Denis's investigation of Jason Jay Smart

Author: Denis Zakharov
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This is an opinion piece. I didn’t get any belling cat-style fancy documents, just talked to a bunch of people, so you can always call it fake news.

Well, for me it’s most certainly not. Witnesses from different times and places either didn’t know about the guy or told the exact same story.

The story of @officejjsmart, who claimed he was more than he actually was.

I am not a journalist, I am a Twitter personality and a marketing expert with a lot of friends working in media and politics. An interesting period of my youth was dedicated to US election campaigns.

This combination of interests triggered my bullshit sensor the very moment I read something from Jay Jay. Am I not the only one who is not a journalist here?

The second strike was way more… Striking. My Ukrainian friend, a great person who made a lot for the country told me that she was being attacked by some Kyiv Post journalist. This American dude claimed my friend is “not a real Ukrainian”.

The third (final) strike came when Jay Jay tried to act intimidating with a well-known Ukraine supporter. Now Mr. Smart was let's say "not supportive at all".

Quote: Know what’s funny? When I write a story - I’m legally obligated to use your real name. So, when I say that you live at X town in O state, its needed for transparency purposes. To get both sides of the story, I’d be sure to ask your employer their view, too.

This approach got even more aggressive in DM's with the guy he attacked: So, [REAL NAME], - need your comments for a story I’m writing. I’ve already sent emails to your employer. And am requesting your records. But I’d love to hear your side of the story.

That’s how Jay Jay got into my spotlight. The number of claims made by the guy and his fans was absurdly impressive. A lot of experience in russian politics. Worked with leaders of russian opposition. Persona Non-Grata in multiple countries including Russia. What a biography!

My favorite part was this. His fans kept harassing me with this: did you check already? And now? And now?

So I had no choice but to run through the Linkedin profile and follow history. I didn't take the early campaigns because it's tough to find any people but I had some pleasure to talk with McCain '08 campaign managers.

Most of them didn't remember the guy (3 out of 4). Luckily I found one person, who described him as "some young PR guy". That was close to my own conclusion. As a marketing person, I can describe his position as a mid-tier project manager with a great talent for job descriptions.

I am not kidding about the talent. Can you put "had e-mails" in three bullet points? Mr. Smart does it with style. And that's how we move to his most interesting period (for me at least). IRI.

There I found some people who (finally) remember JJ. My biggest question "How did he get a Persona Non-Gratta status?" was finally answered. "He just didn't get a long-term visa, like most people from IRI at that point, he is the same PNG I am".

Another PNG episode happened in Uzbekistan. According to my sources, JJ asked the driver to cut the road through disputed territories at night and got arrested. The next day he was kicked out of the country with an actual PNG status. Not so heroic but at least true.

People from IRI I talked to say the same in different words: The guy does know how to sell himself, and he constantly tries to do so. In the process, he doesn't care about the truth too much. So if he was that important, actual opposition leaders should know something about him?

I asked a lot of people. I asked the guys who worked with Navalny during this period. I asked Dozhd guys. I finally reached out to Boris Nemtsov's press secretary. No, they didn't hear about the brave guy who made so much for Russia.

Does that mean, he lies and never worked where he worked? No. Of course, he did. But as his colleague tells: "Consequently, every promotion he ever got, built his own personal legend and ego, till you see who is out there now".

Maybe I spoke with the wrong people. Probably, so. In russian opposition at that time, you could see a clear distinction between West-focused opposition and those who worked for the local audience.

I know that it's childish to have preferences but I never liked the west side. On every great example like Kara-Murza, who did a great job, there was always someone like Kasparov, who lost any connection with russian reality years ago.

These guys felt at home during dinners and keynotes but not on the streets. Natalia Arno, Jay-Jay's boss at the time, was always one of those. It's not an ultimate test, but isn't it strange that a guy obsessed with politics like me barely heard about her?

Well, I am not the audience. The "About us" page of her current Free Russia Foundation tells: We provide actionable analysis and in-depth expertise to the decision-makers in support of a smarter, sustainable Russia policy. Sounds cool but what the fuck does that even mean?

Based on the info from my sources and the fact, that Arno chose not to answer me after reading messages, she is on Jason's side and they are probably still in contact.

But Jason got a raise. You can read about his glorious deads on LinkedIn. What you can't read is that it was USAID kicking him out. There's also nothing about his IRI tenure in Cambodia. Did he run out of bullet points or this was ehm... Too short-term?

So this natural fighter for democracy needs to move on. And what he chooses? Fight for human rights? Become a firefighter? Join Radiohead? No, he decides to work for a company that rigs elections. Welcome to Cambridge Analytica, Mr. Smart. Great choice.

Don't think that was something huge, more of a project for the CV because from that moment Smart shoved BIG DATA in every possible sentence. That was a smart move - in a post-2016 world every corrupt politician from Latin America dreamed of a 'Trump move'.

If (when) Jay pisses me off again, I will make part 2 about his Latin adventures. It can't be a coincidence that he just ignores the country names, right? 😉😉😉 Luckily these idiots can't hide pages for real and I know where to start, American Political Services dot com.

AND I FOUND THE COVER FOR IT (that's a different Jason) www.amazon.de: Hola, Amigo: Around Central America & Beyond

But let's move on to the strangest news from 2021 Kyiv. October. Russian military is getting closer to the borders. American Intelligence Services are panicking but no one listens. All of a sudden biggest Ukrainian media in English is getting shut down by a new owner.

I talked to people from Kyiv Post. They told, the paper got a lot of enemies over the years, from Prysyazhnyuk to Venediktova, but the previous owners kept the journalistic integrity.

OK, I just broke Twitter. New tweets don't appear in the thread. So click this tweet to continue the story.

Kivan, an all-powerful real estate mogul decided that's too much for him. He called the executives and tells them to fire everyone because Kyiv Post is closed forever. He lied. The new CEO appeared the same month. New chief editor in December. Kivan simply clicked "reset".

I don't want to say the new team of executives is bad or something. I would quote one of their former colleagues: They are 100% dependent on Kivan financially and otherwise. It seems right and at least explains this headline.

Did someone call for a morally questionable American with anger management issues? Oh, hello, Kyiv Post! Jay Jay is now the loudest, the smiliest, and the most well-known asset of this renewed newsroom. Brilliant!

How does Jason use this power? Lol.

1. He gives a lot of air time to russians;
2. His favorites are really shady - Ponomarev is JJ's most recent sweetheart and this guy should never be trusted;
3. He harasses people online using Kyiv Post as a cover.

Guess I need some conclusion for this thread. Meet Jayson Jay Smart, a typical political parasite, who can lay low just to turn it into epic fantasy later. I would never bother to even touch this shit but he got into place, where cynical opportunists become a weapon.

I don't think he is evil, just stupid, immoral and self-obsessed. It's an exploit for actual bad actors, who bring him another exclusive and fulfill his desire to be important. We can't afford it anymore and Jason should not be trusted.

If you have any extra information, contact me. Thread over.