@anneapplebaum@journa.host

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 3w ago

Boosted by @heidilifeldman@mastodon.social

American foreign policy under Trump is not isolationist. On the contrary, MAGA ideologues want to build an international empire run by far-right political movements who serve the interests of American crypto, mineral and tech companies, especially if they have links to the president. They think of themselves as "the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America, but the world." Read "Empire of Grift", my Atlantic cover story, here (gift link) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/10/maga-foreign-policy/688352/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3w3onHNSnF53FTCE5KWWZBg

MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption

The Atlantic

MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption

Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 3w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Some details: Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-putin

Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch

ProPublica

Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch

The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large group of other Russian guests.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 1mo ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Happy 35th anniversary to Ukraine, a country I first visited when it was still part of the Soviet Union. In a single generation Ukraine has transformed itself into a symbol of bravery, resilience and independence. Ukrainians should be proud.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 2mo ago

Vance, Farage and Weidel posted fear-mongering messages about a Spanish migrant crisis that weren't true. They haven't retracted them. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/ceuta-spain-far-right/688154/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK31XDjpJVICzd-UsHf5DN21A

The Atlantic

The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta

We’ve seen this before.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 3w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

It's not a hybrid war anymore : Russia is ramping up a kinetic war against Europe. From @thestudyofwar https://understandingwar.org/research/defense-of-europe/the-russian-military-campaign-against-europe-defining-the-threat/

The Russian Military Campaign Against Europe: Defining the Threat

Institute for the Study of War

The Russian Military Campaign Against Europe: Defining the Threat

The Kremlin is conducting a coordinated series of kinetic campaigns targeting Europe and NATO states must design holistic responses.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 4mo ago

Ukraine is not losing. And for Russia, that's a major defeat. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/ukraine-war-momentum-shift/687444/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK339Ii2SkHlPWX0PobpYV_fQ

Ukraine Is Not Losing. Russia Is Not Winning.

The Atlantic

Ukraine Is Not Losing. Russia Is Not Winning.

A momentum shift that changes everything

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 4w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

On the Trump administration's "sweeping campaign to control speech in America" through lawsuits, regulation and threats: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/us/politics/trump-free-speech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AlE.1QxJ.amylYeI_bRd9&smid=nytcore-android-share

nytimes.com

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 5mo ago

Boosted by @hypebot@goingdark.social

Four years ago, President Vladimir Putin offered Moscow and its business elite a de facto deal: Support my war in Ukraine, and in exchange you won’t have to think about it. In the past week, that deal was broken. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/russian-discontent-ukraine-war/687131/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK39Am7Heilt35O-jz_mvjTXA

The Atlantic

Putin’s War Comes Home to Moscow

He can no longer hide the consequences from the Russian public.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 6mo ago

Boosted by @hypebot@goingdark.social

Illiberalism is not Inevitable https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/illiberalism-not-inevitable/686778/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK32zuGE3vqLJtJTyIvvK-8_M&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The Atlantic

Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable

If Viktor Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 6mo ago

Boosted by @hypebot@tacocat.space

How did Magyar win? A long running grassroots campaign in rural and small town Hungary; a refusal to be distracted by government propaganda; a focus on economic issues and corruption; a central promise to bring back democracy and the rule of law https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/illiberalism-not-inevitable/686778/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3wE9YcurPp32sueWzH4Inmw&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The Atlantic

Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable

If Viktor Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 6mo ago

Boosted by @hypebot@goingdark.social

“It will just open up naturally,” Trump says about the Strait of Hormuz. He also once said, at the beginning of the pandemic, that COVID would end by itself. "One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear"

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 5mo ago

Heartbreaking description of the pointless, thoughtless damage being done to the Kennedy Center. It was such an important part of life in Washington, and is now being destroyed for no reason

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/04/inside-kennedy-center-shutdown-drama/686801/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3xDLJM23SXratNn6C59_f6M&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The Atlantic

What I Saw Inside the Kennedy Center

I spent 10 months working at the institution because I thought I could help protect it. What I observed there is far worse than the public knows.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 6mo ago

Viktor Orban wants Hungarians to re-elect him, even though he has turned Hungary into the most corrupt and one of the poorest countries in the EU. To do so, he is telling Hungarians to fear sabotage, thievery, or even a military attack from … Ukraine
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/hungary-first-post-reality-political-campaign/686565/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK37-Y6fom7PlbOaHEiFHg-lI&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The First Post-Reality Political Campaign

The Atlantic

The First Post-Reality Political Campaign

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is waging cognitive warfare on a new scale.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 4mo ago

Democracy, Kleptocracy and more....with Steven Bartlett

https://youtu.be/kwEtOyaFhCA?si=iyv6nkSWJzAwbGOJ

Pulitzer Historian: The Next Stage Is Democracy Collapse - Anne Applebaum

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 27mo ago

"Now the Republicans are the ones saddled with a candidate who can’t make a clear argument or finish a sentence"
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/trump-looks-older-and-more-deranged/679186/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK30QMG1fywUquOuGp_YU0tp4

Suddenly Trump Looks Older and More Deranged

The Atlantic

Suddenly Trump Looks Older and More Deranged

Now the Republicans are the ones saddled with a candidate who can’t make a clear argument or finish a sentence.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 36mo ago

Oh look, a 'researcher' whose phony work was used to discredit real people who do real research on internet disinformation campaigns turns out to have a previous, secret life as an alt-right white nationalist

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/michael-benz-rising-voice-conservative-criticism-online-censorship-rcna119213

NBC News

This anti-censorship crusader appears to have buried something himself: A secret alt-right past

Frame Game, the pseudonym of an alt-right internet personality, hid his face while pushing racist conspiracy theories. Inadvertent slips revealed details about his identity.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 44mo ago

Greetings to all from an extraordinary march in Mexico city - tens of thousands of people chanting the name of...the National Electoral Institute. Which is under threat, from the president. Beginning to be a familiar story.

One picture from above, one from my camera....

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 47mo ago

Russian strikes against maternity wards are not accidents. They are part of a strategy: Intimidate women and children, kill babies, create refugees. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63727260

Zaporizhzhia strike kills newborn baby at Ukraine hospital

bbc.com

Zaporizhzhia strike kills newborn baby at Ukraine hospital

Missiles hit a maternity unit in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing a two-day-old baby.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 44mo ago

Replying to

Also, what makes you think Putin has given up on his original plan to occupy Ukraine, kill Zelensky, carry out genocide and install a puppet government? How is your negotiation going to persuade him to give up that imperialist dream? What's your plan?

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 44mo ago

Replying to

You say you want to stop the suffering in Ukraine. Do you have any idea what kind of suffering would follow a Ukrainian capitulation? Or even a decision to hand over more Ukrainian territory?

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 46mo ago

This is very good, on Russia's military failures. But it also doesn't suggest they will stop fighting anytime soon
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/16/world/europe/russia-putin-war-failures-ukraine.html

nytimes.com

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum@journa.host

· 6mo ago

@Darkphoenix@universeodon.com not paywalled

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