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Motor Yacht

Turmoil is a custom motor yacht launched in 2006 by Royal Denship .

Turmoil measures 63.84 metres in length, with a max draft of 3.50 metres and a beam of 12.10 metres. She has a gross tonnage of 1,397 tonnes.

Turmoil has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Her interior design is by Destry Darr Designs.

Turmoil also features naval architecture by Ole Steen Knudsen.

Performance and Capabilities

Turmoil has a top speed of 16 knots. She is powered by a twin screw propulsion system.

She also has a range of 6,500 nautical miles.

Other Specifications

Turmoil has a hull NB of 327.

• Yacht Builder Royal Denship No profile available
• Naval Architect Ole Steen Knudsen No profile available
• Exterior Designer Ole Steen Knudsen No profile available
• Interior Designer Destry Darr Designs No profile available

Yacht Specs

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TURMOIL Royal Denship AS

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A Summary of Motor Yacht TURMOIL

The notable luxury yacht TURMOIL is a motor yacht. This 64 m (210 ft) luxury yacht was manufactured by Royal Denship As in 2006. Superyacht TURMOIL is a stylish yacht that can sleep a total of 12 people on board and has approximately 16 professional crew. Ready for launch by 2006 this boat’s interior design confirms the unique vision in the designing of Ole Rune Design.

TURMOIL is not the largest Royal Denship, however she was their largest expedition yacht at the time of launching in 2006. The concept for TURMOIL came from the owner who had spent several years cruising on a smaller aluminium vessel also called Turmoil. The brief was to make a self sufficient world explorer

The Construction & Designing for Luxury Yacht TURMOIL

The yacht's general design work came from Ole Steen Knudsen and Tom Fexas. The professional naval architecture drawings are a work of Ole Steen Knudsen. Motor Yacht TURMOIL received her stylish interior designing from the interior design skills of Ole Rune Design. Created at Royal Denship As the yacht was built in the known yacht building country Denmark. She was officially launched in Aarhus in 2006 before being handed over to the owner. Her core hull was constructed with steel. The motor yacht superstructure component is fabricated largely with aluminium. With a width of 12.1 metres or 39.7 feet TURMOIL has sizeable room. She has a deep draught of 3.5m (11.48ft). She had refit maintenance and alteration work undertaken by 2008.

The Range & Speeds & Engineering Package On M/Y TURMOIL:

The yacht is installed with twin ample CATERPILLAR main engine(s) and can manage a industrious max speed of 16 knots. The engine of the TURMOIL generates 2260 horse power (or 1686 kilowatts). Her total HP is 4520 HP and her total Kilowatts are 3372. She is driven by twin screw propellers. The boat’s industrious cruising speed is 14 knots which offers a range of 6500.

Superyacht TURMOIL Has The Following Accommodations:

The notable luxury yacht M/Y TURMOIL is able to accommodate as many as 12 people in addition to 16 professional crew.

A List of the Specifications of the TURMOIL:

Turmoil disclaimer:.

The luxury yacht TURMOIL displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

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CUPANI yacht NOT for charter*

63.7m  /  209' | royal denship | 2006 / 2023.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Impressive 6,500nm range
• Recent refit in 2023
• Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1 SSC YACHT MONO G6 ✠ LMC, UMS classification
• Sleeps 16 overnight
• 4.5m/14'9" Zodia Rescue Boat

The 63.7m/209' expedition yacht 'Cupani' (ex. Turmoil) was built by Royal Denship in Denmark at their Assens shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house Rune Design and she was completed in 2006. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Ole Steen Knudsen and she was last refitted in 2023.

Guest Accommodation

Cupani has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 16 guests in 8 suites comprising one VIP cabin. She is also capable of carrying up to 14 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include WiFi and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Cupani is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (3516B-A2) 2,260hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 15 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 16 knots with a range of up to 6,500 nautical miles from her 274,001 litre fuel tanks. Her water tanks store around 37,850 Litres of fresh water. She was built to Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1 SSC YACHT MONO G6 ✠ LMC, UMS classification society rules, and is MCA Compliant.

*Charter Cupani Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Cupani is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Cupani Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Cupani Photos

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Specification

M/Y Cupani

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Chamberlain Yachts announces sale and delivery of Royal Denship Turmoil

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Chamberlain Yachts is pleased to announce the sale and delivery of a 209’/63.9m Royal Denship motor yacht.

Custom built in 2006, Turmoil is a magnificent blend of a luxury yacht and rugged world cruiser which remains in virtually the same magnificent condition today as when she was launched. She is a vessel that is fully equipped to meet the challenges of the Arctic Ocean, as her ice-breaking hull exceeds all class requirements. Turmoil is able to host multiple large deck tenders and has a generous heli deck.

Turmoil has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure, allowing the yacht to reach 15 knots, powered by two Caterpillar 2,260 hp diesel engines, providing a range of 6500 nm. Designed as a luxury yacht, Turmoil is able to comfortably accommodate up to 16 guests in 8 cabins, as well as being capable of carrying 14 crew on-board to ensure a relaxing yachting experience for her guests.

Turmoil  is also fully fitted with scientific climatology research facilities, making her a unique vessel in her sphere and the largest expedition yacht built by the Danish builders Royal Denship.

The luxury of having an on-board gym and large conference room, which can double as a cinema or playroom, is certain to provide an exceptional experience to the new owners of  Turmoil . Her interiors are spectacular American Cherry and the spacious Sky Lounge faces forwards with raised visibility.

Kent Chamberlain is a yachting industry veteran, with over 35 years of experience.   For more information on the current yachts on offer by Chamberlain Yachts,   search here .

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209′ Royal Denship Turmoil

~ Michael Rafferty  |  Yacht Broker, IYC Yachts

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The unrivaled globetrotter

Pioneer (ex turmoil).

Given that Dick Boon, Vripack’s founder, was born under the sight of Aquarius, he was, in a sense, destined to be an intuitive leader, on whose creations, whatever they were, would be some of the most complex, technical, and functional of their kind ever built.

His attention to detail and meticulous precision have always been second to none. These qualities may not always have made him the easiest person to work with – though he of course begs to differ – but no one has ever doubted the outcome of his approach and high standards.

READ MORE VIEW GALLERY

‘Turmoil - now Pioneer - was the first yacht to ever navigate the Northwest Passage, and the first to do it twice. She has circumnavigated the world not just once or twice, but a staggering twenty-three times’.

BART M. BOUWHUIS – CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR

When Dick met up with legendary shipbuilder Mike Kelsey Sr. and yacht owner Gary Comer, it was to be the start of a conversation that would result in the creating of one of the world’s most remarkable expedition yachts. Comer had been dreaming since the late eighties of becoming the first to sail a yacht through the treacherous Northwest Passage as part of his ultimate global research voyage. Vripack responded to the challenge with a design for a no-nonsense yacht that would place Turmoil in the history books.

DESIGNED FOR ADVENTUROUS YACHTSMEN

Being strong proponents of aluminium construction, and maters at creating long-range cruisers, Turmoil was the perfect embodiment of the studio’s philosophy. While the yachts that emerge from the studio vary in style, the basic principles of their naval architecture remain the same. Turmoil ’s high flared bow, narrow waterlines, and wineglass transom made for a dry ship and optimum course stability. Meanwhile, her 162,000-litre fuel capacity and 12-knot cruising speed meant this globetrotter could sail from Amsterdam to Auckland via Hawaii – some 10,000 Nm – without refueling.

Designed specifically for experienced and adventurous yachtsmen to sail around the world and operate in the most extreme conditions is precisely what Turmoil did. In 2001, she indeed became the first yacht to navigate the Northwest Passage , and in 2010 the first to do it twice. Having circumnavigated the world not just once or twice, but a staggering twenty-three times, she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

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‘We’ve been on major adventures with her, and covered enormous distances. She has been superbly engineered and performed flawlessly. We were grateful to have such an intelligently-designed boat beneath our feet.’

CAPTAIN B. HARRISON

SPECIFICATIONS

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Yacht Turmoil | Yacht Turmoil is a 64 meter custom motor yacht built in 2006 by Royal Denship

Yacht turmoil | yachts for sale in turkey, yacht turmoil is a 64 meter custom motor yacht built in 2006 by royal denship, yacht turmoil| yachts for sale in turkey.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 82° Today's Paper

Orcas sink sailing yacht in Strait of Gibraltar

By David Latona / Reuters

Today • Last updated 1:08 p.m.

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The Rock of Gibraltar is seen from a ferry in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, in January 2023.

MADRID >> An unknown number of orcas have sunk a sailing yacht after ramming it in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain’s maritime rescue service said on Monday, a new attack in what has become a trend in the past four years.

The vessel Alboran Cognac, which measured 49 feet in length and carried two people, encountered the highly social apex predators, also known as killer whales, at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Sunday, the service said.

The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship. After alerting the rescue services, a nearby oil tanker took them onboard and transported them to Gibraltar.

The yacht was left adrift and eventually sank.

The incident is the latest example of recurring orca rammings around the Gibraltar Strait that separates Europe from Africa and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and northwestern Spain.

Experts believe them to involve a subpopulation of about 15 individuals given the designation “Gladis”.

According to the research group GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian orca sub-species, there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.

Researchers are unsure about the causes for the behaviour, with leading theories including it being a playful manifestation of the mammals’ curiosity, a social fad or the intentional targeting of what they perceive as competitors for their favourite prey, the local bluefin tuna.

Although known as killer whales, endangered orcas are part of the dolphin family. They can measure up to eight metres and weigh up to six tonnes as adults.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. Breaks Silence on Lil Rod’s Allegations in Diddy Lawsuit

Remember when Rodney “Lil Rod” Smith accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexual misconduct in his far-reaching lawsuit against Diddy? Whelp, Gooding is now breaking his silence. The actor has vehemently denied the allegations against him by music producer, who accused Gooding and Sean “Diddy” Combs of some dark, wild behavior.

ICYMI, Smith, known for his work on the rapper’s latest album, filed a lawsuit against Diddy in February, alleging inappropriate behavior, drugging, and assault at one of Diddy’s gatherings, as well as claiming that Diddy facilitated inappropriate advances by his friends. Diddy has denied these allegations.

Get this, adding to the craziness of the situation, Smith implicated Gooding in the purported incident, alleging that Gooding groped him during the same event.

In fairness to Gooding, he has refuted these claims, asserting that Smith’s motives are purely financial and exploiting Gooding’s previous legal troubles. In an interview with Patrick Bet-David’s “The PBD Podcast,” Gooding expressed disbelief upon discovering his involvement in Smith’s lawsuit against Combs. He exclaimed, “That’s the craziest thing… You pull me into this?”

If you believe Gooding, he didn’t roll with Diddy too tough. He clarified that his interactions with the mogul were minimal, limited to “two or three times,” primarily socializing on New Year’s Eve aboard Diddy’s yacht while listening to music with Smith. He emphasized, “We were acquaintances,” distancing himself from deeper involvement.

Gooding said his acquaintance with Diddy began in 2019 or 2020, and was facilitated by his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, again, if you believe his claim. 

Gooding insinuated that Smith opportunistically linked him to the lawsuit due to his prior legal troubles, referencing his guilty plea in 2022 for a misdemeanor charge related to non-consensual kissing at a nightclub in 2018.

Amidst the legal turmoil, Gooding maintains his innocence and questions Smith’s motives, emphasizing the tenuous nature of their acquaintance and his lack of knowledge regarding Diddy’s personal affairs.

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BREAKING: Angela Alsobrooks defeats self-funder David Trone in the Maryland Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects

Luxury yachts and other myths: How Republican lawmakers echo Russian propaganda

Two senior Republican lawmakers, the chairs of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, say their colleagues are echoing Russian state propaganda against Ukraine.

Researchers who study disinformation say Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, are merely acknowledging what has been clear for some time: Russian propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and European support for Ukraine has steadily seeped into America’s political conversation over the past decade, taking on a life of its own.

McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Puck News he thinks “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

Turner, chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN that anti-Ukraine messages from Russia are “being uttered on the House floor.”

For the past decade, since Russia’s first military incursion into Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has spread propaganda and disinformation in a bid to undercut U.S. and European military support for Ukraine, according to U.S. and Western officials.

Some of the arguments, distortions and falsehoods spread by Russia have taken root, mostly among right-wing pro-Trump outlets and Republican politicians, researchers say, including that Ukraine’s government is too corrupt to benefit from Western aid and that the Biden family has alleged corrupt ties to Ukraine.

Russia, in keeping with traditional propaganda techniques, seeks to make its case and tarnish Ukraine through a mixture of outright falsehoods, half-truths, inferences or simply amplifying and promoting arguments already being made by American or European commentators and politicians, researchers say.

The propaganda is sometimes spread covertly, through fake online accounts, or openly by Russian officials and state media. As a result, the origin of some allegations or criticisms is often opaque, especially when a certain accusation or perception has gained wide acceptance, leaving no clear fingerprints.

Early in the war, a false story boosted by Russian propaganda — that the U.S. had helped Ukraine build biological weapons labs — gained traction on right-wing social media and was touted by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Russia also is conducting a parallel propaganda campaign in Europe. Belgium’s prime minister said Thursday that his government is investigating alleged Russian bribes to members of the European Parliament as part of Moscow’s campaign to undermine support for Ukraine. Czech law enforcement officials last month alleged that a former pro-Russian member of Ukraine’s parliament, Viktor Medvedchuk, was behind a Prague-based Russian propaganda network designed to promote opposition to aiding Ukraine.

Here are some examples of Republican lawmakers using arguments often promoted by Russian propaganda:

Buying yachts

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with members of Congress behind closed doors in December to appeal for more U.S. help for his country’s troops, some lawmakers raised questions about Ukraine allegedly buying yachts with American aid money.

Zelenskyy made clear that was not the case, according to Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a strong supporter of arming Ukraine. “I think the notion of corruption came up because some have said we can’t do it, because people will buy yachts with the money,” Tillis told CNN. “[Zelenskyy] disabused people of those notions.”

Where did the yacht rumor come from?

Pro-Russian actors and websites promoted a narrative alleging Zelenskyy bought two superyachts with U.S. aid dollars. One Russia-based propaganda site, DC Weekly , published a story last November that included photos of two luxury yachts, called Lucky Me and My Legacy , which it alleged were bought for $75 million.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a vocal opponent of military aid to Ukraine, in November retweeted a post about the alleged yacht purchase from the Strategic Culture Foundation, a Russian-based propaganda outlet directed by Russia’s intelligence services, according to the Treasury Department. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the organization, accusing it of spreading disinformation and interfering in U.S. elections.

Another outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, also made a similar claim.

In a December interview with former President Donald Trump’s White House adviser Steve Bannon, Vance claimed that members of Congress wanted to cut Social Security benefits to provide more aid to Ukraine, and that money would allegedly be used for Zelenskyy’s ministers to “buy a bigger yacht.”

“There are people who would cut Social Security, throw our grandparents into poverty. Why? So that one of Zelenskyy’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht?” Vance said. “Kiss my ass, Steve. It’s not happening.”

The tale of Zelenskyy’s luxury yacht, however, turned out to be totally false . The yachts cited in the DC Weekly article remain up for sale , the owners told The Associated Press.

Two academics at Clemson University, disinformation researchers Darren Linvill and Patrick Warren, found that DC Weekly ran numerous stories copied from other sites that were rewritten by artificial intelligence engines. The articles had bylines with fake names along with headshots copied from other online sites. DC Weekly appeared to be a Russian effort to launder false information through a seemingly legitimate news site as part of an attempt to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine, according to the researchers .

Asked by reporters about Vance’s comments, Tillis said: “I think it’s bullshit. ...If you’re talking about giving money to Ukrainian ministers — total and unmitigated bullshit.”

Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Vance’s spokesperson said the senator was making a rhetorical point about how he opposed sending U.S. assistance to what he sees as a corrupt country, but was not asserting the yacht stories online were accurate.

Vance’s office referred NBC News to an earlier response to the BBC on the same topic:

“For years, everyone in the West recognized that Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Somehow everyone forgot that just as we started sending them billions of dollars in foreign aid.”

Enabling ‘corruption’

Russian state media for years has painted Ukraine as deeply corrupt, and has argued that the U.S. and its allies are wasting money and military hardware by assisting such an allegedly corrupt government.

“This is absolutely a line that they have pushed, and then once it appears in the Western ecosystem, other [Russian] media picks it up and it gets recycled back,” said Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

This line of argument has gained traction partly because Ukraine does face a genuine corruption problem.

Russia’s effort to focus attention on corruption in Ukraine reflects a long-established propaganda method of using facts or partial truths to anchor a broader assertion or accusation, sometimes making a leap in logic, Schafer and other researchers said. Russia’s message amounts to: Ukraine is corrupt, therefore U.S. and Western aid will be stolen and wasted.

Schafer said it was ironic for Russia, a country mired in corruption and kleptocracy, to be leveling accusations about corruption.

Republican Rep. Mary Miller has said she strongly opposes more assistance for Ukraine because it amounts to sending cash to “corrupt oligarchs.”

“With Zelensky coming to DC this week to ask for more money, I will continue to vote AGAINST sending your tax $$ to corrupt oligarchs in Ukraine for a proxy war that could have ended in ‘22,” Miller wrote in a post on X in December.

The Illinois lawmaker also echoed another assertion that often appears in Russian media, that the Biden administration allegedly undermined efforts by Russia to avoid war with Ukraine.

 “A peace deal was on the table that [Ukraine] and [Russia] were both ready to sign, but Biden said NO,” she wrote.

There was in fact no proposed peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine were prepared to sign before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to U.S. and European officials. As Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine, Western governments urged Russia not to invade and warned there would be economic and diplomatic consequences.

Reuters has reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a possible deal to avert a war that had been discussed with Kyiv by Russia’s envoy to Ukraine. The Kremlin said the report was inaccurate and has said Russia tried for years to arrive at an understanding with Ukraine.

As for corruption in Ukraine, Zelenskyy has vowed to tackle the problem, sacking senior officials in some recent cases. But some civil society groups have criticized his approach and Ukrainians say corruption is the country’s second-most serious problem, after the Russian invasion, according to a poll conducted last year.

In an annual survey, Transparency International said Ukraine made progress toward addressing the issue and now ranks 104th out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index , climbing 12 places up from its previous ranking.

Ukraine is not alone among countries that receive U.S. and other foreign aid but struggle with corruption. Supporters of assisting Ukraine argue it would undermine America’s influence in the world and its humanitarian efforts if Washington withheld foreign aid from every country where there were reports of corruption.

Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Biden family and Ukraine

Republicans have repeatedly alleged that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter have corrupt ties to Ukraine, and that they sought $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to protect the firm from an investigation by Ukraine’s prosecutor general.

There is no credible evidence for the allegations. A key source for the accusations against the Bidens is a former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, who was arrested in February on federal charges of fabricating the bribery claims. Smirnov says he was fed information by Russian intelligence.

Republicans had heavily promoted Smirnov’s allegations against the Bidens, seeing them as crucial to a planned impeachment effort against the president that has since fizzled .

“In my estimation, that is probably the clearest example of Russian propaganda working its way into the American political system,” said Emerson Brooking, a resident senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona cited the false bribery allegations in expressing his opposition to providing assistance to Ukraine.

“In exchange for … bribe money from Ukraine, Joe Biden has dished out over $100 billion in taxpayer money to fund the war in Ukraine. I will not assist this corruption by sending more money to the authoritarian Ukrainian regime,” Gosar said in a statement in October.

Gosar’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. 

Syedah Asghar is a Capitol Hill researcher for NBC News and is based in Washington, D.C.

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Russia disinformation looks to US far right to weaken Ukraine support

The Kremlin is deploying new tactics by drawing on favorite themes and conspiracy theories of rightwing Republicans

A s Russia’s ruthless war against Ukraine has faced major setbacks since it began a year ago, the Kremlin has deployed new disinformation themes and tactics to weaken US support for Kyiv with help from conservative media stars and some Republicans in Congress, according to new studies and experts.

Moscow’s disinformation messages have included widely debunked conspiracy theories about US bioweapon labs in Ukraine , and pet themes on the American right that portray the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as an ally in backing traditional values, religion and family in the fight against “woke” ideas.

Further, new studies from thinktanks that track disinformation have noted that alternative social media platforms such as Parler, Rumble, Gab and Odysee have increasingly been used to spread Russian falsehoods since Facebook and Twitter have imposed more curbs on Moscow’s propaganda.

Other pro-Russian messages focused on the economic costs of the war for the US have been echoed by Republicans in the powerful far-right House Freedom Caucus such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Scott Perry and Paul Gosar, who to varying degrees have questioned giving Ukraine more military aid and demanded tougher oversight.

Since Russia launched its invasion last February, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Trump ally – turned influential far-right podcaster – Steve Bannon have promoted some of the most baseless claims that help bolster the Kremlin’s aggression.

For instance, Bannon’s War Room podcast in February 2022 featured an interview with Erik Prince, the wealthy US founder of Blackwater, where they both enthused that Putin’s policies were “anti-woke” and praised Putin’s homophobia and transphobia.

Last month too on the anniversary of Moscow’s invasion, Carlson revved up his attacks on US support for Ukraine claiming falsely that Biden’s goal had become “overthrowing Putin and putting American tanks in Red Square because, sure, we could manage Russia once we overthrow the dictator”.

Analysts who track Russia’s disinformation see synergies between the Kremlin and parts of the US right that have helped spread some of the biggest falsehoods since the start of the invasion.

“Russia doesn’t pull even its most outlandish narratives out of thin air – it builds on existing resentments and political fissures,” Jessica Brandt, a policy director at the Brookings Institution who tracks disinformation and foreign interference, told the Guardian.

She added: “So you often have a sort of harmony – both Kremlin messengers and key media figures, each for their own reasons, have an interest in dinging the administration for its handling of the Ukraine crisis, in amplifying distrust of authoritative media, in playing on skepticism about the origins of Covid and frustration with government mitigation measures.”

“That was the case with the biolabs conspiracy theory, for example, which posits that the Pentagon has been supporting the development of biological weapons in Ukraine. The Charlie Kirk Show and Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, among others, devoted multiple segments to the claim. It’s not so much that we’re witnessing any sort of coordination, but rather an alignment of interests.”

Brandt also noted that Russia had an “interest in promoting authentic American voices expressing views that align with the Kremlin’s foreign policy goals. And that’s why you often see them retweet Americans that make these arguments.”

Likewise, two reports issued separately last month by the Alliance for Securing Democracy and the Atlantic Council, reveal how Russian state media have shifted some messaging themes and adopted new tactics with an eye to undercutting US backing for Ukraine.

The Alliance report documented a shift in messaging in the US and Europe from directly defending Russia’s invasion to stressing the energy and economic impacts that it was having, themes that seem to be resonating with some Republican politicians.

In the first six months of the war, Alliance data revealed that Russia-linked accounts on Twitter mentioned “Nazi” in more than 5,800 tweets .

But in the following six months from August 2022 through January 2023, “the number of ‘Nazi’ tweets dropped to 3,373 – a 42% decline”. Likewise, mentions of Nato by Russian-linked accounts on Twitter dropped by roughly 30% in the second six-month period.

By contrast, in the most recent six-month period the report said that “tweets mentioning both ‘energy’ and ‘Ukraine’ increased by 267%, while tweets mentioning ‘cost of living’ increased 66%” compared to the first six months of the war.

In another twist, Bret Schafer, who leads the Alliance’s information manipulation team, told the Guardian: “In response to restrictions and crackdowns by major tech platforms, accounts and channels affiliated with Russian state media outlet RT, which has been banned entirely on YouTube, have fanned out across alternative social media and video sharing platforms like Rumble and Odysee that have less restrictive content moderation policies and that allow RT to operate without labels or restrictions.

“Those platforms also tend to cater to audiences who are not necessarily pro-Russian, but are certainly more apt, based on the other videos found on those platforms, to oppose continued support for Ukraine.”

Despite Moscow’s disinformation offensive and the $100bn plus in military and financial assistance that has flowed to Ukraine in one year, the ex-Republican House member Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said that “most GOP members still support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression”.

But Dent stressed that “the hardest edge of the Bannon-Carlson wing of the Maga movement in Congress is more sympathetic to Russian arguments and has an isolationist view of American foreign policy. There are some members who are less willing to push back against autocrats. There are others too who find common cause with Russia’s professed socially conservative orientation.”

Those voices are especially loud in the Freedom Caucus which is wielding growing influence with the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, who has said he will not support a “blank check” for Ukraine and this week declined the invitation of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to visit Kyiv.

Freedom Caucus member Greene from Georgia at the recent CPAC conference said flatly: “We’ve done enough.”

Democrats are especially worried about the embrace of pro-Kremlin disinformation by the American right.

The Democratic senator Chris Murphy blasted US conservatives for echoing Kremlin propaganda and traced its roots back to ex-president Donald Trump, who at the start of Russia’s invasion lauded Putin as “savvy” and a “genius”. Murphy said Trump’s “admiration for Putin” has “turned into a collective rightwing obsession”.

Murphy noted that among the obsessed on the right are Donald Trump Jr, whom he follows on social media, and who is “relentlessly making fun of Zelenskiy online”.

Meanwhile, Putin’s own words and propaganda have lately shifted as he has tried to influence opinion in the US and the west, and blunt Russian dissent.

“Millions of people in the west understand they are being led to a real spiritual catastrophe,” Putin railed last month in a wildly hyperbolic speech that homed in on “the destruction of families”, and related themes.

Russia experts warn that Putin’s rhetoric and Kremlin messaging on these themes is far removed from the reality in Russia.

“One of the glaring mistakes of far-right propagandists is to view Vladimir Putin as some kind of defender of Christendom, of family values and as a protector of the white race,” said Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. “They repeat the Kremlin talking points and get excited about the Russian ‘gay propaganda’ law. Nothing could be further from reality.

“Today Russia is the leader in Europe of high divorce rates, HIV infections, and low church attendance and practice.”

Senator Murphy expects Putin to count “on the [American] right wing to advance Russian propaganda and exploit our internal divisions.”

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NRA convention coming to Dallas this week with Trump, Abbott: Here’s what to know

The event is billed as the largest gathering of second amendment supporters..

By Sarah Bahari

2:07 PM on May 13, 2024 CDT

Tens of thousands of gun rights supporters will head to Dallas this week for the National Rifle Association’s annual conference , which will feature appearances by former President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott .

Here’s what to know about the conference:

Largest Second Amendment gathering

Billed as the country’s largest gathering of Second Amendment supporters, the event runs Friday through Sunday at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. This year marks the organization’s 153rd annual meeting.

Seminars will cover tips for concealed carry, school security and how to interact with law enforcement. Roughly 650 vendors with guns and gear will cover 14 acres of exhibit space. More than 70,000 people are expected to attend.

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“This is the place to be for anyone who is an NRA member or a Second Amendment supporter,” NRA spokesperson Nick Perrine said.

Dallas last hosted the event in 2018, and Houston hosted in 2022.

Trump to address members

Trump, who will give the keynote address Saturday afternoon, has been a frequent fixture on the NRA stage since his first address to the organization in 2015.

Trump has repeatedly promised to protect gun owners’ rights, even as the U.S. grapples with an epidemic of gun violence. In February, the former president told NRA members gathered for the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Penn., that “no one will lay a finger on your firearms” if he returns to the White House. Trump also bragged that during his time as president, he “did nothing” to curb guns.

“During my four years nothing happened. And there was great pressure on me having to do with guns. We did nothing. We didn’t yield,” he told the crowd.

Trump did, however, ban bump stocks , a gun accessory that allows semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns. The ban came after a gunman in Las Vegas killed 60 and injured hundreds more at a 2017 country music festival using assault-style rifles, many of which were equipped with bump stocks. The U.S. Supreme Court is now weighing a challenge to that ban.

Admission to the event is free, but attendees must belong to the NRA.

Are firearms allowed?

Attendees can carry guns at the conference — with one notable exception.

Firearms, gun accessories and knives are forbidden at the event where Trump and Abbott are speaking, per a requirement of the Secret Service, Perrine said. Attendees will be screened before entry and subject to searches. Also banned are backpacks, laser pointers, mace and pepper spray, toy guns, selfie sticks, and umbrellas.

This year’s meeting comes as the NRA is mired in turmoil. In February, a jury in New York found Wayne LaPierre , the longtime head of the organization, guilty of misspending millions of dollars of NRA money. He was accused of using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and yachts.

LaPierre is required to repay almost $4.4 million to the NRA, which jurors found had failed to properly manage its assets, omitted or misrepresented information in its tax filings and violated whistleblower protections. LaPierre announced his resignation days before the trial was set to start.

Longtime NRA executive Andrew Arulanandam stepped in as interim CEO.

Related: Former President Donald Trump coming to Dallas for NRA convention

Sarah Bahari , Staff writer . Sarah Bahari is a trending news reporter. She previously worked as a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered a bit of everything.

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