Reddit: how Putin and his protégé ecuadorian Rafael Correa are manipulating the internet to wash up their crimes?

Por Joao Lemos Esteves Special Total News Agency –TNA-

The Ecuadorian intel services – linked to Rafael Correa – are very active on social media platforms: their favorite is Reddit. This social media introduces itself as being na aggregator of communities linked by the same interests and hobbies. What should be a meritorious cause and a potencial positive side of digital modern communication, turned out to be actually a major risk for democracy and for Free World. In fact, Russia’s propaganda machine – which is disseminated worldwidely in the most surprising places and, in Europe and LATAM, at the highest ranks of national political power – is being taking the most of the tools and functions provided by Reddit. Reddit fits in Russia’s propaganda machine quite perfectly –  the users do not have to provide any identification to access and edit on that social media platform; there is no identification double-check (there is no link for any provided email to verify that the user is a “real person”); the users edit their content using an avatar, which is an open-door to trolls, fake editors and Kremlin-linked (and their proxies) agents. Cover and not-so cover agents: Russia, under Putin’s leadership, has become a lying regime, sustained by deceiving methods and exploring the instruments of the modern-day hybrid wars.

Russia has infiltrated Ecuador’s intel services in large scale during Rafael Correa’s tenure as the country’s President – that’s why Correa’s loyalist protected Julian Assange in Europe using David Morales and “the CIA” as a scapegoat. Reddit was their favorite propaganda’s platform (see photos above). Rafael Correa is manipulating people with responsabilities at Ecuador’s diplomatic representations (especially in charge of their security) in Europe to betray their country and defend him

Let’s not sugar-coated here: Putin’s Russia is just a war-machine State; a permanent agression apparatus, wtihout even carring about their own people.  Russia propagandists’ methods are always the same – formulating questions with strong words; provocating heated discussions based more on emotions than on rational reasons; presenting Putin as the savior of Christian-values, of a religious-based political organization against the “gomorrah” of democracy, free societies and globalized  citizens. Putin’s propaganda – whose instruments are the globalized social media platforms they criticize so much, quite ironically! – describe the world in  binary term: Putin’s Russia as the last frontier against what they call the “American establishment”, the “American deep State”, the “ American imperialism”, “The George Soros’ globalist world constructed in the backdoors of the White House and on the dark basemets of the Capitol”. What is incredible is the incredible amount of people ready to embrace Kremlin’s fantasy (or nightmare) stories.

There are reports indicating Russia was dominating Reddit back in 2018-2019: there were millions of bots and trolls controlled directly from Moscow – more specifically, from the IRA, The Internet Research Agency (Glavset), which controls the communication flux on the internet and engages in online influence at Kremlin’s behest. IRA (Glavset) works not only for Putin’s government, but also for every Russia’s all: IRA has been especially active in LATAM countries, supporting Cuba and Venezuela’s regimes. However, the most vocal and dangerous presence on Reddit – under Russia’s influence and direction – has been former Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa’s digital brigades.  Rafael Correa is a Putin prótégé – Correa is just a server of Kremlin’s regime. As I wrote last week, Rafael Correa used Ecuador’s intel services to entrap David Morales and to invent a story against the CIA and granted protection to Julian Assange to escape the US judicial system. Putin’s regime has benefit a lot from the information criminally obtained by both Julian Assange and Edward Snowden – Russia is using intel about NATO and US military capabilities in the ongoing ciminal invasion of Ukraine. Rafael Correa is as criminal as Putin and his servants Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. It is no coincidente that Ecuador’s intel services are divided more than ever – Rafael Correa manipulates assets of these services to his self interests and to combat the sitting President Guillermo Lasso (as they did against his predecessor, Lenin Moreno). Rafael Correa intends to be the ecuadorian Lula da Silva – to confront the national judicial system, to mobilize the law enforcement agents and intel services assets loyal to him to beat Lasso in the next presidential elections in Ecuador. Notice that Rafael Correa is playing the same card as Julian Assange: he is asking asylum to Belgium’s government to escape from the judicial system. Russia’s diplomacy is pressuring this european government to protect Rafael Correa: the Kremlin sees Correa as their most loyal ally; besides that, Correa’s family has historic economic ties with Russia. José Angel Duarte Arriza – Ecuador’s intel services who betrayed David Morales at Rafael Correa/Russia’s orders, invented the plot to smear the CIA and the United States – controls the cybersecurity of all the Ecuador’s Embassies in Europe which gives Rafael Correa a solid leeway against the current Ecuador’s government. José Angel Duarte Arriza would be a good source – according to people from his inner circle –  of intel from every Ecuador’s agency and judicial authorities directly to Rafael Correa.

The same bots and trolls that spread russian government’s propaganda have been pushing for Rafael Correa as well. This is not a recent trend; Rafael Correa counts with very active trolls and bots in Reddit benefiting from professional orchestrated operations on that social media platform. Ecuador’s intel services agents linked (and loyal) to Rafael Correa continue to be very active on Reddit to pursue their “boss” and their personal interests, inventing stories and following Russia’s propagandists playbook. Most of Rafael Correa’s propaganda is edited from Europe (Spain, France and Belgium) – so does Russia’s propaganda. This is no coincidence.

Two more examples of how Ecuador’s intel services linked to Putin’s regime and Rafael Correa are using Reddit to spread desinformation about their country to promote Rafael Correa’s interests; Reddit is Putin-Rafael Correa’s favorite social media platform

Reddit is being putting up some strong and (desirably) effective control mechanisms to fight back russian and other authoritarian regimes (and criminal politicians) desinformation. However, this is not totally work – there still are numerous avatars following Putin’s propaganda playbook. Above, you find one example: an avatar under the name “GhettoGremlin” has been supporting Russia’s aggression of Ukraine, defending Putin’s “political manhood” (whatever this may be!) with violent and in-your-face kind of language. This is a typical Glavset-controlled avatar, clearly created and maintained by russian regime’s agents – Reddit did not block its activity when urged to do so, despite all the evidence. Russia and Ecuador’s (Rafael Correa) propaganda explores Rebrandly’s capabilities to shorten URL with custom domains using Reddit’s avatars – by doing so, they escape from social media platform’s regulations to freely spread their fake and unreal (or surreal!) propaganda. We must – all of us! – keep our eyes wide open: criminals like Putin and Rafael Correa cannot – will not! –win. The clock is ticking against them!