Dr. Ian Garner @irgarner Twitter profile

Pinned Tweet

Dr. Ian Garner

1 year

The book is real. If you think the Russian state hates me today, wait until they read this. It was gut-wrenchingly awful to write, but worth every drop of frustration and every last hate email. Get your copy at @HurstPublishers

470

2K

8K

Last Seen Profiles

@SoCalVarsity

@CTBoysHoops

@nasuyuko

@collegemenfess

@milachka2001

@starbellys

@RaysBaseball

@POVPhilly

@TrumpgirlAFVet3

@ppppppppppaulo

@pilot_limo

@rise_wallet

@skip_skip_sheep

@Kashifabbasi__

@Tv26Television

@TomaEfremova

@g3p_graph

@new

@jennifer_hampo

@slivansarraf

@gumtism

@andmerloni

@ryujinsenryaku

@RareApepesNFT

@taxvalethq

@kirill_buketov

@AdWilson76

@PagrowBamboo

@ben4589

@TinaEhsanipour

@RealDJNOVAsa

@panhuffman

@NounsOS

@razobe01

@dul_turkporno

@SunrisersEC

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Big Thread: After a few more days of war, I've been carefully monitoring Russian social media reaction and production and I'm more convinced than before that Putin's regime has totally overestimated its ability to win a propaganda war.

649

13K

75K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

⚡️BREAKING: Russian army.

353

4K

53K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

A reminder that Russia shot down a passenger jet over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 civilians, and the West shrugged and got on with huffing Moscow’s gas.

725

7K

34K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

I've spent some time developing a tool to help you interpret truth and lies in Russia's media. Please share with the needy ⬇️

458

7K

32K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

I am calling on Brazilian President Lula da Silva to cede Rio to Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

3K

2K

24K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

“Alaska is Ours!” As spotted in Krasnoyarsk. They’ve gone totally mad.

2K

4K

22K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russia’s biggest late night talk show host, Ivan Urgant, disappeared from public view after criticizing the war on day 1. And that, people, is Cancel Culture.

153

4K

21K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Roses are red Violets are blue

193

2K

18K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

10 months

Prigozhin is an abominable monster. If his coup is successful, Russia is not going to be a better or more peaceful place. Don’t cheer him on like he’s some hero or liberator.

1K

2K

17K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

🧵 Russian media is having an absolute A+ toddler meltdown over Eurovision.

172

2K

17K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russia: "We're telling you openly for the millionth time the invasion is about seizing territory and erasing Ukraine and Ukrainian culture. We've also kidnapped a million Ukrainians and murdered tens of thousands more!" People: "Ah, yes, I hear you: NATO is bad."

220

4K

16K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

You might have read about Yury Dud, the popular Russian blogger, speaking out against the war. 5 million followers, and look at what he's sharing at the top of his Instagram page: strong stuff.

39

1K

16K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russians are being bombarded with very effective Russian-language anti-war propaganda. We're seeing a lot about Zelensky etc. but Russians are widely viewing some HUGE celebrities with big, big follower counts coming out against the war.

40

1K

15K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russian media in the next 12 hours: - There were no chemical weapons - The footage is fake - Azov did it - It’s a Western provocation - The world hates us - This is why we must destroy Ukraine

277

3K

15K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

⚡️ Russia announces it has kidnapped 190,000 Ukrainian children

350

6K

14K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

5 months

Ukraine destroys 87% of the Russian army in under 2 years and Republicans wonder whether it’s worth supporting them. It’s the military deal of the century!

3K

2K

14K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Elon Musk is every overconfident first-year politics student who definitely knows that you, personally, just haven't though about his brilliant solution yet

558

1K

13K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Putin met soldiers' mothers today. Here's Vladimir, patiently listening. He wants to hear what ordinary people have to say. Except it turns out these mothers are not so ordinary...

422

3K

13K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russians are seeing these narratives, hearing their peers and idols talk to them like normal people and in Russian. They're being shared widely, and the Russian government basically can't stop them.

19

923

13K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Russian diplomacy for you: “No mercy to the Ukrainian population!”

404

3K

12K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Sergey Lavrov taking a break from Russia’s war against Western depravity by slipping on a Basquiat t-shirt is perfect. Basquiat was a queer, anti-colonial Black artist. Just the sort of guy who’d love Sergey’s war.

473

2K

12K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Interesting choice of Putin’s to go with the Madonna tribute costume today

175

2K

12K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

10 months

None of the usual Russian trolls are responding to my threads. So let’s draw them out: Russia is a fascist country. Putin is a fascist. Prigozhin is a fascist. Are you guys still out there?

382

1K

12K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Zelensky is the undisputed champion of political speeches and PR. Absolutely world class.

285

2K

12K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

8 months

Why is nobody asking Putin which part of Russia he will give up in exchange for peace?

342

2K

11K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

I’m sorry, but at events like this, there is an appropriate dress code: when you meet Volodymyr Zelensky, wear green.

426

593

11K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

On the other side, the Russian government is pushing an increasingly impersonal narrative. All we're seeing is images of Putin and his generals in vast meeting rooms, adorned with Rococo panelling, in unidentified places.

35

656

11K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

8 months

Maximum Bond villain level achieved. What a disgrace.

2K

1K

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Here's a voice from Ukraine. Travel YouTuber Anton Ptushkin, a Russian speaker with *5.5 million* subscribers, posted this heartfelt appeal for peace & frank discussion of fears about his family on his IG. Here's a version from YouTube for ease of viewing.

Anton Ptushkin @ptuxerman 🇺🇦 #ukraine - Ukraine latest news

null

www.youtube.com

7

834

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

The people, where they are addressed, are spoken to as an abstract ("The government is starting a special operation...") rather than as individuals (Ukraine's "We implore you, fellow Russians, to stop attacking our women and children").

8

564

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Zelensky knocks it out the park every time. I’m not a Russian conscript but I feel I should surrender to the Ukrainian Army.

161

2K

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

RU's narrative looks more like WW1 - a detached imperial tsar directing his troops in an abstract war against imperial opposition - than the "all-national" effort of WW2 when, even under Stalin, the population was united in its desire to fight the Nazis. Remember this point.

19

851

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

⚡️Breaking: Russian army

97

590

10K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Vladimir Putin has awarded Steven Seagal the Order of Friendship for his contribution to “international cultural and humanitarian cooperation.” Seagal’s only global humanitarian act has been to stop making movies in the West.

980

956

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

3 months

Roses are red Violets are blue

578

1K

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

I’m trying to count the number of times NATO has tried to invade Russia but still coming up with zero. Can anybody help?

781

1K

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Blows my mind that Putin is threatening a nuclear war that would end civilization and people think we should just sit down, have a nice chat, and come up with a sweet deal together.

457

1K

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

3 months

If Russia had to invade Ukraine, and Hitler had to invade Poland, then who is Putin in the analogy? 🤨

715

1K

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

4 months

@Culture_Crit What’s stopping you moving to Germany, 1942?

98

106

9K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

🇺🇦 vs 🇷🇺 PR effectiveness: Zelensky visited Bucha within 48 hours of the news of atrocities breaking. He spoke to ordinary people. He was visibly distraught. Putin made it to Mariupol 10 months after Azovstal fell. He drove around in a car, did some staged photo ops, and left.

286

893

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

9 months

⚡️ Russian Central Bank releases new graph showing ruble's impressive growth against the dollar

242

570

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Ukraine subverts Russia's mobilization advert: "I don't want to kill kids. I don't want to cut heads off. I don't want to be responsible for Putin's war crimes. You're a human. So be one." Once again, they're so, so good at this.

141

2K

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

11 months

This video, from Valeriy Zaluzhny’s Telegram feed, is hyping Ukrainian troops to “take back what’s ours.” An astonishing piece of work: artfully shot, well cut; more movie trailer than military order.

160

994

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

How can we end the war in Ukraine? Create a demilitarized zone, outlined here in orange ⬇️

214

836

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Instead, we're still treated to the kinds of bizarre anti-NATO/US Imperialism rants that move public opinion slowly against the enemy. But I don't see them having much effect, in the long run, vs. the much more slick Russian language Ukrainian material.

9

406

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

People are not ready for their iPhones to disappear to inflation and sanctions (joke seen in the wild today: "Don't drop your iPhone, because it's going to be your last"). People are not ready for hyper-inflation.

12

616

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Teacher from Moscow tells me her school received an official form requesting details of all employees born in Ukraine. Totally normal, non-fascist stuff.

92

2K

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

And the government is doing essentially *nothing* to get Russians ready for this. They overplayed a weak hand, the West called their bluff, and now they're in the shit. (Notice this seems to parallel the overconfidence in the military effort - not a coincidence, I'll wager you.)

15

611

8K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

9 months

This is London in 1940. I can’t believe the USA gave them millions of dollars of aid so they could PARTY!! Is it too late to get a refund???!!!!

175

839

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

A compromise solution is easy: simply disband NATO, transfer America’s nuclear arsenal to Moscow, and offer Putin every country a Russian has ever visited. …can I have an NYT column now?

193

722

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

11 months

Turns out Russia has plenty of ways to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians without using nuclear weapons. What will the Western response be? Where are *our* red lines? Is Russia not afraid of *us* escalating?

574

1K

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

lololol when you dm me to tell me to tone my language down. fuck off.

79

165

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

State TV political shows, which have good viewing figures, aren't talking about or to people or individuals, who will be the key to winning the propaganda war, either.

3

323

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

My expert prediction is that Putin’s regime will end.

488

378

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

So what do we have? A stagnant propaganda machine that knows how to create chaos and tear things - esp. the West - down. But it's the propaganda machine of an empire. It's not agile, and it doesn't know how to respond to current events & the strong Ukrainian and Western efforts.

22

549

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

@SamRamani2 According to Russia, countries that are invading Ukraine: - Moldova - Romania - Poland - America - Canada - USA - Britain - Ukraine Countries not invading Ukraine: - Russia

188

1K

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Still don't believe Russia's a fascist state?

155

636

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

3 years

Grad students, it's okay, nobody who has a PhD has ever read more than the introduction and conclusion of any article or book, ever.

109

428

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

(3) This is probably the most important point. I'm seeing plenty of sharing about bank runs, ATM dashes, inflating prices, and availability of consumer goods. People in the Far East, where food prices are already sky high, aren't quite panicking, but they're not exactly happy.

5

458

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Turning to Russian social media, a much more threatening narrative for Putin's government might be playing out. I've spent some time reading around Russian language social media to look for what people are saying about the war.

6

359

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 months

Russia is using social media to wage a war against the West. We're all participants in that war, and we're destroying each other as a result. Forcing Ukraine to capitulate won't stop Moscow⬇️

The West Is Still Oblivious to Russia’s Information War

Paralyzed by free speech concerns, Western governments are loath to act.

foreignpolicy.com

506

2K

7K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Medvedev calling Ukrainians “blood-sucking parasites” from an “unterukraine.” Not even bothering to hide the fascist rhetoric. Abominable.

480

1K

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Depose Putin, replace him with Musk. Russia collapses overnight. Problem solved.

134

683

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

After a few days of war we can't say that Putin is doomed, but I wonder: without signs that the gvt is taking winning the media war seriously, will tiny cracks around the 1990s, around sacrifice, and around loss turn into gaping fissures in the state's narratives of identity?

42

326

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Hot on Russian Telegram: map of “free nations” after “decolonization of Europe.” The only countries that get to be big are Russia and Serbia. Tells you everything about the Russian imperial imagination.

757

1K

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

People aren't ready for their favourite celebrities who speak out against the war - and there are a good number of famous Russians who have done so - to just disappear.

3

345

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

BREAKING: Western nations to supply Ukraine with 3 water pistols, a used slingshot, two plastic swords and an old sock.

213

780

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

This is leading to open comparisons to the 1990s: Putin built his brand on stability after the lawlessness and poverty of the 90s, so this is devastating news. This talk was supposed to be long gone (follow @allysonedwards1 for more on the Russian 1990s and militarization).

6

417

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Here's why I think the WW1 comparison is the most important, then: few who would have expected that WW1 would lead to the Russian Revolution 3 years later.

21

439

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

⚡️Russia releases evidence collected on the seabed proving Ukrainian fascists behind Nord Stream attacks

629

386

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Waiting for a single lie-free day on Russian state media.

113

707

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

(2) Mild criticism of the war, sharing of broken heart emojis, etc. This isn't too widespread, so I don't want to over egg it, but it's important. Anti-war sentiment is there, and you're seeing some of it on the streets.

5

259

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

These sympathetic posts, though, are met with a barrage of aggressive, macho chest thumping ("We'll smash those Western dogs", "LOL bring it on" stuff). Some responses - especially on Instagram - are obviously from bots.

12

264

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

But what's interesting is that I don't see narratives around WW2 being picked up at all. There's a lot of polarized rage, similar to what we see in the West's comments, but no real sense that many of even the most war-hungry Russians are buying into Putin's WW2 cosplay dreams.

9

339

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

What is wrong with the American right?

791

346

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

4 months

All the fucking fascism.

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

4 months

What is preventing you from moving to Russia?

18K

5K

68K

165

261

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

It’s 1942. Do you invite Goebbels for a sit-down TV interview? Do you ask Speer to your university discussion club? Do you have Hermann Goering over for tea and cake? This isn’t complex stuff.

124

934

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

There is no attempt to mobilize the people for a large, drawn-out war, or to "soften up" opinion to prepare for the idea that Russians are going to die.

7

293

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Oh, Reuters. Take a break for just one day.

258

345

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

22 days

The Russians’ takeover of the Republican party is arguably the most successful influence operation in history. Vote Republican, vote Russia.

The GOP Is the Party of Putin

The Russians’ takeover of the Republican party is arguably the most successful influence operation in history.

www.thebulwark.com

553

2K

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

On ordinary people's VK feeds, I'm seeing three things: (1) Total indifference/absence of mentions of the war is conspicuous almost everywhere you look. Whether people are afraid to post about the war publicly (to some extent possible) or not, we don't know.

17

281

6K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

The Russian Empire walked into war without bothering to really prepare its people, who were indifferent to the justification for war, both from the off and increasingly over time. There were divisions, and the Bolsheviks & others manipulated them superbly to seize power.

11

332

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

If that sentiment isn't there, I don't think - and this is a guess - that people will be ready to make the huge sacrifices that WW2 necessitated. If the Ukraine war is justified by "anti-Nazism," then people aren't picking up the historical connection.

9

281

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

The negotiations aren’t coming. The liberal opposition aren’t coming. The army mutiny isn’t coming. The collapse of Russia isn’t coming. What’s coming is more mobilizations, more repression, more missiles, and more terror. This war is going to drag on for a long time.

388

676

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Depressing prediction: after a few days of turmoil and protest, things will die down in Russia. The flow of men leaving will stop. People will be mobilized and sent to the front, just as underprepared as those already there. They won’t revolt en masse.

249

566

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

10 months

Normal service resumed as Russian news publishes this editorial: "We no longer have a choice: Russia must launch a nuclear strike on Europe."

283

902

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

“Russia’s boundaries don’t end anywhere.” They are confused, can anyone help them out?

297

818

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

3 months

NATO countries could spend 100% of their GDP on the military and Trump would still abandon them to Russia. Because he loves dictators and he hates democracy.

899

777

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Why the hell bother to interview Sergey Lavrov? Use the airtime to counter his lies, not let him repeat them.

305

640

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

3 months

Think how fast World War 2 could have been over if we'd just not bothered funding or fighting it. All those lives saved!

297

547

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

🧵 Why letting Russia participate in the Olympics isn’t okay—and how Putin’s regime uses star athletes to sell its wars. A basic guide to Russia's sporting fascism.

201

1K

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

10 months

UK defence secretary suggests Ukraine could show more gratitude for weapons. I suggest that the West could show more gratitude for Ukrainians dying for its security.

US and UK call for more gratitude from Kyiv after Zelenskiy’s Nato complaint

Comments come after Ukrainian leader complained his country had not been given firm timetable for joining alliance

www.theguardian.com

541

953

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

Any doctor like me will look at Putin’s limp left arm and conclude that he is likely suffering from late onset Rett syndrome (Excogitari ineptias). He probably has months to live. In this thread I will look at all the supporting evidence 1/27

638

852

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

1 year

Let's make this clear: if Putin gave even one single tiny fuck about Russian soldiers and their mothers, he could end the fighting this instant.

31

405

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

5 months

@RobertKennedyJr Man looking for weapons meets people who sell weapons shocker

61

51

5K

Dr. Ian Garner

@irgarner

2 years

VKontakte, aka "Russian Facebook," is highly controlled by the government. Even on some of the state-supported paramilitary movement pages, the war is conspicuously absent.