American who helped Russian army against Ukraine supposedly inspired by Loose Change
The mainstream media rarely pass up an opportunity to connect 9/11 truth activists with extremism, “conspiracism,” and even disloyalty to the U.S.
And in the current climate of extreme political polarization, The Wall Street Journal has added “ultraconservatism” to the list of ways that those who challenge the 9/11 narrative are smeared.
The WSJ published an article on February 19 with the headline, “The American Who Went Undercover in Ukraine—for Moscow: Daniel Martindale’s decision to become a spy comes amid a growing ultraconservative embrace of Russian values.” (Non-paywall, archived version here.)
Written by Brett Forrest and Vera Bergengruen, the piece lays out how Martindale moved to Russia in 2018 and traveled to Ukraine just prior to the Russian invasion in 2022. He then worked undercover, reporting intelligence to Moscow about Ukrainian troop movements. Martindale is currently living in Russia and seeking Russian citizenship.
From the article:
“While his actions may have been extreme, Martindale’s view of Russia as a sanctuary from a Western world he believed had lost its way underscores a shift among some American ultraconservatives. Once deriding Russia for its chaos and venality, they now idealize it as the one major power willing to oppose the U.S. and its allies, while arguing that the West provoked Russian President Vladimir Putin into attacking Ukraine.”
The WSJ article then attempts to connect disloyalty to the United States to questioning the 9/11 official story. The authors write that Martindale describes going through a “transformation” after watching the 2005 documentary Loose Change, which, according to the article, “claimed falsely that Washington was responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
Typically, they never even attempt to explain why the claim is false. In fact, this is the usual modus operandi for the mainstream media – state that a claim is false or “bizarre” while providing no evidence at all. (This author has written two feature articles for AE911Truth that chronicle how the term “conspiracy theories” has been weaponized to crush dissent, particularly where 9/11 is concerned. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)
The article also seems to be associating “ultraconservatism” with criticism (and/or condemnation) of U.S. actions in Ukraine. This props up the notion that many mainstream media outlets have pushed throughout the conflict. In fact, the argument that the U.S. provoked the war is supported by evidence, particularly since the U.S. was behind the coup that ousted democratically elected Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
In case you’re wondering about the definition of “ultraconservatism,” here is what Wikipedia has to say:
“Elements of ultraconservatism typically rely on cultural crisis; they frequently support anti-globalism – adopting stances of anti-immigration, nationalism, and sovereignty – use populism and political polarization, with in-group and out-group practices. The primary economic ideology for most ultraconservatives is neoliberalism. The use of conspiracy theories is also common amongst ultraconservatives.”
So, if you oppose globalism, which many 9/11 truthers do, the implication is that you are on the same side as extremists and “hate” groups. That is then linked to the “use” of conspiracy theories. (Using conspiracy theories – sounds ominous.)
One can summarize the message of this propaganda piece this way: If you are open to questioning 9/11, challenging Washington’s Ukraine narrative, and being open to other conspiracies, you risk being branded as an extreme right-wing bigot who may be more loyal to the Ruskies than to America.
Not even subtle.
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Craig McKee is a writer for Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth and the creator of the blogs Truth and Shadows and Thought Crimes and Misdemeanors. He also hosts the Truth and Shadows podcast on YouTube and Rumble.
