Beyond Selidor

I'd left Tumblr by 2022, but I saw all the same garbage on Twitter, and in some cases coming from actual (now former) friends on Facebook. At least four people I knew, including one fairly good friend, revealed themselves to be tankies, and spouted the most appallingly awful hot takes. (One former friend shared a post, which he clearly felt to be a clever 'gotcha,' in which it was argued that working as a propagandist for RT was functionally no different to working for state-funded broadcasters like the BBC.)

So yes, I'm unfortunately all too familiar with disinformation campaigns aimed at the left (although I'd argue that anyone who's taken in by them in this context can hardly be much of a leftist if they've allowed themselves to be persuaded that an imperialist war of annihilation is somehow striking a great blow for decolonisation and the end of superpower hegemony). I cannot imagine how awful it must have been to experience that as a Ukrainian, especially from people who felt like your natural political allies.

But on the positive side, I've found I feel much happier and freer now that I'm no longer spending time in those spaces, so at least it left that net benefit?

Yes indeed! (I also take great satisfaction in donating to the Ukrainian military every time I see that kind of whataboutery in the wild.)