John Kiriakou is a witting Russian operative.

The purpose of this post is to highlight a radically different - more sophisticated - strategy that Russia is using to further subvert the West using media. The strategy seems to be to cross-pollinate typically apolitical spaces with blatantly political ones. Much of John Kiriakou's content seems to revolve around his time working in intelligence, how he whistleblew torture committed by the American government, and how much he hates the American government. Much of Kiriakou's grievances are legitimate, however, this does excuse working for Russian state media - especially considering he should know better. Don't be fooled by the fact he has disowned/disavowed many of Russia's acts, he can do this because he's not meant for Russian consumption - this is calculated. It is also the most rational move for Russia to recruit people who already have grievances, this is literally in their

Background

John Kiriakou was an experienced CIA officer, his bona fides include having a decade-long career in the CIA, an intelligence analyst, and being the Chief of the Counterterrorism center in Pakistan post 9/11 along with many more rewards. You can read more about his career in his wikipedia. Clearly, a competent intelligence operative. He is currently working for Russian state media.

He has blown up in the algorithm recently and has been on the usual Russian suspects' shows including: Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Tucker Carlsen.

He's also shown up on relatively innocuous videos, including: Business Insider (9M views), Ladbible (11M views), and has, combined, at least tens of millions more views on short-media formats.

Why he's likely a Russian operative

Do you need anything more than the fact he's working for Russian state media? Read the comment section of an article Kiriakou has written, it's full of ESL (likely Russian speakers) overtly pushing a pro-RT and anti-West narrative. It even includes a poorly written comment to circumvent an RT block. This is from 2022, hence the less sophisticated writing.

Thank you for paying attention to this matter.