US social media influencer spreads anti-western propaganda
A US social media influencer who spoke at a conference organized by Yemen's Houthi rebels and attended a Hezbollah leader's funeral spreads pro-Russia and Islamist propaganda, The Post has learned.
Jackson Hinkle, 25, spreads anti-western conspiracies to his three million X followers and has been kicked off YouTube, Instagram and Twitch.
Hinkle also gives a platform to terror group Hamas and interviewed Basem Naim, an official for the organization who is a former Minister of Health for Gaza.
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Hinkle is also allegedly helping Pakistani intelligence spread 'false flag' narratives against India following a terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir last month that left 26 dead.
The revelations come from a new study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a New Jersey-based non-profit that tracks social media-inspired violence and hate.
5 Jackson Hinkle receives an award from Yemen's Houthi-run government officials in March, at the conclusion of a scientific conference in Sana'a.
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'Jackson Hinkle has engaged in activities that raise concerns regarding his affiliations and potential alignment with foreign interests,' the NCRI study says.
'He has publicly stated that he has been vetted by Russian and Chinese intelligence and maintains close ties with both governments… His public statements and affiliations warrant further scrutiny to assess the extent of his alignment with foreign interests.'
A week following Hinkle's interview with Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on his program 'Legitimate Targets,' he accused India of conducting a false flag operation against Pakistan in Kashmir. Thsi was propaganda spread by Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's primary intelligence agency, the NCRI study claims.
5 Various online bots pushed the narrative that Indian authorities had conducted a 'false flag' operation in the disputed territory of Kashmir. A non-profit traced the origin of the disinformation to Pakistan's secret service.
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5 A terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir killed 25 tourists and a local guide in Pahalgam on April 22, raising tensions between India and Pakistan.
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'In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, inauthentic networks used generative AI [bots] to create and circulate provocative memes pushing the false flag narrative, featuring Indian symbols, political figures and inflammatory slogans,' says the NCRI report.
Those 'inauthentic' bots have been spreading Hinkle's message to millions of social media users, according to NCRI.
In February, Hinkle attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and gave interviews to Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV and Iran's Channel 3.
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He also participated in a Houthi conference in Sana'a where he met with Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, and gave a speech condemning US strikes on Yemen, according to NCRI.
Hinkle did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
After graduating high school in 2019, Hinkle ran in a special election for city council in San Clemente, California, in a campaign that was endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America. Among his campaign promises were opposing the legalization of prostitution and ending nuclear waste.
5 US influencer Jackson Hinkle attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon in February.
AFP via Getty Images
5 US social media influencer Jackson Hinkle has been named to the Russophile Congress, an international support group for Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Last year, Hinkle, who now calls himself a 'MAGA communist,' was appointed an official representative to the Russophile Congress at its second international meeting, according to the NCRI. The group was set up to gather international support for Russia after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The movement's mission is to 'dispel anti-Russia myths' and 'weaken the West,' according to reports. Members of the congress include Konstanin Malofeyev, an oligarch and key financier of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea in Ukraine according to the Department of Justice.
One NCRI analyst said that based on his joining the Russophile congress, Hinkle 'could be considered an asset to Russian Intelligence.'
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Hinkle told the New York Times in 2024 he did not accept any payments from foreign governments.
In 2022, the Department of Justice indicted Malofeyev with conspiracy to violate US sanctions in connection with his hiring of a US citizen to work for him to operate television networks in Russia and Greece. The case against him is sealed.
Hinkle has praised Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right nationalist and confidant of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who once called for Ukraine to be 'vanished from the Earth and rebuilt from scratch.'
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'The use of generative AI, diaspora targeting, and collaboration with Western influencers marks a dangerous evolution in narrative warfare,' the NCRI study says.
'Left unchallenged, these operations risk fueling real-world violence and eroding trust in legitimate attribution on the global stage.'
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