My response to your feedback

[@RyanMcBethProgramming]

Perhaps you could also fix your video about military spending because I found 25 things that were wrong in that video and they couldn’t have been mistakes.

[@SkystheLimit87]

Huge thumbs up for this comment.

[@Apullensg1]

I enjoyed your take on the military spending video Ryan.

[@justmejustme4444]

Ryan you're awesome.

[@justusmorelos2347]

ABSOLUTELY

[@Shadow0fd3ath24]

he will only do it if a sponsor pulls out

[@KaybeCA]

There is nothing wrong with being wrong. There's only something wrong with staying wrong.

[@imquantum8009]

The problem is, he presented a 30 year old argument as if it was brand new without addressing the rebuttals, because he's functionally state-backed pro-war media. This follow-up video was planned before the first video was made. So yes, Eurasian countries did want NATO expansion, but not because of some random desire to end Russian influence. As this is a proxy war, there are many layers to the proxies. One major, unaddressed layer is that weapons manufacturers acted as foreign agents in these countries and lobbied millions to make their politicians take aggressive stances towards Russia, warranted or not. Johnny Harris is a fed, not a journalist.

[@TheRealSpeedWolf]

I wish religious people realize that

[@suspiciousdoge9yand104]

But youre wrong, if you borrow my bong for too long

[@TheTCOLL]

What did he say wrong last video?

[@tuckersnow609]

There absolutely is something wrong with being wrong in his position

[@larrydzemorsky1777]

Idk this term "nato expansion" sounds silly to me. Eastern European countries begged to participate. On the other hand no one asked Warsaw whether it want to be in the Warsaw pact.

[@SergTTL]

Exactly. The video was such a steaming pile of garbage, that simple apology is not enough.

[@Nizaar1]

It's fine if it seems 'silly', but this aspect of the russian perspective has to be understood, you don't have to agree. It was clearly mentioned EE countries were rational in their decision, however them being given that option may have been the initial escalator of russian radicalisation.

[@Eziuxxx13]

Great comment

[@mennowitteveen3313]

Yeah, being really ideological is good and will make the world a better place, because we are right!

[@mennowitteveen3313]

@@SergTTL yes! we need to be more ideological!

[@darthbuzz1]

Just put a link to Jake Broe video. That explains it all without the ruϟϟian propoganda.

[@destut5204]

Exactly. no need to make a video about it. Jake Broe covered it in the only way morally possible.

[@notionsplus8708]

That video is full of inaccuracies. He skips so many parts which are important for context (German unification, German foreign ministers role etc.) and also simply makes untrue statements. Completely one sided and bias video. And that comes from someone who like to shit about Russian Propaganda and is pro Ukraine / NATO.

[@0topon]

​@@notionsplus8708Can you name some untrue statements?

[@jeffersonricardo]

Accountability and ownership is important. And KZbin journalism feels like it could easily go after rapid reporting and not accurate reporting. Thanks for acknowledging your mistakes.

[@HRM.H]

He still hasnt taken accountability for all the misstakes he made in the military spending video. He spreads tons of wrong info as fact

[@Jestervead]

@@HRM.H it's not that sensetive of a topic. Imagine being told that your friends have lost their lives cause NATO expnaded in the 90s and not cause there's a warmongering horde on your borders

[@andref9663]

I agree. I also hope that even if he gets criticism in the future, he leaves the video up if in fact the material is correct.

[@excentrik5725]

I think its the sponsors that pressured him, not the comment section

[@alexwellsliveca]

Spreading misinformation to over 1m people and then saying "oops sorry" isn't accountability. Johnny isn't a journalist, journalists do their research before publishing, not after.

[@theweirdsideofreddit3079]

Johnny, watch Jake Broe’s video in response to your deleted video. Goes through what you missed in good detail

[@macaccount4315]

That is a good video. Johnny prefers to parrot Russian propaganda. He’s such a horrible human being.

[@leougeo]

This 👍

[@dannydetonator]

@macaccount4315 Agree on your first two sentences. Disagree on the third, it's silly. You can't judge a person by the bad work he does in case he acknowledges when called out for it. There are plenty of bad-faith actors and enemy propagandists waging a hybrid-war.. Well, Johnny just about started doing it, but now pledges to correct that. I'd agree to you if he didn't take down the video and doubled down, but for whatever reason he did. So it seems he deserves a benefit of the doubt for now and is not so much a bad-faith actor as a simple-minded, uneducated content creator who managed to get popular. With that comes a huge responsibility, especially if you call that journalism (which it really isn't). He just seems naïve about the state of the world and hybrid war we're living in, and bit off way more than he can chew. There is an issue about "opinions" and facts today, as we approach post-truth, post-fact false ideology environment. There are topics where neutrality is impossible and both-siding things only helps one side. Always the offensive one.

[@macaccount4315]

@ the reason I am harsh is because a real journalist questions his sources and applies rigorous truth. When a lie is put out into the ether, a simple retraction isn’t enough. Further, the cruelty of his statements denies the persecution of the Ukrainians (going back to the Holomodor). This type of sloppy unthoughtful commentary is offensive and deeply hurtful to those of us who have suffered. My family was murdered by the Russians. Johnny’s comments were equally as provocative and offensive as someone who denies the Holocaust! So I have no place in my heart for this idiocy. None.

[@bitbat9]

Jake Broe's video is not great and is devoid of any nuance

[@CinematicSeriesGaming]

I'm glad you're acknowledging your mistake. I'm looking forward to the new version of the video where you analyze the "NATO expansion" from the perspective of Eastern Europe and Baltic states. The main error of your original video was this outdated 20th century assumption that USA and Russia are the only major players in the world who have complete power to shape the world in any way they see fit. Europe is not just some chess board where Americans control one side and Russians the other. European countries have had a long history with Russia long before USA even existed. When countries like Poland, Hungary or Lithuania joined NATO, it wasn't because USA forced them or even manipulated them into doing so. This is the kind of nonsense the Russian propagandists want you to believe. In reality, all of these countries joined VOLUNTARILY. There were huge movements in Eastern European countries advocating for joining NATO. And people really wanted it! Joining NATO was a huge opportunity to prosper without the looming threat of an imminent Russian aggression. The sort of security guarantee that lets you focus on improving your own country and being productive instead of endlessly worrying about the security of your borders and possible Russian incursions. It would be nice if you included a segment about the history of Russian aggressions, genocides and war crimes agains various European countries. You should also talk about the legacy of the Soviet Union and the effects it had on the Eastern European countries. For example, Poland was basically a puppet state subservient to the Soviet Union since 1945 up until 1989. With a history like that, it's not at all surprising that Poles were eager to join NATO and didn't want to have anything to do with Russia. I get what you were trying to do in the original video. You kinda wanted to be the devil's advocate and explain the perspective of Russia. But unfortunately, you ommitted a lot of the important facts of history, and inadvertently fell for the Russian propaganda and Russian revisionism. The whole idea of "NATO expansion" is nonsensical. It's basically a projection by the Russian propaganda. Russia has always been an aggressive imperial regime that sought to subjugate smaller nations and install puppet regimes to broaden its sphere of influence. It has no regard for the sovereignety of other nations and for the will of its people. So when Russia accuses USA of "expanding NATO", it tries to create this false equivalency suggesting that USA behaves in the exact same way. Russians want you to believe that Europeans have no agency of their own and that we are just pieces on the board to be captured by one superpower or another. This is absolutely not true when it comes to European countries joining NATO.

[@DrIstoris]

This ❤☝🏻

[@ShankarSivarajan]

"an aggressive imperial regime that sought to subjugate smaller nations and install puppet regimes to broaden its sphere of influence" "It has no regard for the sovereignty of other nations and for the will of its people." "false equivalency suggesting that USA behaves in the exact same way. " Uh huh.

[@Bl00dMalice]

This

[@PapyrusEngineer]

I totally agree with the above comment.

[@stickmdr]

THIS. I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER MYSELF.

[@Bound4Earth]

Your response is to delete a video and then argue the sponsors made me delete that video have no editorial control. Not a good look for a news media organization. This is a like your scarlet letter. Our sponsors have control over what we place in our videos. Doesn't really make you a better journalist, it makes you untrustworthy. You have not listened to valid criticism before. You are still ignoring the valid criticisms of RyanMcBethProgramming who even provided receipts on the spending video. Shame on you

[@neoexplains]

Hat’s off to you. Turning this into a chance to make the video even better is a great reaction. One thing I actually enjoyed in the original video was the focus on narratives and how different places view history through their own lenses. Maybe a structure that flips between these perspectives could work better? That way, it doesn’t come across as though you’re fully adopting a single perspective as your own. Excited to see the new version!

[@nikolais163]

Maling it not russian propagandaprobobly un intensional propaganda but still propaganda

[@rainaraspberry4945]

there were many great points from a specific perspective that i found valuable in the video. but i think this idea of switching perspectives and showing the other side within the same video could be great to establish good faith with viewers so they aren’t left wondering if other perspectives were even considered in making these arguments.

[@shikharashish7616]

just because it doesn't suit your propaganda, doesn't make it russian propaganda @nikolais163 .

[@MrAsullivan12]

Hey man, why has it been 4 months since your last video?

[@danielbaulig]

I like the idea of “switching” between the viewpoints. I suggested two videos released at the same directly referring to each other, but I think the flip/flop approach would be better, more entertaining (if done well) and is less likely to be misunderstood or misconstrued.

[@Citizen_Kate]

You should watch Jake Broe's video response to your original video. His perspective on this i think could be really helpful and his coverage of the subject is really thorough and informative

[@schutzanzug6731]

Jake broe.. That guy is the same one who is funding the ukrianian army. Nothing that comes out of his mouth is informative

[@timfuhrmann455]

Best man Jake out there🎉

[@mathewjackson2235]

Was just going to comment the same thing

[@jjk9o9]

Yes Please do that !

[@newwonderer]

true

[@Fishboi420]

Jake Broe just posted a great video on this topic:)

[@barneybarnett6471]

Боевая реакция ветеринара аппологиия

[@nhopkins]

Just came from that video. I second this.

[@notionsplus8708]

That video is full of inaccuracies. He skips so many parts which are important for context (German unification, German foreign ministers role etc.) and also simply makes untrue statements. Completely one sided and bias video. And that comes from someone who like to shit about Russian Propaganda and is pro Ukraine / NATO.

[@nhopkins]

@@notionsplus8708 good morning, could you briefly explain the importance and involvement of German unification at the end of the cold war and its foreign ministers? May you also list some of his untrue statements?

[@mirioknives]

@@notionsplus8708 what do you mean when you say pro Ukraine and Pro Nato ? Ukraine is just defending themselves where is propaganda in defending your country from oppressor ? I don't understand.

[@rohannim3100]

If you wanted to make two parts series then u would have titled it so. Like part 1, or Perspective 1. Lets be honest, the sponsor didn’t want to be associated and so the taking down of the video. No need to lie

[@Agentana]

This^

[@anssiaatos]

I could pick the idea that the views Johnny presented were the perspective of the "opposing side" Maybe it was too hard to grasp for the majority and hence the backlash. I was kind of surprised there was a backlash to begin with...

[@yarkobroda]

"living next to modern Russia". Its not a modern problem. Muscocy has always been an imperial colonial power.

[@bankaidibmoiwerf8010]

Tell me more about it, and also remember to mention the US non-involvement in the middle east, k?

[@janb3625]

@@bankaidibmoiwerf8010 Why would we, eastern europeans, have to mention middle east? Should Middle-easterners mention our plight under USSR when they are complaining about their own? Such a weird demand. Let the victims speak freely.

[@uschurch]

@@bankaidibmoiwerf8010 Ru just got kicked out of Syria. Are you upset?

[@sparks1792]

He’s an agent that’s why lol

[@macpopa]

All European people living next to "the big bear" have a saying, which goes like this: You don't visit Russia. Russia visits you.

[@FireCrauter]

I recommend Jake Broe video, he talks about this.

[@JasonBlack66]

people shouldn't need Jake Broe to work out the absolute Balony this guy is clearly being paid (by Russia) to say. Theres no other reason to explain the absolute Rubish he is trying to poison people with.

[@satesh101]

Unfortunately, I found it unbalanced and came across as a hachet job.. I will look at it again but came across as mere propaganda.

[@SergiosKolios]

@@satesh101 Indeed he couldn't be more biased if he came up with this narrative while stuck in US nuclear silo. His narrative has nothing new or unbiased to offer, all the people quoting him probably have no idea about European history anyway and they consider his narrative revealing. His maps are wrong, period inaccurate, and he just recites the western version of the history of how things came to be.

[@sk8sbest]

@@satesh101Can you list which elements from the video you found represented propaganda?

[@angela1984a]

@@satesh101 Sure… I watched it as well and Jake Broe is SPOT ON! My guess is that 'you' are working fro someone called Putin.

[@eiddo]

You really owe it to yourself to watch Jake Broe's 12/07 video that is in part a response to the original video. I'm a fan of your journalism and presentation style. I've also been watching Jake daily for nearly 3yrs following the Russian invasion. His short history lesson informs what really happened in this region leading to where we are today.

[@stephenvarney9284]

Exactly!!

[@33stryker]

Just watched it. Jake cherry-picked from history to fit his preferred narrative. Lacks balance and very biased.

[@nickestes1839]

@@33stryker so the truth doesn't fit your narrative, I see. There is nothing to debate about his video. There is so much more that Jake could have put in his video, but it would have been hours long. Russia was NEVER threatened by the west.

[@michaelthompson9548]

Watch Jake Broe.

[@marosstipala3600]

@@nickestes1839 Ako že nie, ved ich napadli Nemci aj Francuzi, a teraz vedie západ proti Rusku aj ekonomickú vojnu a zapadne zbrane na nich neprestajne útočia.

[@deafno]

Stop calling it "Nato expansion"

[@zinomanezinomybe8244]

he is brainwashed by russian propaganda, he cannot help himself

[@jamescoay]

Clinton’s administration literally used this term😂

[@Nmh2el]

@@jamescoay And why does the way Clinton's administration called it matter that much?

[@zenboy1612]

What else would you call it

[@juupajuu-s9g]

@@zenboy1612 NATO's growth through voluntary membership

[@rybnitskyi]

As a Ukrainian, and a long-time viewer It was sad to see that the opinion of tens of millions of Eastern European people was simply ignored. Unfortunately, a lot of people from Western countries perceive this as a Russia-NATO issue, and not as an Imperial power that wants to get back its colonies. As all humans, we simply want to have security that could be provided by NATO only (except nuclear weapons, which were taken from us in exchange for empty promises), and financial and personal freedom, provided by the EU.

[@oll1766]

would you fight for ukraine?

[@ingridsommer2232]

Russia made colonies from the countries at its border, while Uk/ Spain /Portugal / France etc made colonies on other continents

[@la1sk203]

Same here in Estonia 🇪🇪. Thing is we aren't even talking about tens of millions of people, we talking about hundreds of millions of people whose lives depend on those who as it turns out mostly don't give a fuck.

[@NoX-512]

The majority of people in Western Europe understand what Russia is about. It’s the politicians and news media in the big countries that play games instead of doing the right thing.

[@radieschen79]

There is simply no other perspective than Putin wanting to have the next USSR 2.0. He wants to overtake all of Ukraine, if you really are a Ukrainian as you claim you are, and not just a Russian shill, you should be aware of this fact.

[@frost_bite3634]

I wanted to say that in the NATO video. To me it was odd that all the newly joined NATO countries in the east had been painted with the same brush as to their relationship with Russia. Romania's negative relationship with started mostly in the 20th century, but Lithuania had started in the late 15th century at the minimum. Lithuania has hundreds of years of fighting Moscow and being wary of them, but that is not the same for everyone.

[@benas_st]

I would say our quarrels started even earlier, though it wasn't directly with Moscow, but Novgorod, which preceded and later merged into the principality of Moscow

[@mnmlro]

Mate, Romania's been invaded by Russia in the last couple hundred years for like 12 times, etf you talkin' about.

[@gogudelagaze1585]

Oh nonono, Romania's been occupied on and off by the Russian invader since 1812. We have a much longer hostile history with the Turks, but thanks to Ataturk's reforms, we now see Turkey as a friend and ally. Russia did not go through reforms and is still an empire at heart. We have and will hate them until that point.

[@gotchathespider7850]

I think rather than doing a series, each video with a different perspective, you need to have each perspective in a single video. Even after every video releases, even if you make sure it's clear there's more parts with different perspectives, there's a lot of people who will only see one and will come away with a biased perspective.

[@lilywever7583]

Replying to hopefully boost this comment!

[@RestlessSoul2-m2s]

True, like we saw in the Trump and Harries video's. Even in the video going down, I remember him clearly stating that this is a perspective that he doesn't fully agree with.

[@tomy34188]

I agree. I think the original perspective offered in the video that was taken down is still valuable, even if it is as an example of oversimplification. Many people worldwide not just Americans seem to completely disregard eastern European countries agency and independence. They’re often just viewed as playthings trapped between US and Russian interests, without their own interests and incentives. Like it was only a decision of the US to expand NATO and the countries that joined had nothing to do with it. I think it’s important to address that simplistic point of view to then expand it to draw a more nuanced and realistic picture.

[@shaec3405]

This!!!! People will only see one or three other. DO THEM AS A DEBATE

[@tribbiani01]

A so called debate video series would not include him ending the video with him coming to the conclusion that despite being insensitive to the suffering countries, no matter how guilty and horrible Russia behaved, somehow the west could have prevented and is somehow responsible for Russia’s atrocities. That is not a debate from both perspectives, this is a conclusion supporting one point of view in the first instance. Saying it was supposed to be a series is just backtracking and dishonest.

[@LASLAVA]

I want to start by thanking for revisiting this incredibly complex topic and showing the courage to admit when perspectives were missed. Including the voices of Eastern Europeans is crucial, as we’ve borne the brunt of Russian aggression for decades, long before NATO expansion was ever on the table. For us, this isn’t an abstract debate it’s deeply personal. My father was 27 years old when his home in Abkhazia was burned to the ground during the war in Georgia in the early 1990s. Russian-backed separatists, armed and supported by Moscow, tore apart his homeland, leaving him and countless others as refugees. Fast forward to today, and I’m 27 years old, facing the same Russian aggression in Ukraine. My younger brother spends his school days hiding in a basement during air raids, while hypersonic missiles target our cities. This isn’t about NATO it’s about Russia’s imperial ambitions that have devastated lives across generations. To understand this, we need to look at the pattern. Moldova in the 1990s, where Russia backed separatists in Transnistria, creating a frozen conflict that undermines Moldova’s sovereignty to this day. Chechnya, where Russia waged two brutal wars in the 1990s and 2000s, leveling cities like Grozny and committing horrific war crimes under the guise of fighting ‘terrorism.’ Georgia in 2008, where Russia invaded under the pretense of ‘protecting’ South Ossetia and Abkhazia, only to occupy those territories indefinitely. And, of course, Ukraine, starting with Crimea’s illegal annexation in 2014 and continuing with the full-scale invasion in 2022. These aren’t isolated incidents they’re part of a consistent strategy to destabilize and control Russia’s neighbors. The narrative that NATO expansion caused this aggression ignores a simple fact: Russia’s actions began long before NATO was a significant factor in the region. Moldova, Chechnya, and Georgia had nothing to do with NATO, yet they suffered the same fate. Russia’s leadership has openly stated its desire to return to Soviet-era influence, and Ukraine, as a free and independent state, is incompatible with that vision. This war is about control, not NATO. Johnny, I appreciate that you’re giving Eastern Europeans a voice, because for us, this is about survival. I’ve shared my personal experience of the first day of the invasion on my channel waking up to explosions in Kyiv, hearing missiles overhead, and realizing life would never be the same. It’s a perspective that goes beyond statistics or political theory, and I hope it helps more people understand what’s truly at stake. I also hope viewers take the time to look at the broader history of Russian aggression and not fall for the simplistic narrative that this is somehow the West’s fault. The countries of Eastern Europe have spent decades trying to escape the shadow of Moscow, and they have every right to choose their own paths whether that includes NATO or not. This war is Russia’s war of choice, and its devastating impact goes far beyond Ukraine. Thank you again, Johnny, for committing to better journalism and for amplifying the stories of people like my family, who have lived through these horrors. If you’re reading this and want to know more, I invite you to check out my channel, where I’ve documented what it’s like to experience war firsthand. Let’s ensure the voices of those affected are heard and that the truth about Russia’s actions is not forgotten.

[@kenchan123456]

Healthy acceptance of constructive feedback is always super appreciated! I’m excited to see what the changes in the new video will be, and I hope that the video remains genuine in its main purpose of giving the alternate perspective so that we can learn from it without necessarily promoting it.

[@tiduszk]

This is my primary criticism with the first video. I agree that learning about our adversaries perspectives is incredibly important to understand current conflicts. The problem was that so much was left out that it essentially was promoting that perspective rather than analyzing it.

[@kenchan123456]

@@tiduszk yeah it seems like Johnny got that which is good, he’s saying here that he wants to do a better job preserving the “debate” aspect of the video and that he failed to do that in his first video

[@monke6774]

Someone re-uploaded the deleted video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqPbgItjjbV5b5o

[@akram.ibrahim]

Can’t agree more, it’s good to get the others perspective

[@SupeHero00]

What really bugged me about this video is how it completely skipped over what happened *before* NATO or IMF deals were even on the table. After the Soviet Union fell, Russia started doing some dirty sht: - Intervening in Transnistria (helping in the war against Moldova), - Getting involved in Georgia’s civil war, - Supporting the civil war in Tajikistan, - The battle in Grozny (trying to overthrow the Chechen government), and more. These actions gave countries that left the USSR *very good reasons* to join NATO. The U.S. didn’t need to "force" them; they wanted protection from Russia’s aggression. To me, this wasn’t "aggressive NATO expansion." In the video, you only showed the anti-NATO arguments without giving the full context of what led up to it, making it look like it was all the U.S.'s doing. And then there’s this whole idea that NATO only grew because of a "fear of Russian aggression," which supposedly made Russia more aggressive as a "self-fulfilling prophecy." That’s nonsense! Russia was already being aggressive *way before* NATO was even a topic (which the video didn’t show). Countries around Russia had every reason to want NATO’s protection. And let’s not forget: when Georgia and Ukraine wanted to join NATO in 2008, NATO **rejected** them (because Germany and France were scared of Russia). And this just feeds the Russian propaganda that says, "Russia is only aggressive because of the U.S." and that’s total BS!

[@boozolini4465]

In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Bravo 👏

[@klopsy]

Anytime after WW2 American doesn’t meddling in other countries ?

[@wamazenn]

"overthrow the Chechen government" dafuq is Chechen government?

[@christianfontaine2946]

I couldn't have said it better myself

[@smallpseudonym2844]

@@klopsy Nice whataboutism you got there. Would be a shame if someone pointed out Tu Quoque.

[@bartek.igielski]

I didn’t manage to comment on the previous video, but as someone born and living in Poland, watching it left me feeling like an empty record in an Excel sheet, just data without representation. I’m glad others spoke up, and I appreciate that you processed the feedback, took the video down, and expressed yourself in this direct way. While I’m open to debates about NATO and USSR/Russia, I find little room for the interpretation you previously presented. It lacked vital context about the people fighting for freedom in their homelands and ignored the actions Russia took after the USSR’s collapse in 1991 and before the first Eastern European countries joined NATO in 1999: - Moldova (Transnistria, 1992): Russia armed separatists in Transnistria, sent its 14th Army, and created a frozen conflict to destabilize Moldova. - Georgia (Abkhazia and South Ossetia, 1992-1993): Russia supported brutal separatist wars, displacing thousands and cementing puppet states. - First Chechen War (1994-1996): Russia waged a savage war in Chechnya, killing tens of thousands, bombing civilians, and exposing its barbarity. - Gas blackmail (1993-1995): Russia repeatedly cut gas supplies to Ukraine and Belarus to enforce political submission. - Ukraine (Crimea, 1997): Russia dragged out disputes over the Black Sea Fleet and forced Ukraine into unfavorable naval deals. - Baltic States (1990s): Russia denied Soviet occupation, harassed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania over citizenship laws, and staged border provocations. - Balkans (1990s): Russia backed Milosevic’s brutal regime during the Bosnian and Kosovo wars, trying to block NATO's humanitarian interventions. And apart from this, they have a ton of internal problems: - Hyperinflation (1992-1994): Prices skyrocketed over 2,500%, wiping out personal savings and plunging millions into poverty. - Shock Therapy Disaster (1992): Rapid privatization handed state industries to oligarchs, enriching a few while devastating the economy. - 1998 Financial Crisis: Russia defaulted on its debt, the ruble collapsed, and millions lost jobs or pensions. - Energy Sector Mismanagement: Oil and gas wealth was stolen by corrupt officials and oligarchs, weakening the state's control over key industries. - Mass Poverty (1990s): Over 40% of Russians lived below the poverty line, with many relying on barter instead of cash. - Yeltsin’s Parliament Bombing (1993): Yeltsin shelled his own parliament during a constitutional crisis, killing hundreds and undermining democracy. - Rise of Oligarchs (1990s): A small group of businessmen manipulated politics and rigged elections to secure their dominance. - Corruption Everywhere: Bribes, embezzlement, and mafia control made Russia one of the most corrupt nations on Earth. - 1996 Rigged Election: Yeltsin’s re-election campaign was riddled with fraud, media manipulation, and oligarch interference. - Organized Crime Boom: Mafia groups controlled vast parts of the economy and killed thousands in gang wars. - Life Expectancy Crash: Alcoholism, poverty, and poor healthcare slashed male life expectancy to under 60 years. - Unpaid Wages: Millions of workers went months or years without salaries, while corrupt managers looted state funds. - Housing Crisis: Soviet-era apartments crumbled, with no investment in repairs or new housing development. - Brain Drain (1990s): Thousands of professionals emigrated, leaving Russia poorer in talent and innovation. - Population Decline: Birth rates plummeted, death rates soared, and Russia entered a demographic crisis. Russia in the 1990s was a corrupt, crumbling state with failing institutions, economic collapse, and a government dominated by oligarchs and crime. Trusting such a fallen superpower as a reliable ally made no sense, especially given its chaotic internal politics and unrealistic imperialist ambitions. To suggest NATO expansion was solely because Clinton needed votes or that it was meant to threaten Russia ignores both the reality of post-Soviet development and Russia’s own actions. NATO was a refuge for nations escaping an aggressive, destabilized neighbor, not a scheme to provoke. What Russia is doing now is the same imperialistic posturing, pretending to be a superpower while being a weak, corrupt state propped up by propaganda and delusions, supported only by other degenerates.

[@kirsten601]

Exactly.. this youtuber is completely ignoramus

[@sk8eradu]

Thanks for this comment. I definitely need to read more on the subject since it's so close to home and I had no idea about many of these points. I would like to add that Russia also blackmailed Romania using gas to enforce certain policies. This all changed when we managed to harvest our own gas reserves. Hungary is still stuck in that position, having 2/3rds of their supply from them... Also, privatisation in former communist states had a lot of Russian involvement. I heard multiple stories of entire Romanian factories that were bought cheap by Russian entities through corrupt politicians, and either disassembled and shipped to Russia or just turned into scrap metal.

[@homealone5087]

Except Ukraine is Russia.

[@JadedEnV]

@@homealone5087 low quality bait, try harder.

[@coltfathwell6185]

@@homealone5087 1/10 troll bait 🤦‍

[@weplay4ukraine]

In fact, I first heard from Jake Broe about YOUR video about NATO-expansion. And watched the excellent history-lesson from Jake, inspired by your first video. So please watch Jakes work and learn from it. - Secondly, I appreciate your attitude changing your perspective. I am convinced, the truth will prevail. And I am also convinced, that the Russians always lie. This is so horrible.

[@Chx_rles]

If only mainstream journalism had this level of integrity!

[@lman0529]

Or 99% of alternative media too.

[@sdferd1]

Except, does this really show integrity? The video was conveniently made after the sponsors left-when the financial stakes had already changed. It feels more like damage control than genuine accountability. Kind of like when celebrities go on Oprah to 'tell their side'-polished, emotional, but ultimately self-serving. True integrity would’ve been addressing the issue before the pressure mounted, not waiting until the fallout hit their wallet.

[@xxtradamxx]

If you curate your news streams then mainstream journalism has this level of integrity. Most of such newspapers are paid, but there are paywall bypass plugins that anyone with basic computer skills can use.

[@diogocarvalho2934]

That's very much true. Washington Post would just change the headline 🤭

[@joachimkr]

Mainstream media are doing their best. Whatever they assume, what that means. Example is Fox News, hiring awful moderators who do free speech with far right agenda. That is one mainstream, that is hurting democracy. Our talk is about Johnny Harris. He uses KZbin as channel, while working as journalist and following high ethic principles. That is, what you will miss on 90% of alternate media. In Europe, the public funded TV and radio channels are not depending on ruling politics. Their quality is good, but they are just limited in their scope, because the people are asking for movies and sports. Politics is difficult to sell.

[@michalakdotnet]

I'm Polish 🇵🇱, and my wife is Ukrainian 🇺🇦. Today, I was referring her to your video on NATO, and the lack of understanding of Eastern European notions was simply mind-boggling to us. I told her that I kinda feel let down by this guy Johnny, who, so far, was one of the best geopolitical journalists in my eyes. Your response, though, only made me more certain that I wasn’t wrong about you. Great display of integrity. My trust in the content you provide has grown. The revised version of the video is going to be a banger, and I can’t wait for it. Thank you for what you do and how you approach your craft.

[@GaviLazan]

He still gets plenty wrong about most topics as well. Just like you spot things that are wrong in the parts you understand, it's the same with other topics you understand less about.

[@UdnesSimen]

@@GaviLazanlike what? I am genuinely curious. I’ve only watched a handful of his videos

[@T4SS40]

Why is it mind-boggling? He doesn’t live in Eastern Europe, why would he have a good understanding? There’s only so much you can pull from the net and other sources, separate from living there and living it firsthand

[@GaviLazan]

@@UdnesSimen as a general rule, assume that everything you read or watch regardless of how well researched it is and how objective the person who wrote/presented it is trying to be, there will be innaccuracies, mistakes, and bias introduced accidentally. For example, any video he has about the Middle East, as someone who lives in the Middle East, is riddled with issues. Some are minor, but others are not. I don't think Johnny is doing it nefariously or anything, it just happens. That's why it's important to consume a variety of sources from multiple perspectives and origins. Regarding Middle Eastern topics, ANYONE trying to present anything in the Middle East and especially anything regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as "simple" or "here's all you need to know to understand" is wrong. They're either lying or they are so woefully uninformed they might as well be lying. And that is true for both pro-/anti-Israeli and pro-/anti-Palestinian things.

[@veaceslavhibovschii2516]

Maybe it is a good idea to create a video of how the Soviet union was created. why it was so big and powerful, how the east european countries like Lithuania, Estonia Latvia, Moldova, got part of the union and what happened with all the eastern countries up to Germany. Western people will understand that Putins russsia is USSR v2. or at least he tries to revive it. so definitely nato needs to extend further est.

[@saifulhisyam]

Kudos to you for acknowledging it. That's journalism ethics 101.

[@HRM.H]

He is yet to acknowledge all the misstakes he made in the military spending video. Ryan McBeth has a great video on it.

[@emilnovruzov1389]

I find it quite hypocritical, he has made plenty of journalistic mistakes. Personally i felt his video on soviet russia and how its fall and rise of US as a superpower and NATO fine, although obv a few things were omitted, but the main criticism was just stupid, the video wasnt about how the Slavic states felt all about this, it was about understanding Russia and its actions

[@NateVolker]

The bit about the sponsor backing out makes it kinda questionable to if this is _really_ about ethics though. Would he have gone down this path if the sponsor was still on board?

[@drakezen]

If Harris is some kind of symbol of ethics then the country is in some serious trouble. That's like praising Hitler for being a nice guy. Jeez.

[@yziib3578]

At 2:28 he admits the real reason. Nothing to do with ethics. All to do with money.

[@anti_1984]

Taking down your NATO video was a wrong choice, in my opinion. I understand that you treat your youtube career as a business, and having views, likes and subscriptions is important for your revenue. But please keep the following in mind: if your opinion, and the opinion you deliver to the world, has to be silenced by an online mob - you should not bend under that pressure. Times are tough, and we have entered the era of hybrid warfare, when online activity is also a weapon. But good folks cannot win, if good reporters are not allowed to be genuine. I know my message doesn't mean a lot, against the backdrop of feedback you received. But heroes are always few, they are never many. Please stay genuine to your opinions and your creative pursuits, even if your audience attacks you for it. Sometimes the customer isn't "always right". Good luck, and safe sailing.

[@drakker2116]

Exactly, a mob got him

[@Agentana]

This. all POV's matter - that's how we seek to understand, align and make peace.

[@nordicbaltic]

Latvian 🇱🇻 here. Thanks for listening to our feedback and doing the right thing. If you want to cover this topic, I would suggest getting some input from Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians - nations that have lived under russian occu-pation. Not to mention Ukrainians and Georgians, who are fighting for their independence right now. You might gain a new insight into NATO's role and see how much we appreciate this organisation, equally how much we value democracy and freedom.

[@eruno_]

Baltic leaders were meeting just today to discuss how to be stronger together, what a coincidence! 🇪🇪♥️🇱🇻♥️🇱🇹

[@ByNextus]

🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻

[@dhoffman2290]

Also maybe talk to and listen to some older Americans (not by much) who remember what threat of nuclear war was, to the great extent it was at the forefront during the pre-1990's. Your video also didn't talk about the thousands of nuclear weapons that still existed on the Red side throughout the whole post-Cold War era. That never went away. Nuclear proliferation of the old Soviet arsenal became a different problem. And you should never frame Putin as guileless.

[@stankyt5882]

We love your voices and want to hear your story and see your liberty shine

[@gerri577]

@@dhoffman2290 for the fact that nato destroyed the USSR. It's understandable if the only country left of the USSR, Russia, would see nato as their enemy. I mean, are they supposed to kiss nato's ring or else they are devils?

[@Jroc7275]

Takes a wise man to look at his criticism and decide he wants to learn and grow and improve upon the mistakes pointed out. Good on ya Johnny, I’m excited to see what the updated version looks like

[@Ok-lu8gx]

ok

[@HRM.H]

How about he also address the video Ryan McBeth made about him. Johhny is spreading a ton of wrong information as fact.

[@emilnovruzov1389]

Bro this takedown is ridiculous, makes absolutely no sense especially when the criticism was just a bunch of cry babies complaining their countries weren’t mentioned in a video SPECIFICALLY focused on US and USSR to better understand Russia and its actions

[@DonG-1949]

weird how you commented this 26 minutes ago on a 27-minute video

[@adamk.7177]

@@emilnovruzov1389 you sound like you are pissssed that he actually took feedback.

[@akosidabid8458]

Having some balls to admit his mishaps makes you a better person than brushing it off and sweeping it under the rug.

[@JohnDoeTheTroll]

You mean bowing to the sponsors in hopes it will save them for future videos. It literally boils down to, he removed the video because of the sponsors, not because of the feedback in the comment section!!!

[@sapo-perroo]

@@JohnDoeTheTroll your name is quite fitting. Nothing to do but complain and complain, always mad at something. You are welcome to post your own journalistic video.

[@JohnDoeTheTroll]

@@sapo-perroo How do you make a comment like that and tell me I can make my own video, KNOWING I will tell you the same thing? Is your brain THAT smooth? Johnny Harris even admitted his sponsors pulled their support on that video, and to avoid them pulling from other videos he pulled that one down. I guess your brain really is smooth...

[@dexu1313]

@@JohnDoeTheTroll i mean if he has sponsors in mind why would he make a "mistake" and made a not good video for them in the first place.

[@monke6774]

Someone re-uploaded the deleted video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqPbgItjjbV5b5o

[@Adam_Malcher]

Do you get paid more than Tim Pool? If not you should ask Kremlin for a raise.

[@mr.benchwormer7723]

lmao cia harris didn't say "russia bad" enough times and all the libs lost their minds. ya'll are clowns.

[@ilaripori6148]

Watch Jake Broe's new video directly talking to you...

[@notionsplus8708]

That video is full of inaccuracies. He skips so many parts which are important for context (German unification, German foreign ministers role etc.) and also simply makes untrue statements. Completely one sided and bias video. And that comes from someone who like to shit about Russian Propaganda and is pro Ukraine / NATO.

[@juupajuu-s9g]

@@notionsplus8708 Yeah, right.

[@mrande913a]

I have serval work friends from Eastern Europe. The generational traume those people experience under Soviet occupation is some times hard for us in the west to fathom

[@klarens1704]

As a person from Russia who was born when Putin already became a president and subsequently have lived my entire life under this regime and experiencing its gradual transformation, I also found this approach not completely justifiable. I think that both Russian political elites and society in whole have not experienced a thorough reflexion on what Soviet legacy was to Eastern Block and, well, Russia too. A lot of political atrocities was not actually condemned by state narrative, like, for example, occupation of Baltic states, 1956 Hungarian Revolution and 1968 Prague Spring breakdowns, Stalinist ethnic cleansing and mass deportations as well as Great Purge. Only a groups of enthusiasts spoke about them, and the harsher regime becomed the more even this voices was silenced and omitted from public discourse. And all of this have not started with exclusion Russia from so called global order - which is also not completely true as Russia was for a long time member of G7 for example - it was inherited from the Soviet narrative in which this themes and events was basically non existent. I remember my older family members actively denying Stalinist repressions or idea that Eastern European states was forced to became Soviet satellites, because this was the reality they were told. I think that acknowledging that sense of reality exist is vital for understanding the roots of Russia becoming so sinister. But acknowledging doesn't mean understanding or equalling narratives. We should listen and give more voice to people and countries that have their traumatic experience with Soviet/Russian imperialism so we can really have a wider and honest picture. And as person from Russia I think that we should as society understand our accountability in breaking this vicious circle inside Russian narrative and reconsider a lot of things about our country, its history and place in the world (but, sadly, I don't see how we could do it in the foreseeable future, when even so called opposition failed to fully address this issues or deeply divided on them)

[@Ignash]

Appreciate this so much as Lithuanian.

[@sk8eradu]

I wish more Russians would be open to see the bigger picture. My country, Romania, has also done some terrible things in the past, and not acknowledging what happened and why is very dangerous. Eye for an eye mentality is really bad, though, but manipulating history can be just as bad. Just like in personal development: if you don't understand your past, you can't hope to control your future. I hope some day the Russian people see things for what they are and sober up.

[@aresnir2725]

В конце 80-ых, в начале 90-ых Россия полностью признала все эти преступления о которых вы говорите, но вам либералам всё мало. Почему США никогда не за что не раскаиваются, не признают ошибки? Россия как великая держава проводит свою политику, направленную на защиту своего суверенитета так как считает нужным.

[@harveyross235]

As a person from Russia who was born before Putin and in Soviet Union, you need to have some respect for your country history. if it wasnt for Stalin, you would not even have been born, and everyone would be speaking german and abiding Nazi rule. And even after that, Staling made sure he left the country with nuclear power, which to this day, keeps the country from falling apart. you need to clear your head from Navalny propaganda and respect your elders comrades who fought for you to live.

[@sointu123]

Thank you for this comment!

[@Steeeeve777]

This has nothing to do with journalistic integrity if it did he would have also pulled the military spending video after being absolutely smacked down by first Ryan Macbeth and then the comment section. Make no mistake this video is 100% because he upset his sponsors and now he just wants the appearance of journalistic integrity without the actual integrity.

[@naiva]

I'm from Norway 🇳🇴 which borders to Russia in the North. During the cold war when Putin was working as a KGB agent in the USSR, we had regular bomb drills at school in case of a sudden attack from Soviet. My brother served by the Soviet border when he was in the military. What only Europeans can really understand is the relief when the cold war was finally over and former "enemies" now became our friends and allies. Germany was once again back to itself as one nation and Eastern European countries free from a Soviet rule they had never asked for but forced into after WWII. This is so much more than just an issue of NATO. Some of the Eastern Europe is part of EU. The borders are open, and those who once were hidden as "enemies" behind a huge wall, are now our friends, family and coworkers. And that includes the Russians as well. There are many Russians living all over Europe, not only in the former Soviet occupied nations. The Russians are our friends and it hurts to see what Putin has done to their country. None of us see this as a war between Russians and Ukrainians, it's a war created by Putin to serve himself and his old communist friends in Kreml who long for the power and glory they had 40-50 years ago. Putin is a dictator and many Russian men fled from Russia at the beginning of the war because they were against the war all along. To us, Putin is a war criminal and a self serving psychopath who is ruining everything for all of us, including his own people. We really take offense when people in the US are trying to pin the problem on Ukraine. This is not "just" about Ukraine. It's about all of us. We can't let a dictator and war criminal like Putin get his way with it. If we do, it will strengthen other dictators to do the same. If the US forces Ukraine to make a deal giving up land to Russia, then all European NATO allies will lose our trust in the US and we must build our own nuclear arsenal to protect ourselves. Putin's main targets are not the Eastern European countries. Look at where you find the most valuable natural resources like oil, gas, and electric power. Why do you think he colludes with China to sabotage internet cables in the Baltic ocean? His target is also the Nordics and then the rest of Europe, and the more weapons we send to Ukraine, the less we have for our own defense if he succeeds with the propaganda machine he is operating in the US. Putin wants the US out of NATO leaving Europe behind defenseless with next to no nuclear warheads to our defense.

[@AsimNaqvi-f8h]

I agree with all this but I’ve seen USA do more damage to the world over the past 50+ years. The interplay between these superpowers and smaller countries is complex and all parties that invade, have covert coups and sanction etc are in the wrong. To be biased in favour of one side over the other will mean not getting to the truth

Glad to hear it's not just us eastern & central Europe but the Nordics too. Well we all know about Finland. But I thought Norway was way more chill about it. Interesting to learn you had the drills.

[@jasonvazquez3199]

Thank you for the perspective

[@5li3ret]

It is a big part of Germany as well. Sure, there are some parts of society that are blinded by Russian propaganda but when push comes to shove a solid majority in our country is deeply committed to a free Europe. There are too many people with personal recollections of KGB and stasi rule and the sad, sad state of affairs when the Kremlin called the shots …

[@naiva]

Hope it didn't come off wrong. My point is that we are not supporting Ukraine in this war. Ukraine is taking the hit on our behalf and they are fighting and dying for all of us in a war nobody asked for. ❤️ 🇺🇦 It's so unfair when Zelensky has to act like a beggar to save his people when we all know that we should be ashamed for holding back on our ability to something with that sh*t show from Putin testing how far he can go.

[@russedwards777]

- That video was an absolute pile of steaming dog doo. I learned about Russian hostility >10 years ago from a group of Lithuanians (who came to the USA). IT's caused by the terrible government system (like govt mafia) that they had to endure. As in how it incentivizes them, and lies to them and steals from them. I've met ~a dozen Russians in Detroit, Cleveland, and Norfolk who said getting the USA visa was like winning the lottery. They were mostly educated professionals, and weren't eager to go back. - Talking to people really helps to keep you based. NATO expansion? How did you swallow that? Second opinions are so very valuable (unless you get it from the Russian media), and it looks like you missed that.

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

Why not listen to expert instead of Butthurt Belters’ anecdotes?

[@gogudelagaze1585]

NATO expansion is a very popular scapegoat among the far left and more recently far right. Ironically, it plays no role in internal Russian propaganda, only their western aimed one mentions it, and even then it's not a central one.

[@bankaidibmoiwerf8010]

So the EU mafia is better or am i missing something here?

[@uschurch]

@@bankaidibmoiwerf8010 it's a made up concept. So try again with something factual.

[@FeranmiIdowu-ye1ew]

@russedwards777 what a stupid statement. Like we don't have government from the united states who lies to its citizens and stedls from them. I have also come across a dozens of united states government who gladly left the united states and fled to others countries including Russia. We all have seen how the usa interfare in other countries business, dispose a democratic leader of said country and install a puppet, destabilising the country. But amerca good russia bad. Anybody that thinks it just about countries joining nato for protection against russia agrresion and there is no hidden agenda of western expansion is deceiving himself and have very kid level brain of politics.

[@101markus]

I don't know if I missed it in the original video, but to me it wasn't clear that it was a two part debate format. I think it would have been a lot better received if that was presented clearly and it was stated that it was going to be an exploration of one side of an academic debate. It came off weird. I also think it's pretty clear which side of the debate most (eastern)europeans fall on, haha

[@risekelevra3405]

I don’t think it ever was intended to be a 2 part video debate. He’s just saying it because the video was very insensitive and parroted a lot of Russian propaganda. To be honest I don’t understand how could he have missed that, a lot of production went into that video. I’m just glad it’s taken down because more Russian propaganda is the last thing we need in the world right now (even if it wasn’t intentional which I’m not sure if it was)

[@TheReviewLab000]

Yeah it wasn’t I think he’s using as excuse. Can’t believe he mentioned sponsors feedback. I think that’s why he pulled it down otherwise he would’ve left it up

[@kingace6186]

Yeah. I got upset because I thought Johnny was using Russian Propaganda to say "America/NATO, bad".

[@moehassan_]

Literally at the start it stated the video covers a different perspective that goes against his biases..

[@monke6774]

Someone re-uploaded the deleted video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqPbgItjjbV5b5o

[@JohnnyFD]

As an American who lives in Ukraine, i'm glad you deleted that video and created this response, but those two NATO videos really needed to be in one video. I used to think NATO expansion was a bad thing, until Russia attacked Ukraine for all sorts of made up BS reasons, and Ukraine was helpless to defend itself without backup. This is why Finland and Sweden then decided to join NATO, because of Russia's aggression. There wouldn't need to be an anti-rape police force out there if countries like Russia weren't doing it to their neighbors. Please everyone, go watch Jake Broe's video for more info on what NATO expansion really is. Also on my channel I made one on Aug 29th called "Russia Invaded Ukraine Because of NATO...." which explains that Russia did it while they could, as if Ukraine ever joined, they would no longer have that option.

[@tees9651]

Why do people believe in a so-called "NATO expansion" in the first place? NATO doesn't expand on its own. Countries ask to join it voluntarily.

[@davidlappleby]

Perhaps debate videos should contain all arguments. If videos in a series contain discrete perspectives, isn't there a danger that each of them will feed separate echo chamebers and reinforce the confirmation bias associated with them?

[@TheChocolatBlanc]

The initial reason of his video is because we’ve been fed non-stop the same narrative since we’re kids in the West. The only echo chamber is the main narrative for Christ’s sake, let us for once see how’s the other side like.

[@nevermindykyr14]

I think he made that up. If this is the case, you’d expect him to have mentioned it anywhere in the original video. This is him covering his tail.

[@nevermindykyr14]

@@TheChocolatBlanc its not “the other side”, there are many sides. Focusing on it from the West and from Russia perspective is just to focus on two empires’ perspectives and misses the perspective of those colonized.

[@davidlappleby]

@nevermindykyr14 That occurred to me, but my question was about the future rather than water already under the bridge.

[@davidlappleby]

@nevermindykyr14 And if you lived in a country boardering Russia, previously invaded by Russia and Russia has threatened again, as I do?

[@frantiseknovotny9315]

A perspective from Czechia: I feel like this is a classic bias on the western left. By being quite critical of the US not always living up to its standards as a liberal hegemon, some have a tendency to miss the huge, mostly much more severe violations of international norms other major powers are doing themselves. Most blatant example of this is obviously Chomsky, but this is more widespread. In Eastern Europe, we genuinly welcomed the US presence following the Cold War, and to a great extent still do. Although now among the disenchanted voters of the nationalist/populist right, there is some disillusion greatly leveraged and enhanced by Russian propaganda and their other influence operations. The major reasons NATO expanded was in fact the Eastern Europeans: we were begging the Americans to let us in! Look at Ukraine now, it’s the same story. NATO is seen as a security guarantee against Russia, so the Ukrainians are begging to be let in, even when the US and other western European powers are unwill to do that. Yes, NATO expansion creates anxieties in the minds of the Russian elite. But that is really because they are mostly paranoid, scared about some future invasion of NATO or more realistically, scared of the power of a good example of functioning post-soviet countries inside NATO and EU, thriving, thus undermining Putin’s regime’s claim to legitimacy. The real meaningful question we have to ask to resolve this “debate” (which is really about the security of so many people in so many countries) is: Do we want to live in a world where major powers decide for the smaller countries on who they call ally with? Or can these democratic countries decide for themselves?

[@frantiseknovotny9315]

Oh and by the way, if we use the metaphore of the smaller country being a woman choosing a different partner, and the major power being a man unwilling to let her go, I think it’s immediately very clear where is the justice. We can’t accept a world in which some countries are less sovereign, less equal, less able to choose their own fate.

[@moscuadelendaest]

this.

[@lightningstrike5024]

@@frantiseknovotny9315 Except your missing the fact that your country, nor any other (especially democratic ones) are united even slightly. You say "eastern europeans welcomed the US" no eastern european *liberals* welcomed the US, you claim you want to chose your own fate but when the majority vote for something you dont like, its met with protest and election fraud claims like romania and georgia rn

[@KT-tx1vj]

rubbish. what percent of Chehia is Russian ethnically or linguistically? 0! What about Ukraine? 50 and 25% respectively. Ukraine is a completely different story - both form historic, and strategic and ethnic point of view and you know it.

[@Briggsian]

Something that shouldn't be forgotten is that the US hasn't just been active in Eastern Europe, it's influence has been global in a way that far outstrips that of the USSR, let alone Russia. For all the crimes committed by Russia and the Soviets in Eastern Europe, the US has committed that and more in South East Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Nearly every nation south of the US has experienced some form of US intervention, including coups and military action. The Middle East offers an interesting mix of involvement from both sides, sometimes including very similar missteps being made by both the USSR and the US (see Afghanistan). The Cold War itself is a bit of a misnomer when one considers all of the proxy wars and bloodshed that happened during this time. Even after the Cold War ended, the so-called peace times, the US launched over 250 military interventions, more than half the number it has launched since its founding as a nation. That said, Johnny's video was really insufficient as it lacked too much context to give a good picture of what has led to our current situation. Granted, it was only one half of his series, but still, he really needed to look back at everything that happened shortly before, during, and following WWII to get a better picture. The perspective of smaller nations cannot be discounted, nor can the criminal actions of both the USSR/Russia and the US.

[@NixonThr336ix]

I do hope you can add how Russia’s brutal war in Chechnya influenced former soviet states to join NATO

[@asmahmadj708]

@JohnnyHarris or maybe even a video on the Chechen war one of the worst in the 1990s

[@brandon-22]

It did influence? Not wars since 1400? Not being under Russian umbrella for centuries? Chechnya is wild west and exotic.

[@adomasjarmalavicius2808]

dont also forget how gorbachow invaded Lithuania not so long ago to, at 1991

[@eziocusenza5650]

Oh yes, like Vietnam, Jugoslavia, Iraq, Afganistan, Libia.. Gaza... Syria...That was not Russia but your friends..🤮

[@HelloThere-xx1ct]

Also maybe Putin’s domestic terror campaign he used to come to power?

[@codysmith8639]

I’m pleasantly surprised by this response. No teary eyed, immediately admitting you’re wrong and instantly setting up a actionable plan. Then you go into your thoughts. It’s appreciated.

[@emilnovruzov1389]

Bro he wasn’t wrong, he just folded under the pressure of europeans complaining he didnt have a 30min crying montage for all the things east europeans countries had to go through. Although thats a good topic to cover, the video was clearly not trying to cover that, rather trying to cover old US and USSR relations and understanding why Russia acts the way it does

[@brandon-22]

if you got sponsors distancing themselves it means you hit it wrong and pr is needed to lighten the blow

[@Bl00dMalice]

@@emilnovruzov1389 Of course it was wrong. Blaming the blowback and sponsors pulling out is such a cop out.

[@TheTCOLL]

@@emilnovruzov1389 Agreed. It was a breath of fresh air to see factual reporting. Now back to emotional reporting..

[@idonthavefantazy]

@@emilnovruzov1389haven’t seen the original video so can’t really say anything about that. Your handle made me wonder though what 1389 is about. Is that this? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1389_Movement

[@mariavincic6042]

I was born and raised in Yugoslavia. I did not expect much to be mentioned as usually our perspective is an afterthought. I appreciate your response video. We definitely need more people like you in this difficult world of ours.

[@carlosivanguerrabara]

As someone from Yugoslavia, what do you think about the disintegration of it?

[@Pero-zl4jp]

I’m curious your opinion growing up then I’m guessing by your name you are Serbian? Possibly Croatian? My mother and all 4 of my grandparents were all born in Yugoslavia and the communist propaganda is far too prominent. Yugoslavia was good in some aspects, economy, better jobs, ensuring the Balkan ethnicities usually overlooked were on the world stage. But it was terrible in many ways. Focused too much on the major cities, not giving care to the minority groups and just giving brainwashing as the go to move. Tito was viewed as a god like figure… I’ve heard many ethnicities throughout Yugoslavia about how he was above all men and women… My Grandfather used to have a picture of Tito and it’s honestly insane how brainwashed they are to this day. My mother too is a victim of it, she was born in the era after Tito but the propaganda made her hate her ethnicity and she denies it when brought up to her even though she raised me with our language.

[@semsijacass133]

Exactly what I thought in both videos! Especially, what was happening in Yugoslavia in the 1990’s with the US and Russian involvement.

[@Pero-zl4jp]

@@mariavincic6042 I’m curious on your option and that of anyone else. My family is from Montenegro and they talk highly of Tito… I’ve met people from Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and majority only praise him but there is a clear layer of brainwashing he did and I think it’s sickening.

[@Pero-zl4jp]

@@carlosivanguerrabara very mixed bag. Sucks bc each smaller country has to manage itself on the world stage and because of that we are ignored and forgotten. But, that country was a cluster waiting to bomb with all the ethnicities, religions and cultures stuck together with nothing but a dream. For sports I would love Yugoslavia, but the idea of it is better than execution in reality.

[@FilipWilczynski]

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the claim that NATO pledged not to expand eastward has been frequently discussed. However, there is no formal agreement in which NATO committed to such a restriction. Where Does This Claim Come From? The claim originates from discussions in 1990 between Western leaders and the Soviet Union about the reunification of Germany. During these talks, Mikhail Gorbachev, the then-leader of the USSR, expressed concerns about NATO’s future and Western influence in Eastern Europe. Specifically, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker allegedly said in February 1990 that NATO would move "not one inch eastward" beyond Germany’s borders. Was This a Formal Commitment? No Formal Agreement: Baker’s statement was not codified in any treaty or written agreement. It was part of a broader discussion about Germany, not Eastern Europe. Changing Context: At the time, the Soviet Union still existed, and the question of NATO membership for Eastern European countries was not yet a practical issue. Gorbachev’s Position: In later interviews (e.g., in 2014), Gorbachev confirmed that such discussions took place but acknowledged that there was no formal promise regarding NATO’s non-expansion. NATO Expansion After the Soviet Union's collapse and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, countries in Central and Eastern Europe actively sought NATO membership. The alliance’s expansions in 1999 (including Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary) and later were based on the sovereign decisions of these nations. NATO emphasized its "open-door policy," rooted in the principle that every country has the right to choose its alliances. Criticism from Russia Russia has frequently criticized NATO’s expansion, claiming it violates the spirit of the discussions from the 1990s. NATO, however, argues that no agreements were breached and that its enlargement responded to the requests of sovereign states. Conclusion There is no evidence that NATO formally pledged not to expand eastward. Statements by politicians from that era may be interpreted as political assurances but not binding commitments. NATO’s expansion resulted from the free choices of the countries involved, not coercion by the alliance.

[@pismak]

@@FilipWilczynski very interesting data

[@sointu123]

There are lots of things different politicians say, both Russian and "Western". If it was an important promise, Russia should have insisted to have it in a ratified and written form. They gave a promise to Ukraine in form of the Bucarest memorandum that was much more official and still broke it. There are also videos of Putin saying in interviews that Russia respects Ukraine's international borders, that there are no border conflicts and that a souvereign country can join any alliance they like in the early 2000s. Is Putin's word less valuable than a western politician's?

[@MrDragon1968]

I mean, the whole 'argument' on 'NATO agreeing to not expanding eastwards' is a fallacy, not only factually historically, but also the actual argument makes no sense even if it were true. The only promise that was made to the Soviet Union was that soldiers from other (ie non-German) NATO countries wouldn't immediately occupy Eastern Germany after re-unification - an agreement that was stuck to. No mention was ever made of other eastern bloc countries because they were all still in the Warsaw Pact at the time. Once the Soviet Union collapsed and thus also followed the now defunct Warsaw Pact - and these other countries subsequently gained their independence from Russia - it was up to them what defensive alliances they wanted to join. Not Russia. But even *if* some 'private agreement' had just made in words by US/Western leaders of the time in negotiations with Russia/Soviet Union, it's completely meaningless anyway. Those western countries are democracies and change their leadership every few years. No new incoming, democratically elected, administration is beholden to some gesture/promise by just words to a previous one. If the Russians wanted an actual enforceable agreement, that bound future western governments, they would have had to insist on and sign a treaty to binded them to it. Which they didn't. So, basically that piece of Russian fake propaganda actually makes the Russian leadership just look like a bunch of incompetent fools and thus deserve what happened vis a vis NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, none of this actually happened, because no one was thinking about countries still in the Warsaw Pact at the time. There are no treaties about this kind of thing other than the later 1994 Budapest Memorandum - which doesn't say anything about 'NATO expansion' at all, but does say that neither Russia, the UK, US etc would either threaten militarily, use economic coercion, or invade Ukraine if it gave up it's nukes. Well, guess who actually broke *that* agreement. Not just once, but multiple times. And the first few times the western signatories just rolled over and accepted Russia's behaviour. The problem with 1990's/2000's western attitudes to Russia isn't that they were 'too threatening with their so called NATO expansion' etc. It was that they weren't tough enough about Russia's constantly aggressive behaviour with it's neighbours.

[@5nowChain5]

@@sointu123 Putin has been pushing at the Ukraine Border at the Kerch Straights since he took power in 1999.

[@usul573]

In the end, even if it's true, the US smooth-talking the USSR a bit in 1990 is not enough to justify launching a full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

[@bryanbonham448]

Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, Pierce Morgan, Glen Greenwald, Jimmy Doré, Candace Owen’s, Max Blumenthol, & of special note, Johnny Harris.

[@tees9651]

+ Aaron Mate, John Mershmeier or Marshmallow, Noam Chomsky

[@margustoo]

Far more important is that you didn't mention any wars and conflicts that Russia had in 90s and thus painted a false picture that Russia was peaceful until Nato expanded and until 2008 when Russia attacked Georgia. That is not true at all. Look up Tranistria, Gagausia, Abhazia, South Ossetia and Nangho-Karabah conflicts and wars and Georgian civil war. That ommition was the biggest mistake you made. Russia was never truly ready to be peaceful. And that is something that you should have said clearly to the guy who spewed non-sense about peaceful Russia when you interviewed him.

[@siemdecleyn3198]

Exactly 💯

[@coolfishingadventures]

Exactly 🎉

[@staredsky]

just to put also more perspectives, remembering how peaceful the USA has been in the same period... This could also be added as well, like the ones you correctly referred: - Afghanistan war (2001-2021) - Iraq war (2003-2011), with the American and British leaders worth to be accused of crimes against humanity for a war that cost millions of lives and was based only on lies - Libia intervention (2011) - Siria intervention (2014)

[@sarnamitis]

And all the money from the west to rebuild russia, and all the funding and projects to integrate them so they can be also a european democracy, there was a lot of collective effort in helping them. All down the drain

[@Lepocoloco]

⁠​⁠@@staredskyyes we need all perspectives in one video. Forget about the current war and that this is about ruzziaz aggression towards neighboring countries. Let’s talk about America again 😂 Funny that you mention Afghanistan but not that soviet invaded them even though this is about Ruzzian aggression. That you mention Syria but not that ruzzia is currently there. What a great perspective. Let’s talk about the Vikings and slavery and anything else but soviet invading everyone and ruzzia does the same.

[@StelmachsWorld]

Thank you for the change in perspective. My papa was born in Ukraine in 1924. Luckily after the war, in the late 40s - early 50s he was able to immigrate here to Canada. One of our Christmas traditions, during the soviet times, was gathering boxes and boxes of winter supplies and sending it back over to our family in Ukraine. It was crucial for their survival. Since the union resolved, their quality of life has improved drastically over the years. Hence why they are fighting tooth and nail to keep their independence.

[@eziocusenza5650]

😂😂😂😂 independence...

[@eruno_]

Slava Ukraini!

[@fewew7898]

How many Polish people did he kill with the Banderas? Was he a member of the nazi party like the famous SS member invited to Canadian parliament

[@nikolais163]

And to not get holodimore (sorry if i spelled it wrong) agen

[@coxsen999]

@nikolais163 Holodomor

[@ulisesurbina7184]

My biggest problem is people always blames the United States for “NATO expansion”, but what people forget is that these other smaller countries want to join an organization that can protect them from countries like Russia, and preventing what is happening right now in Ukraine. Every country that has joined NATO, has had to go through all kinds of different processes and requirements in order to apply and that doesn’t guarantee you getting in, we saw what happened with Finland and Sweden, and how two members of NATO refused to let them join.

[@mango4ttwo635]

and that is WHY they are brought in? Balls! Austria became a neutral country in the 1950s. It was a quid pro quo. Russia leaves Austria, and it is not threatened by a land close to it and its then sphere of influence. Since then, Russia actually gave up land (finally, in 1989, The USSR said we're giving up an empire). That is almost unique, even when imperial nations are struggling, they try to hang on.

[@oDazzleRazzle]

This isn’t an issue in and of itself except for the fact that the US has been outwardly hostile towards Russia for decades, and our leadership can’t seem to accept the fact that Russia (like every single country) has its own security interests which it feels have been violated.

[@robbark9635]

Your biggest problem? Did you even watch the video? That's exactly what he described 😂

[@steveLiteable]

I think the reason why US and NATO allows itself to expand is to stop the spreading of nukes. NATO does not really care about strength. If you look at the current conflict it may not have happened if Ukraine had a deterrent. So either let us(smaller countries) join NATO or we make nukes. If more countries have nukes the more likely hood that one will get a leader that will use them or sell them to a country that will use them.

[@aresnir2725]

Why when people always blame Russia is never a problem to you?

[@bardwiththeeternalluck7087]

You need to actively combat your own liberal bias. The quality of your pieces has been in decline ever since that video about liberal hypocrisy.

[@makerofwhatever]

I’m from Latvia and couple of years ago my colleague gifted me his grandfather’s book, Vilis Vitols “On Russia. A neighbours experience”. Even for somebody, who lives nextdoor to the biggest ticking timebomb in the world, who learned the history of my country through houndreds of years under Russian empire rule and Soviet union after that, I still found out things I never knew. Why Russia is the way it is, how Mongols did the same thing thousand years ago, that Russia is doing today. Why and how voices of eastern European people and representatives have been silenced for decades after joining EU. How for decades leaders of western European countries have been soft to the advances of russian propaganda and agressions. Me, somebody, who’s country could be absorbed by the angry giant within 24 hours, if we didn’t have NATO support. I believed things that were clearly a russian propaganda. Now I know better. The book is a good read and I highly recommend it.

[@danielroberts3282]

Taking back something you worked so hard on is definitely difficult. Props to you for listening to feedback 🎉

[@SaahDrahcir]

i.e. My sponsor wanted to back out so I had to delete the video. Come on, man. At least say that you were intending on delting it BEFORE the sponsor pulled out. I do like Johnny, but I'm scratching my head at why this video is the one that gets deleted after there have been several videos in the past years calling out similar mistakes and none of them get addressed or deleted... could it be that the sponsor stayed on for those videos? 🤔

[@wolfswinkel8906]

💯

[@michal5179]

I mean at least he is being honest lol

[@lizazagirova]

Or sponsorship conflict. He clearly sold his soul to kremlin

[@andregusmao3196]

So... the video is only down because the sponsor complained. Interesting.

[@medeology4660]

NATO doesn't expand, it grows from popular consent.

[@brentwilliams7941]

NATO doesn't send invites, but anyone can apply.

[@rohitprajapati9720]

its alr europe did coloniation without thinking wht will be the impact on peoples lives. its just karma.

[@Sayem087]

So does BRICS

[@mikyas392]

Expands mean increase in size.....

[@spyrava]

Yeah, you can say that, but US still have a final word every time. They eventually decided not taking steps to try to bring Russia into NATO but accepted countries around Russia into the alliance. It's US choice.

[@georgedemirev]

As one of the critical commenters on the original video, I just wanted to say that I appreciate you taking the feedback.

[@Bl00dMalice]

Yeah, me too. I was harsh. Sorry. But happy to see this response.

[@palimondo]

Same here. And thanks for taking that ruSSian propaganda down. Please spend some quality time reflecting on how you got trapped into being their unwitting mouthpiece. Especially how and why you gave platform to their RT apparatchik to gaslight us. Best regards from 🇸🇰.

[@peterh9180]

@@palimondo That’s views from all perspective. Tucker interviewed Putin was seen as Russia propaganda. But it’s not. It’s to show the Russian view. A major perspective in this conflict.

[@ZZepeyo-w3v]

NATO IS EVIL

[@JadedEnV]

@@peterh9180 interviewing the dictator in charge of the government isn't "showing the russian view" its propoganda. If he wanted to "show the russian view" he would have interviewed russian civilians not the most powerful people in its dictatorship.

[@SeriousGamesLOL]

I'd suggest to see Yale university lecture (on youtube) where Mr. Pozner explains russian point of view without justification of their actions and with references to official documents

[@replaner]

Thanks for sharing that lecture! I came across your comment again to say it was very educational for me 🙏

[@tomkruk2585]

I am Polish.. i was born in communism. My family members were jailed and persecuted. We were scared and fought against it as best we could. NATO was a chance for protection so we can be independent and free as any human being would want. WE BEGGED FOR NATO TO ACCEPT US SO WE CAN BE PROTECTED. period full stop. We lived for decades under communism and it was BAD we did not want to descend to this again. Ukraine is a living proof of what happens when you are NOT in NATO. invaded, children stolen, civilians murdered, soldiers killed... if you lose, essential slavery follows. Johnny, you tell me. If you lived in a neighborhood where your house was robbed, and was under threat to be robbed or even taken from you. Would you call you joining the Neighborhood Watch expansion? and missed opportunity for peace with the criminals who robbed you? Russia is not an honest broker for peace as long as they are Imperialistic.... They promised not to invade Ukraine (B memorandum). SAME GUY PUTIN WAS THERE FOR BOTH THE PROMISE AND THE SUSEQUENT INVASION. We didn't miss peace opportunity because Europe learned that our reset and investment in Russia will just bite us later. THEY DONT WANT PEACE. so what opportunity did we miss? Perhaps the video you should make is Russia missed an opportunity for peace by being Imperialist and a brutal scary neighbor.

[@c7lion]

Hi Johnny, with regards to this debate format, it may be best to do it as a double length eps that features both sides in the same video, with the indication at the start that this will be a debate video showing both sides so that any new people to the channel and other people who may reference this media are informed.

[@kingace6186]

Kinda like his Elon video.

[@comrademustard8902]

Johnny this situation is a long time coming. Ever since “Why China is So Big” video, your contents have been mired with inaccuracies that to many, looked like willful negligence, cherry picking facts to fit specific narratives. If you intend to make content to inform the public, this is a wake up call. Hats off to your response and look forward to the better contents.

[@sprengstoffmeister1982]

Facts

[@swiss6459]

@@DFGHJKL1995 The wider public realized that that video was bad thats why that video was removed, alot of other videos that are wrong have mistakes which experts point out to but the average person wont notice it and just praise johnny, example being military spendings, swiss history, simplified economics

[@eruno_]

​@@DFGHJKL1995 Eastern Europeans are loud part of his audience and that plays an important part.

[@thedukeofdukers]

He won’t change.

[@deXXXXter2]

Johnny, come to Poland. Come to Finland. Come to Georgia. Come to Lithuania. Come to Syria. Come to Ukraine. We will gladly explain EXACTLY how the situation looks like.

[@petyavodolaz]

What are you apologizing for??? You literally said that video was Russia's POV and not yours? Are people restarted?

[@Agentana]

The sponsor of that video was a Eastern European-founded company. That's all we need to know to understand why it was taken down.

[@alexp3620]

If those eastern European countries would not join Nato they would share the fate of Belarus (basically occupied), Ukraine (war), Moldova (partly occupied), Georgia (partly occupied). And all of these started before Nato Expansion in the 90s.

[@aresnir2725]

Belarus in not occupied, its in alliance with Russia. Ukraine war started BECAUSE of Ukraine wanted to join NATO. Learn more about ethnic conflicts in Moldova and Georgia before blaming Russia for "occupation". In both cases, Russia deployed peacekeeping forces, with agreement of all sides and OSCE.

[@nickgotvyak5890]

​@aresnir2725 Belarus, at least is a puppet state, not an equal ally. Never really was, if you look into the nature of their relationship. But ESPECIALLY after 2020 protest, where Lukashenko surrendered last pieces of sovereignty over foreign politics and allowing to be an invasion staging ground in exchange for sustaining his regime.

[@aresnir2725]

@@nickgotvyak5890 Is Lithuania, for example, equal ally to US? Belarus is not puppet state, and never directly participated in war in Ukraine.

[@alexp3620]

@@aresnir2725 the government is holding to power only because of Russia after 2020. So it is occupied

[@nickgotvyak5890]

@@aresnir2725 Belarus is one degree of separation from being true co-invaders - actually committing their army to it. In any other way they are involved exactly directly - russian shells were blasted from there as well, planes flew from their airports, a lot of equipment was transfered once Russia started getting losses. Politically as well, Belarus simply does not have a foreign policy outside of doing what Russia asks for after 2020. Before lukashenko was trying to pretend they did, only to beg a better deal from putin here and there. Lithuania is an independent state, has relations with all of the EU, and is not affected by Nato membership in a way Belarus is affected by Russian "alliance"

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Appreciate your videos and being willing to acknowledge a mistake. You got it right at the very end when you stated that Russia's invasion of Ukraine wasn't justified. But the rest of the video up to that point came across as somewhat sympathetic toward Russia and offering excuses for their actions. Wars are usually complicated. But this one seem to be pretty simple: Russia invaded a sovereign nation which had made no threats and did not pose a threat to Russia in any real way. Russia's excuses for the invasion including NATO expansion and supposed Nazis in Ukraine are complete BS. Russia invaded Ukraine for selfish reasons related to the strategic advantage of being in control of that land. So I think that what would be a more accurate and revealing video would be to expose the real reason for Russia's actions, why they want to control Ukraine because of how it would benefit them. And place the blame squarely on Russia for this tremendous disaster that has destroyed entire cities and resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands of people in both countries.

[@michalcynarski7321]

Tell me why if China or Russia put a military base in Mexico or Canada, does America foreign policy consider it an act of war, why can't Canada or Mexico allow military bases on its border with USA without America illegally invading them?

[@tcray8599]

When I was in the army, stationed with NATO, we trained with the Berlin brigade in west Berlin, and what stands out to me was the band the scorpions played a concert then - the spring of 1989 - and the band put speakers up against the wall so the east berliners could hear the music. To me that summed up how the eastern Europeans felt about Russia. Russia is and always has been an imperialist society. There is no defense for their actions. I'm glad you filmed this retraction. You treated the first video like a college class presentation. Life is not a higher learning debate. And war is real.

[@kiki-zt8fz]

Чего вы на Западе не понимаете, так это то что Россия за 20 век дважды меняла свой вектор и политический статус. Российская империя, СССР и Российская Федерация это три РАЗНЫХ государства, с разными правительствами, границами и идеологией. Нельзя их смешивать в одну кучу.

[@RogerValor]

@@kiki-zt8fz we *do* understand this in the west, at least many do. There is no "single view" in the West. The West is not an empire. It was always the term for the "free world far away to the west", during the time everyone escaped to be a pioneer in the Wild West. It is also not geographical, as e.g. Japan is western, and is in the east, and was even a long time itself an imperial power with a horrible history. Russia was seen as the West (Just watch media from the 90s), until Putin started to use that term again, and he brainwashes us as well as the Russians by now. Many still see Putin like he is a western politician, and still see it as if it was under Yeltsin. So to expand what you say, even the Russian Federation in the 90s is a different entity, than the Russian Federation since it was turned into a sort of Mafia state by the KGB remnants.

[@justanaverageguy912]

only reason he pulls the video and apologizes is bc of the sponsor jumping ship. remember that his military spending video was also completely false on every single point made, but he never responded to the mountains of criticism. now pretending that was all in some spirit of both-side-ism is pathetic, hope you disappear from the internet. you are not a journalist, you are a bottom tier video essayist.

[@shalombhatta6419]

This is why Johnny is amazing.

[@HRM.H]

He still hasnt addressed the video Ryan McBeth made about him. Nor has he edited any of it.

[@oliverplougmand2275]

@@HRM.H Pretty sure he responded to it in several comments under said video. Also that video wasn’t made in good faith at all, so I can understand why he wouldn’t give it more attention by talking about it on his channel.

[@HRM.H]

@oliverplougmand2275 wasnt made in good faith?? 😂 ryan was just fact checking him. How tf is that not in good faith.

[@SetYourGoals8]

@@HRM.H That guy would just say "He's wrong about x thing" and not explain how that's the case or why there is nuance about that debated topic. It's open to criticism but that wasn't a good faith critique.

[@dizzyheights1000]

Johnny Somali? Relax JK

[@6uDoH]

Chat, I don’t know anyone of you personally. But we did it and I feel hope that internet is made for good things too. Thanks Johnny for taking this seriously one more time. Can’t wait to see the revised version

[@CKatrun9505]

Wow, what a heroic effort! Such self-congratulation! Give me a break.

[@dinfernosev]

Lmfao…you really congratulated strangers for helping you pressure a KZbinr to take down a video you disagreed with? Because that video proved the internet was made of bad things.🤔🤔

[@anterogradus]

I think Johnny also completely missed perspective of Russia itself. By this I mean not modern narratives, but Russia's struggle to establish itself in a new world. In previous video it was like 1991 - Russia is in shambles, in 2022 Russia invades Ukraine because of NATO (obviously I'm exaggerating here, video has been more complex than that). Russia itself never seem to fully commit to democratic path and drop its imperial ambitions. First NATO expansion was agreed in 1997. It happened after Russia meddled in Transnistria, cementing pro-Russian separatist regime there, after its involvement in civil war in Georgia, where it coerced Georgia to join Russia-led CIS and supported pro-Russia separatists in Abkhasia and South Osetia. And it was after a Chechen war, which, granted, was on Russia's internationally recognized territory, but was very brutal and seemed completely unnecessary by many. I don't want to picture that Russia has always been a monster from its inceptions, but worries of countries, which became later new NATO members didn't come from nowhere. And it was not only historical precedent, but also real actions made by Russia of that time. And Russia really struggled. There were powerful forces, which wanted Russia to be democratic. But eventually they've lost. How would USA and other NATO members have even looked like. if they had declined requests of countries, which had created international lobbist organizations (like Visegrad group, or Vilnius group), because they had felt threatened by those action and all they had wanted was peace and stability?

[@IgnorantC]

Thanks, accurate. They had their chance to become like every other nation but their corruption won and people are afraid now to do anything and if they do are oppressed like in Belarus or Georgia, few others as well.

[@petrmilosh]

Thank you, sponsor of the deleted video, for making Johnny think more deeply. It seems you’re the main reason this is happening. ❤

[@ggbothwell]

Thank you for this, Johnny! I am Romanian. My great grandfather's entire wealth was stolen overnight by the communists. Shortly after, he was sent to prison, where they didn't give him food and water. He stayed in prison for a few years and died 1 week after he was released. Before he went to prison, he managed to sneak out some acres of farmland out of his wealth papers, which my grandpa eventually lived on; that's where he met my grandmother, and where they took personal belongings such as family portraits, books, and our family tree. These are my father's parents. My mother's parents were in an even worse situation. My mom's mother was born and raised under communism her entire life in the poor region of Moldova (the one within Romania). She was forced to stop school at 9 years old and had to help out with raising 7 other siblings. She described life in Moldova as worse than being on her own, because even if produce was good at the farm, they were forced to give it to the other poor villagers. She came to Bucharest at 18 to marry a guy she was set up with. My mom was born shortly after in a flat offered by the communist state to the "new family" of my grandma and grandpa. My father's parent were shortly employed as engineers near the old village they were living in. They made livable wages (being helped that they owned land). So they moved to Bucharest for a better life where my parents met in highschool. Revolution of 1989 came around, and my parents both participated. My father's classmate was killed while revolting. My mother was barely 18, but helped out in the hospitals. No one had anything after the Revolution, and there was tremendous economic chaos. But everyone was extremely happy after finally getting rid of Russia's shadow, I don't think we, youngsters, can truly understand what our parents felt at the fall of communism; I can see it in their eyes when people talk about it, and I can hear the sadness in their stories, when they talk about empty shelves, Russian soldiers patroling, a vast party of the country being more or less forced to learn Russian etc. I'd love to have the perspective of some a Romanian, a Moldovan, a Pole, 1x Baltic state, 1x Finnish person, and most of all, a Ukrainian. I don't know if you can get someone from Belarus to share a few thoughts as well. Let's just say they are a little bit restricted. I didn't personally feel offended about your video because I knew that you can't possilby know the actual situation there (I cannot speak for others though!), but I've always admired your ability to admit you're too opinionated or biased. Kudos to you.

[@andoletube]

Wow, that's quite a family story!

[@TheFirekidrs]

Wholeheartedly agree, as a Lithuanian I too feel that for us younger generation it is hard to understand what our parents went through. Just the thought of how recent it all really was and how because of them we live such better lives makes us really motivated to always look at Ruzzia with a large grain of salt as we never want this history to repeat itself.

[@pitonsti]

Când ai scris "a Moldovan", te-ai băgat la prieteni cu rușii. Continuă să crezi că există națiunea moldovenească. Fix ce vrea rusul de la tine.

[@magnigames1256]

To be fair, you left out the reason the Communists took over Romania, but it's because Romania Allied with Hitler and Germany during the second world war and then later defected to the allies and allowed the Soviets in when Germany was losing. Yes, that was partly in response to the Soviets compelling them into giving them a northern sliver of the country, but the agreement that the Soviets used to force that was signed by Hitler also so they could carve up Poland. Also, at this point the Allies in Continental Europe had basically been decimated outside of the Soviets so their security assurance has meant nothing. So Romania disliked Russia and the Communists, and the Nazis disliked Russia and the Communists. So they joined forces to fight the Soviets together when operation Barbarossa kicked off in full and after the neutral government had been deposed. Also, before the war during the depression things were incredibly inequal and the country was on the verge of civil war. Just saying, it's more complicated than "the Communists stole our stuff" because the peasants at the time would argue your family's wealth was built on labor stolen from *them*

[@mogensgallardo3288]

Where did your great grandfather's wealth originate from? Seems like an interesting omission given the apparent issue of them taking it away.

[@raindrop5273]

Before your next video, better check out jack broe's video on nato expansion for the facts.

[@CountMonsparkle]

Watch Jake Broe's video analysis instead, he greatly sums up the complete picture of the conflict.

[@notionsplus8708]

That video is full of inaccuracies. He skips so many parts which are important for context (German unification, German foreign ministers role etc.) and also simply makes untrue statements. Completely one sided and bias video. And that comes from someone who like to shit about Russian Propaganda and is pro Ukraine / NATO.

[@ostwelt]

Get yourself educated on modern history and international relations. You embarrass yourself by publicly displaying such ignorance.

[@pyxeebell4959]

A bias toward the perspective of your home country will always be the blind point. Ensure to include writers on the team from other parts of the world to help overcome this. Would be my advice

[@KantslerOlaf]

❤ from Estonia. Wow. Awesome to see it. Putting a strong foundation to New Media

[@naturarum]

“journalist” without background in political science, history and philosophy of history makes yet another reporting blunder…

[@covidius9511]

How unexpected, but ngl he does have some of the best editting and visual quality I've ever seen, basically everything except for his takes (which are the most important part of the vids ik) are top notch

[@midorimage]

Well he has a sincere voice and the way he twitches his eyes and bobs his head makes him an authority on all things.. /s

[@eruno_]

To be fair you can be professor and be full of shit. Just look up the ones crying about "NATO expansion" on Fox news calling for Ukraine's surrender.

[@SiggiSmallz69]

I'm glad you can't do no wrong buddy

[@orion3253]

If he had just watched a few videos on telegram once or twice a month he'd be 500 times more well informed on the war than he is today.

[@Monika-m1g3r]

Thank you Johnny for owning up to that video. After watching it I felt devastated, I am from Baltic states. I think your initial idea for making “debates” was good, but both points of the dabates should be valid. This idea that russia felt threatened by NATO is ruzzian propoganda in my opinion. USA did not make us join NATO, it was our goal and we worked for that. I see this as a geopolitical miracle that we joined the alliance, and ruzzia did not have enough time to attack us before we joined. When I was in university about 10 years ago, we had a lecture about current geopolitical state of ruzzia. We were talking about this survey of russian people about which countries they see as most threatening to ruzzia. Guess which number was my country Lithuania with 3 mln people and no signifinact military? It was 2nd or 3rd. Ruzzia was preparing its citizens to approve the war, also to believe all the world just thinks how to harm them, which cannot be further from the truth as we just want them to leave us alone and stop starting wars.

[@petyavodolaz]

That whole video was Russia's POV and not his. He said it like 2-3 in that video. I dont get why people blame him for.

[@markkus-oliverollo2380]

To give you a better insight, Russia (Yeltsin specifically) was NOT against the idea of Estonia joining NATO in the near future after independence. Source: Béla Jávorszky (translated) Süsteemivahetuse ajal suursaadikuna Soomes ja Balti riikides (Akadeemia, 2022/5) This article also gives a bit of insight into foreign politics of some of the Eastern European countries.

[@prkp7248]

When Yeltsin was in Poland he signed agreement between Russia and Poland in which it is clearly stated that Russia have nothing against Poland joining NATO.

[@Adomas_B]

Feedback already? Quick turnaround. Thanks for keeping your integrity Johnny.

[@orion3253]

It's called damage control.

[@luciamacakova7516]

Johnny, I appreciate your apology, but I must say: Your approach of two different views treated as equally valuable is terribly wrong. It is basically the same thing as considering flat-earthers' astronomy as a "different view" to standard astronomy. One is bullshit and the other one is reality. Check the quality of your resources first. Speaking about peace in Europe, you cannot omit views, experience, and hope of people that lives east of Berlin-Wall. I do not say Eastern Europeans on purpose. Because they are not Eastern Europeans. They are Polish, Czechs, Slovaks, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Belarussians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Romanians, Hungarians, Bosnians, Serbians, Albanians, Croatians, Slovenians, Bulgarians. Most of these nations historically, culturally and politically have very little in common with Russia. What the f..k is wrong with you people that you cannot recognize them as distinctive nations as you can distinguish for example Irish from British and Portuguese from Spanish? 35 years after the fall of Berlin Wall, 20 years after the last EU integration, 15 years after the last NATO integration. It is a matter of just a pinch of respect. You cannot assume that the fate of nation depends on the good will of "Superpower". Where is the right of self-determination, the right to walk own way? This is an inhumane view of politics.

[@destut5204]

this

[@matthewjay660]

Johnny, I'm an elementary school teacher. Last week I taught something wrong. I checked on it during the kids' recess. I discovered I taught it wrong. When the kids came back, I told them, "Mr. Jay taught this wrong. I was wrong. Erase your answer if your had X as your answer. The answer is Y; here's how you correctly solve this problem and here's why." It's not a sin to accidentally teach something wrong; it's a sin not to correct it when you know it's wrong. 👨🏻‍🏫🙋🏻‍♂️

[@JimmyPage68]

The first time I came across your work was during an episode of Borders. It was also the first time I saw a piece about Colombia that, as a Colombian, resonated with me for its genuine interest in the subject. Your approach stood out for its serious, non-speculative investigative work, rooted in journalistic rigor, integrity, and respect for the truth. That experience built my trust in your work, as well as confidence in the information you present and the perspectives you share. It is this trust that keeps me as an admirer of your work, despite any critiques or disagreements (that I have sen online). While I don’t always align with every viewpoint presented, I engage with your content knowing it has been thoughtfully researched, crafted with care, integrity, and good intentions. Please continue this path. This is what modern, quality journalism looks like.

[@lizazagirova]

It’s sounds like AI bot posting

[@JimmyPage68]

@@lizazagirova how did you come to that conclusion?

[@Zed_Oud]

Part of a good debate is stating your intentions for the format ahead of time.

[@ClowderOf3]

The BIG problem is that video is now out there for people to manipulate and for Russia to use as propaganda in their country. They will nEver see this retraction.

[@TwentyZZ24]

@@ClowderOf3 so you think the opposite is not happening? If you think that video was completely wrong I got bad news for you

[@8877dksljfa]

Really dissapointing to see you apologize for giving context, no on with a brain thought you were justifying Russias actions. Historical and contemporary context is important and should be understood.

[@geoffreybalasi4342]

Really appreciate this follow up. One thing I’ll say about the debate format you’ve outlined is that it implies that people will watch both videos to get the full experience. While some of us watch most of your videos this is likely not the case for many and splitting up opposing perspectives into different videos means that many will only experience one of the two, missing out on the value that those alternative perspectives bring. And while it makes sense from a KZbin publishing perspective I think a single longer video with both shown together might accomplish your goal better. Thanks again for hearing us out.

[@DanteReddgrave]

You visited Georgia. You saw for yourself what Russia does to it's neighbors. So for you to claim that USA forces these countries to join NATO is just ridiculous. We desperately want to join NATO to be safe from Russia.

[@Wieberleden810]

You completely missed the point of the video. Harris is a STAUNCH pro ukraine supporter, maybe a little too much even. The video was meant to showcase the other side’s perspective since people have been crying that Johnny is “biased” and only shows one view to the conflict. The minute he listened to those crybabies they still continue crying an entire river. Its never enough is it?

[@piroDYMSUS]

I don’t remember him speaking anything about forcing. Harris perspective was not that USA forced Eastern Europe to join NATO, but that USA was too eager to agree to accept them, perhaps without fully considering geopolitical implications.

[@xAnonymousComedia]

Why did Russia do that to Georgia?

[@e.t.291]

@@Wieberleden810 You can be "too much" of a Ukraine supporter? Does that piss you off? Also the ones crying for Russia's "perspective" (which is actually just Kremlin/Putin's perspective, not the perspective of the Russian people) are likely bots.

[@Wieberleden810]

@@e.t.291 I said "maybe". And yes you can be. The world isn't that black and white buddy. And yes, I agree that the Russian perspective is just straight up Russian propaganda from the Kremlin. Conservatives don't see it that way and demand Johnny to be more unbiased. I don't think he should have ever uploaded the video to begin with since conservatives see everyone with even a little bit of criticism biased. So I'm not sure why you're asking if I'm pissed off about Ukrainian support. The question doesn't even make sense since I'm literally the opposite. You need to level up your reading comprehension.

[@fudgestickle]

Please talk to Ukranians. Something I noticed across the internet and all the people who talk about Ukraine-Russia relations is that they rarely ever talk to Ukrainian people who are close to this war, from ministers, mayors, or the citizens themselves. I see all this because I have your perspective, but the Ukrainians I know don't buy this narrative for some reason. I thought it would be interesting to cover why they don't buy this whole NATO shenanigans. You are the best! Thank you!

[@kirillstati3172]

Don’t you understand that this is a superb technique that already served a great deal to Russia despite the video being taken down? You post smth, it has an impact, then you take this down empowering russians to talk about atrociously fake freedom of speech in the West, that is fighting the “truth”. He is not the best. People like him are either villains or useful idiots. Sincerely, the Ukrainian whom you don’t know.

[@samivirkkunen4170]

To be honest normal people dont usually know what happens behind the scenes in politics. USA and CIA has done more than 90 regime change in secrecy, while western media never report this. One of these regime change happened in Ukreine. People should listen professor Jeffrey Sachs he has more than 40 years of experience around this topic.

[@PamelasLas]

We want to join nato but nato doesn’t want us there because they don’t wanna get involved with russia. That’s it

[@Mirabelliana]

This! No one seems to make an effort to engage Ukrainians who are at the core of one of the world's most prominent conflicts atm.

[@orion3253]

Note how in this video he talked for five minutes about "Russia", "the US", and "Eastern European Countries" but absolutely refused to say Ukraine. He's pretending Ukraine doesn't exist, and that's exactly what Putin wants.

[@Agentana]

Being forced to remove that video is pure censorship. I would have liked to see a multi-episode series covering each POV in detail. Everyone has a POV and only in exploring and understanding all POV's can we achieve peace. Peace will not be achieved by deleting POVs just because someone didn't like it

[@joejoey7272]

Johnny Harris always sounds like he knows what he is talking about until he talks about something you know about

[@SoLazy100]

As often the case with KZbinrs

[@RogerValor]

As is the case with any speaker on any medium, as you are transferring authority to him or her. It only shows, that you respect him, and how easy it is to become blind to weakspots in the other. I think it tells more about viewers, than talkers. And in this case, he listens to us talking back.

[@gaelileo]

The thing that I find sad is that he has a video criticizing Joe Rogan, and how he can influence millions of people with a wrong message. And here he is, dumping on NATO expansion as the biggest mistake from the '90s

[@BrandanLee]

Important lesson: if you're doing "bothsidesism" in your debate style, ALWAYS mention the "other side's perspective" within 30 seconds because comments 100% will not watch, let alone wait for, the second video for the internal self-rebuttable. If the devil's advocate is allowed to talk, then the blue team disavowal has to be there ASAP near the read team debater, or the comments get overrun with "you sided with the devil how dare you." That's just how that works.

[@brandonsuhargo5423]

Might even make sense to release both videos simultaneously instead of in sequence.

[@yotonking2831]

Johnny lied. Nowhere in the video he said it's going to be a two part series. It was never his intention to release a second video.

[@thewatchtower8330]

@@BrandanLee That is not the point, Brandan. He lied big time, slapping a lot of people in the face with it. Check the latest respons video from Jake Broe. You will see why people are so fed up with lies from people like this guy, Tucker, Rogan, Tim Pool and many others.

[@angry-little-bird]

Thank you, Johnny, for your response. Indeed, this topic is extremely complex and requires a broader perspective to fully understand. Having lived in Russia for decades, I can add a few observations. Right now, the Russian government appears to be working toward strengthening its bargaining position for potential future negotiations, possibly anticipating a more favorable U.S. administration. They seem to be intensifying their offensive in Ukraine to capture and secure as much territory as possible before any talks take place. Simultaneously, there’s a noticeable shift in Russian state-sponsored messaging, attempting to portray the current regime as peaceful, rational, and misunderstood by the West. We’ve seen various Western media figures and influencers-some arguably sympathetic to Russian perspectives-offering more lenient narratives this week, which feels suspiciously coordinated. Let’s not be fooled: President Putin’s regime is experienced in shaping public opinion through media manipulation. As for background, Putin didn’t emerge in 2000 on a wave of anti-Western sentiment; his primary motivations were entrenched in corruption and power consolidation from the outset. He began his career as a KGB officer in East Germany and later capitalized on the chaos of post-Soviet Russia. Throughout the 1990s, the old Soviet elite simply rebranded themselves, forging alliances with newly formed oligarchs and criminal networks. Freedom and democracy were superficial at best. During that era, Russia also waged a brutal war in Chechnya, which ended with a deal that effectively put Ramzan Kadyrov’s clan in charge, financed by vast sums from Russian taxpayers. When Putin rose to the presidency, a series of suspicious terrorist attacks and crises (such as the Kursk submarine disaster) helped him consolidate his power. Higher oil prices then fueled Russia’s economy, enriching oligarchs loyal to Putin, while the regime steadily eroded media independence and civil liberties. Over time, Putin steered the narrative toward imperial nostalgia and hostility toward the “collective West,” lamenting the collapse of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century. After that came military interventions: first in Georgia, then Crimea, and finally the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian forces also pursued military and mercenary actions in Africa and the Middle East. By the 2010s, ordinary Russians began to feel economic stagnation and decline. They were told the West was responsible, while the reality was that the country’s wealth was siphoned off by Putin’s loyal oligarchs who built mega-mansions and yachts. The West itself, however, wasn’t innocent. For decades, Western businesses and governments found it convenient to do business with Putin’s Russia, profiting from cheap resources and cozy connections. Even as NATO expanded and spoke against Russian aggression, many Western leaders allowed Russian elites to buy luxury properties, enjoy Western citizenships, and launder money abroad. This double standard raises a serious question: why were these deals permitted even as tensions rose? Where do we stand now? If Russia successfully prepares the ground for favorable negotiations, Ukraine’s interests could be sidelined, with the West prioritizing “peace” over justice. This would allow Putin’s regime not only to retain seized territories but also to regroup and plan further expansion. Such a cycle would leave Eastern Europe perpetually vulnerable. The rhetorical question remains: why did Western leaders allow Putin’s circle to invest and thrive in their countries while publicly decrying Russian aggression? The hypocrisy and mixed signals have been apparent for years. It’s time to acknowledge that reality, consider these contradictions, and understand that what’s happening now didn’t emerge out of nowhere. It’s the result of decades of tacit complicity, shifting narratives, and unchecked ambitions on both sides.

[@angry-little-bird]

P.S.: Considering that many of Putin’s associates-even members of his own family-maintain substantial assets and often reside in the West, does it really make sense that they would risk destroying it all with nuclear weapons? Such deep personal investment in Western wealth and lifestyle didn’t exist in the Soviet era, and does nowadays.

[@1234leelee]

Great comments ​@@angry-little-bird

[@evaburnz]

This is a comprehensively insightful summary of the lifespan of Putin's regime to date, with added perspective on the misguided participation of certain elements of The West that allow for a well informed conclusion that highlights the current status of the situation. Well played, good sir.

[@DoYouThinkForUrselF]

what was with Russia's RT media all of a sudden turning .....Libertarian? lol I have a theory on that though. Want to hear your take though. All these gov'ts run at the expense of the people they oversee. Putin i see was under the young global leaders program, maybe it's global governance and that is why most every gov't abuses people in the name of safety.....

[@DoYouThinkForUrselF]

@@evaburnz ya they are all mobsters criminal organizations posing as authority and we pay the price ultimately. May you live in interesting times.

[@majasavicic]

I left a comment on that video when it was published. You need to listen and understand: they *hate* you! I’m a eastern European, a Bosnian Serb who has spent most of my life in Sweden. I used to be kind of an anti-NATO individual as well until I came to my senses. NATO is the only reason why there is no major war all over Europe. It is the only reason why Russia wouldn’t dare to cross anywhere else besides Ukraine. NATO has never annexed a country, and every country, as far as I remember has joined NATO with a consensus and with the agreement of all pre-existing members. Put yourself in the shoes of the people of the Baltic states and Poland, it will tell you everything.

[@brooklyncuthbertson6785]

Crazy respect for how u address any mistakes. And want to get it right. I really appreciate the way u put forth ur reporting.

[@F40-c4i]

It’s better for his channel, funny how MSM never does this to this extent. Good on him.

[@HRM.H]

He still hasnt addressed any of the misstakes he made in the military spending video.

[@SetYourGoals8]

@@HRM.H Why are you spamming this over and over?

[@de_stroyed]

@@HRM.Hbro keeps yapping in every reply section 😂

[@ThePresentPast_]

Taking it on the chin like a champ. I found the intent of the video original, refreshing even, to actually try and really cover a different perspective. As you said, this happens in academia all the time. Having this debate run in the same video would be even more powerful. I think it's hard from the perspective of the USA (or Western Europe) to understand how deep the legacy of Soviet history runs in Easter Europe. Looking forward to the revamped video!

[@iptamenoslagos]

I love how you two are supporting each other. Cheers to that.

[@AllanWhite]

Unsubscribed. Complete malpractice on Eastern Europe.

[@Sultan-cf5wf]

If you're going to do it right, I implore you to first watch "Shut up about NATO Expansion" by Sarcasmitron. His sources are all listed and are documented well. To assume Russia is a passive actor in any conflict it gets in to is a little silly. Consider that Yeltsin agreed to allow Poland into NATO. Consider that every country that has actively sought membership after 1991 was under the thumb of the Soviet Union. Consider that Russia is not an idle power. You still present Russia as a passive actor in this follow up.

[@bohomazdesign725]

Yeah, Poland pulled of the gigachad move of getin Yeltsin drunk and tricking him into saying that there will be no problem with Poland joining NATO and they recorded it :P And when the US under Clinton didnt want Poland in NATO Poland, they pulled of yet again gigachad move and said "well, I guess we get nukes then" and Clinton folded :P People can say what they want about Poland, but if there is something I have learned in life is that if a Pole has a job to do he will get it done, no matter how unconventional the method.

[@czarekp3552]

Take Rubles And Run, Johnny !!!!!