker 1>all had someone in common. Dan Rappaport, one of these

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<v Speaker 1>people in David Duwberg Club is very curious. Active duty

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<v Speaker 1>US Navy Lieutenant Commander Ben Anderson. Anderson said he was

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<v Speaker 1>a personal friend of Dan Rappaport's. On January twenty fifth,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen, he wrote on the David Duberg profile saying, quote,

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<v Speaker 1>Dear David's readers, he asked me to let you know

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<v Speaker 1>that he can't post or even answer your messages yet

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<v Speaker 1>his email Major dot Buburg at gmail dot com is

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<v Speaker 1>fully functional. He'll be back on Facebook on February twenty third,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen. End quote. This exact same message, word for word,

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<v Speaker 1>will be posted at a later date by Vlad Blutsky,

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<v Speaker 1>a former coordinator of the Free Russia Foundation, Perhaps a

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<v Speaker 1>clear case of internal coordination at David Duberg Club. US

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<v Speaker 1>Navy later even confirmed that, yes, the Ben Anderson account

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<v Speaker 1>who posted the message is indeed the legit US Navy

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<v Speaker 1>Lieutenant Commander Ben Anderson. How curious. Now, remember the Freemason

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<v Speaker 1>patch I was talking about earlier, the one David Duberg

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<v Speaker 1>was seen wearing on his military gear. Well, get this,

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<v Speaker 1>The many social gatherings that David Duberg publicly attended were

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<v Speaker 1>tied to rappaport, including a local chapter of the Freemason,

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<v Speaker 1>the Scottish Rite Freemasonry Chapter in Washington, d C. Of

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<v Speaker 1>all places. Now, don't worry, I'm not about to don

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<v Speaker 1>at tinfoyl hat and claim Freemasons all the world. But

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<v Speaker 1>they are an influential old boys club that's perfect for

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<v Speaker 1>organizing amongst the wealthy board men of this world. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>what they say, they do have some sway. I'd go

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<v Speaker 1>as far as to say that a Freemason meeting in Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>DC is perhaps the perfect place for organizing what became

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<v Speaker 1>a high tier influence campaign with David Duberg Club. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>it seems that the real identity of the public face

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<v Speaker 1>of David Duberg, Steve Ferrow, was also part of the Freemasons.

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<v Speaker 1>As David Duberg, he was photographed next to active US

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<v Speaker 1>Army Colonel Rob Mitchell. Mitchell is also a Freemason. Dubog

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<v Speaker 1>posted these photos on his Facebook profile, congratulating Mitchell on

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<v Speaker 1>becoming a colonel. As du Berg, he called Mitchell his friend, colleague,

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<v Speaker 1>and brother. Other members of David Dubog Club would continue

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<v Speaker 1>to out themselves by communicating with du Berg as if

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<v Speaker 1>he was a real person, Kuzomenko writes, quote du Berg

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<v Speaker 1>attempted to boost his credibility by frequently referring to a

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<v Speaker 1>number of rapper sports friends who openly talted their military credentials,

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<v Speaker 1>such as dmitriy Mining and Eric Kneilov. These friends would

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<v Speaker 1>also post photographs and other content that referred to Duburg

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<v Speaker 1>as if he were a real person, such as March

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen Facebook posts from Eric Karneilov showing a group

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<v Speaker 1>of soldiers with the text remember this beautiful day, David,

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<v Speaker 1>We definitely had some fun. Bro. Many of these individuals

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<v Speaker 1>were used to prop up Duberg as an actual, well

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<v Speaker 1>connected person. Were friends with Rappaport and in his social circles,

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<v Speaker 1>including being in this same local Freemason chapter. These contacts

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<v Speaker 1>were all living in or around Washington, DC. But another

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<v Speaker 1>Rapperport contact was perhaps the most vital in creating false

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<v Speaker 1>legitimacy to the Pentagon official, Steve Ferrow, whose face was

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<v Speaker 1>used to represent Duberg End's quote feraoh New Rappaport from

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<v Speaker 1>Houston University. They were in the same threat together, the

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<v Speaker 1>hilariously named Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity Pharaoh denies any knowledge

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<v Speaker 1>of the David Duburg account. However, after being questioned about

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<v Speaker 1>this by Kusamenko, Pharaoh quickly deleted photos from his own

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook profile that linked him to Duburg and Rappaport. It's

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<v Speaker 1>clear that Rappaport was not the sole person involved with

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<v Speaker 1>David Duberg. I think it's obvious at this stage that

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<v Speaker 1>a small collective of Rappaport's friends and associates, several from

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<v Speaker 1>his freemasonry lodge, were instrumental in promoting David Duberg as

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<v Speaker 1>a means to spread pro American, anti Kremlin Russian information.

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<v Speaker 1>Pretty much everything Dan Rappaport was involved and invested in.

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<v Speaker 1>Some might ask the question was Dan Rappaport just a

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<v Speaker 1>Pentagon fanboy lapping as an insider or was he a

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<v Speaker 1>Pentagon insider lapping as a businessman. Well, the Pentagon deniers

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<v Speaker 1>ever employing a David Duberg and said it's nothing to

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<v Speaker 1>do with them, which they would incus Menko showed his

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<v Speaker 1>findings to several people within the intelligence sphere. They had

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<v Speaker 1>an unusual response. Glen Carlei, a veteran of the CIA

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<v Speaker 1>and former deputy officer on the National Intelligence Council, said

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<v Speaker 1>that it was a quote crap initiative, it was created

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<v Speaker 1>by a quote fool, and curiously was probably a Russian

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<v Speaker 1>disinformation campaign as opposed to an actual anti Russian operation.

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<v Speaker 1>Ludmila Subchuk Borisova, a Russian journalist known for investigating government

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<v Speaker 1>back internet troll factories, also looked at Kuzmenko's work. She said,

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<v Speaker 1>quote Dubog resembles propagandist fake accounts that a troll factory

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<v Speaker 1>in Russia would create, a whole group of people would

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<v Speaker 1>work on something like this. Still, propagandist efforts, regardless of

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<v Speaker 1>who runs them, tend to look alike. Dubug is not

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily a Russian project. On the other hand, a recent

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<v Speaker 1>report in Russia pointed out that some anti Russian foreign

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<v Speaker 1>experts invited onto Russian TV as token representatives of the

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<v Speaker 1>West are often actually paid to serve as virtual punching

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<v Speaker 1>bags for local anchors to ridicule ends. Quote author Peter Pomorantseev,

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<v Speaker 1>a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics,

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<v Speaker 1>also thought the case was strange. He said, quote what

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<v Speaker 1>struck me first is that the whole thing could be

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<v Speaker 1>a surreal prank. An extravagant individual undertaking. It's not how

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<v Speaker 1>you imagine secret services to work. But then again, considering

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<v Speaker 1>that it spanned such a long period of time, it

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<v Speaker 1>could be a case of freelance work where someone a freelancer,

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<v Speaker 1>ventures out on his own kick, starts a certain project,

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<v Speaker 1>and later pitches an already running operation to a potential buyer.

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<v Speaker 1>Things aren't necessarily always linear, as in there's a side

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<v Speaker 1>that orders everything and an executor. I think we are

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<v Speaker 1>seeing more and more of that thing and it becomes

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<v Speaker 1>increasingly accessible. Again this case, the Jewberg case, appears to

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<v Speaker 1>be a weird propaganda campaign meant for Russian state broadcaster

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<v Speaker 1>Novosti ends quote. It seems that the David Duberg slash

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<v Speaker 1>Dan Rappaport rabbit hole never ends. The du Burg saga is,

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<v Speaker 1>in my opinion, a case of a small group of

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<v Speaker 1>people creating a smoke screen for their own internal political

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<v Speaker 1>influence that snowballed faster and bigger than they intended it to. Remember,

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<v Speaker 1>it caught the eye of the Kremlin. They no doubt

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<v Speaker 1>worked out who was behind it as well, putting Rappaport

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<v Speaker 1>in their sights once again, So you have to ask yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>did this contribute to Dan Rappaport's death. Was he pushed

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<v Speaker 1>out of his window for building a fake profile that

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<v Speaker 1>began to spread news of plans for US domination of

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<v Speaker 1>Russia through Putin's backyard. Who knows, at the very least,

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<v Speaker 1>I think when you combine the David Duberg situation with

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<v Speaker 1>Rappaport's previous problems with the Kremlin, it begins to make

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<v Speaker 1>him look like a target not so irrelevant to Putin

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<v Speaker 1>as before. That is, if this was a hit. We

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<v Speaker 1>don't know now. Remember at the start, when we spoke

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<v Speaker 1>about Rappaport's dog, the supposed suicide note and the cash

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<v Speaker 1>attached to the collar. This bizarre tale came from a

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<v Speaker 1>Russian source. This source is a telegram channel ran by

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<v Speaker 1>the former editor of the Russian Tatler magazine, Yanaiya Pugachiva.

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<v Speaker 1>She's basically a gossip reporter. This convoluted and according to

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<v Speaker 1>Rappaporte's wife, false story about the dog was used to

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<v Speaker 1>explain how the Russian telegram channel discover the death of Rappaport.

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<v Speaker 1>She broke the story. In the words of vlad Burlatsky,

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<v Speaker 1>who commented on the death of Rappaport, how the hell

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<v Speaker 1>did she learn about Dan's alleged suicide. Well, there's a theory,

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<v Speaker 1>here's sergery.

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<v Speaker 2>The main reason a Fasbar and other similar agencies use

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<v Speaker 2>gossip sites or telegram channels or you know, independent creators

0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.080
<v Speaker 2>is because I think people have a distrust with the

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:43.000
<v Speaker 2>mainstream You see this in the West, mainstream media or whatever.

0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:47.600
<v Speaker 2>They don't believe it. They people are drawn to independent creators.

0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.600
<v Speaker 2>They're drawn to alternative media, whether it be like individual

0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:55.080
<v Speaker 2>comment creators, alternative outlets that are kind of new and

0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.520
<v Speaker 2>like web based. Similar in Russia, you know, telegram is

0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.520
<v Speaker 2>very popular. Telegram new channels are very often used, and

0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:06.800
<v Speaker 2>I think they have sort of like an authenticity and

0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:13.640
<v Speaker 2>credibility that people think that like state news outlets don't have.

0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.240
<v Speaker 2>They see that, you know. I think the skepticism in

0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:22.040
<v Speaker 2>Russians is like, if it's being like, if it's reporting

0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:24.920
<v Speaker 2>on something, it's probably being controlled in some way. If

0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.320
<v Speaker 2>it's not straight up controlled by the government, it's probably

0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.720
<v Speaker 2>being influenced. And this is true for any kind of

0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.240
<v Speaker 2>information they get, whether it's from the Russian government or

0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.720
<v Speaker 2>from you know, the West. I mean, especially from the West.

0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 2>They're skeptical of anything. There's a bunch of different you know,

0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.080
<v Speaker 2>it's a scale of how skeptical people are. Some people

0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:42.840
<v Speaker 2>buy into and some people don't. And I think for

0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.920
<v Speaker 2>those that are skeptical of the Russian media, they turn

0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:51.280
<v Speaker 2>to independent creators and telegram news channels and they use

0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:54.280
<v Speaker 2>that as their like credible sorts of information. And I

0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:58.360
<v Speaker 2>think agencies can use that and kind of disseminate information

0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:03.080
<v Speaker 2>that they need through these sources, and it gives its

0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:07.480
<v Speaker 2>kind of its own credibility. I guess. You know, it's like, well,

0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:09.560
<v Speaker 2>it's kind of a silly let's say, a gossip side.

0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:11.679
<v Speaker 2>It's like, oh, it's a silly website that talks about

0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:18.520
<v Speaker 2>drama celebrity like flings or whatever, and then it reports

0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.880
<v Speaker 2>this serious thing. You may kind of think, well, they're

0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:24.119
<v Speaker 2>not political, they don't have any ties to the government,

0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.920
<v Speaker 2>because they're just like who cares, They're like a gossip site,

0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.159
<v Speaker 2>you know. But still people read it. They get that

0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.800
<v Speaker 2>information and they take it at face value. You know.

0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:37.840
<v Speaker 2>The thing with the note on reports dog, from what

0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.560
<v Speaker 2>I could see, there was no dog or note or anything,

0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.240
<v Speaker 2>but a lot of Russian sites reported it as fact,

0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:49.760
<v Speaker 2>and the origin seems to be essentially a blogger. She's

0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.280
<v Speaker 2>basically like an influencer who kind of reports on gossipy

0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.680
<v Speaker 2>stories and yeah, and you kind of use that as like, well,

0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.680
<v Speaker 2>she's independent, she has a reason to be controlled. She's

0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:04.120
<v Speaker 2>a little call Simularian. And then yeah, you just kind

0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.879
<v Speaker 2>of trust that more than something that you would believe

0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:08.600
<v Speaker 2>to be controlled by the government.

0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.880
<v Speaker 1>So, Russian intelligence services have been known to use gossip

0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.840
<v Speaker 1>sites as a means to spread information quickly. Kind of smart,

0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.560
<v Speaker 1>I guess, But why would they want to spread the

0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:23.960
<v Speaker 1>news of Dan Rapperport's death and how did they know

0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.560
<v Speaker 1>about it? So soon? I'll leave that for you to

0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:31.720
<v Speaker 1>think about. To tie up this wild story of Dan

0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.480
<v Speaker 1>Rapperport's death and strange life, let's look at his final

0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:40.080
<v Speaker 1>Facebook post. This was posted just two days before he

0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:44.560
<v Speaker 1>died after falling out the window. Rapperport put up a

0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:50.080
<v Speaker 1>photo of Colonel Kurtz from the film Apocalypse Now. The character,

0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:54.240
<v Speaker 1>played by Marlon Brando, is a US military colonel gone rogue.

0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.560
<v Speaker 1>He slaughters fellow soldiers and basically starts a cult in

0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:03.439
<v Speaker 1>the jungle. Kurtz is based on the Ivory Trader character

0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:08.000
<v Speaker 1>from Joseph Conrad's eighteen ninety nine novella Heart of Darkness.

0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:13.359
<v Speaker 1>Rappaport posted the photo with the caption the Horror, The

0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.359
<v Speaker 1>horror a quote from Colonel Kurtz that I think sums

0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:24.119
<v Speaker 1>up this whole series. Murder, deception, war, a mysterious bloodshed,

0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:25.880
<v Speaker 1>the horror.

0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:44.960
<v Speaker 2>Said.

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<v Speaker 1>Oliger is a H eleven production for Cool Zone Media

0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:54.359
<v Speaker 1>and iHeart Radio. Posted, produced, researched and edited by me

0:19:54.840 --> 0:20:00.720
<v Speaker 1>Jake Hanrahan and Sergei Slipchenko. Co produced by Sophie Victim.

0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Music by Sam Black, artwork by Adam mcdoyle, soundmix by

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:10.840
<v Speaker 1>Splicing Block. Go to Jacanrahan dot com for more information