By Imerodromos
Marantzidis states that he will "immediately exercise all rights provided by law," as the newspaper responds that he is infected by Mitsotakis/Trump syndrome for lawsuits when cornered.
"Marantzidis in the Service of the Foreign Office" is the headline of Documento's front-page article this Sunday. The academic and Tsipras' right-hand man issued an announcement stating that he will "immediately exercise all rights provided by law." Subsequently, the newspaper, in its response, argued that: "Marantzidis got Mitsotakis-itis (a Trumpist reaction to reality checks that the Greek Prime Minister is copying) and threatens Documento with lawsuits."
What follows is Documento's publication, Marantzidis' announcement, and the newspaper's response.
Documento's Publication:
In November 2018, Anonymous pulled back the curtain on an activity that had until then been unfolding away from the public spotlight. Part of the puzzle of the revelations that followed was the current confidential advisor to Alexis Tsipras, academic Nikos Marantzidis.
But how did his name become linked to an "invisible chain of command"? Let's take things from the beginning.
In the crosshairs of Anonymous at that time was the British Integrity Initiative, an organization that claimed to defend democracy against misinformation. However, what was revealed painted a different picture.
Behind the NGO's title lay a mechanism connected to the Foreign Office and funded by the British Foreign Ministry itself—a fact that Integrity Initiative later admitted.
With the banner of countering Russian influence, Britain had developed a network of collaborators across Europe, extending from academia to the media. The aim was not merely the production of analyses or the recording of misinformation phenomena.
The real target, according to the revelations, was the formation of a network capable of influencing public discourse and intervening in critical political developments.
These groups did not operate autonomously. The tactics of the individual groups appear to have been coordinated through the Integrity Initiative, with local British embassies giving instructions on how they would develop their activities in the countries where they operated.
How this mechanism functioned in practice became clear in Spain. There, the Integrity Initiative appears to have participated in an organized campaign against the appointment of former military officer Pedro Baños to the National Security Service.
Through coordinated mobilization of part of the Spanish media, an attempt was made to overturn a government choice in the name of confronting the "Russian threat," highlighting a role that, according to its critics, far exceeded the limits of a simple information and analysis initiative.
The stakes were not journalistic criticism of Russian influence, but shaping developments through coordinated media interventions.
In 2017, Greece emerged as a country of particular interest to the Integrity Initiative. In the organization's internal texts, it is referred to as a country that, due to political and economic instability as well as particular historical conditions, was considered particularly vulnerable to Russian influence and misinformation operations.
For this purpose, the organization is said to have set up in Greece a structure with two distinct groups, both under the coordination of London. One group was based in Thessaloniki and was developed mainly by members of the university community. The traces of the Integrity Initiative appear to reach the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).
The Anonymous documents refer to an academic study examining how Greek media handled the case of the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018, an event that caused a serious diplomatic clash between the West and Russia.
The study bears the signature of Panagiotis Paschalidis, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at AUTH, and was published on the official website of the Integrity Initiative, indicating the connection of this specific research project with the organization's network.
When Documento contacted him, P. Paschalidis stated that he had no knowledge of the leak of the documents in which his name was mentioned.
The leaked documents also reveal a second, more organized branch of activity, linked to the University of Macedonia and a plan to create a mechanism for monitoring the media and public opinion through the establishment of a Media Observatory.
At the center is a person who repeatedly appears in the organization's reports: Nikos Marantzidis. His presence in the Integrity Initiative documents is not limited to a simple name reference. On December 14, 2017, a person connected to the organization meets in Athens with Sissy Alonistiotou and the journalist of "Kathimerini," Ilias Maglinis.
In the ensuing report, the two journalists, together with N. Marantzidis, appear to be attacked by a right-wing newspaper and characterized as "traitors."
In the same text, the author conveys N. Marantzidis' views on Russian influence in Greece and specifically on the role of Ivan Savvidis. "Nikos (i.e., Marantzidis) believes that (i.e., Savvidis) is an emissary of Putin. Savvidis' role is to prepare the ground for the expansion of the Orthodox Church and, by extension, Russian control in Greece."
According to the document's author, "the Russian Orthodox Church has monasteries near Thessaloniki which provide an economic base for both Savvidis' businesses and Russian interests in the region."
The author of the report presents N. Marantzidis as the appropriate person to undertake more organized action against what the Integrity Initiative considered Russian propaganda. As a solution, he proposes funding him for the creation of a "propaganda observatory," noting that N. Marantzidis requests 25,000 euros annually for its operation.
In the same report, it is noted that S. Alonistiotou and I. Maglinis appear willing to meet with him, while N. Marantzidis is described as an academic who has at times expressed positions challenging New Democracy's (ND) political dominance, yet remaining largely outside intense public criticism.
A few months later, the documents record a different picture. In a report concerning a planned meeting at S. Alonistiotou's home in Athens in June 2018, it is stated: "Nikos feels betrayed and has shifted to writing articles supporting SYRIZA."
In March 2018, the idea of an observatory appears to take more concrete form. Among the leaked documents is a contract dated March 13, 2018, signed between the British Institute for Statecraft and the University of Macedonia, represented by Efthychios Sarzetakis from the Department of Economic Sciences.
The Institute for Statecraft is directly linked to the Integrity Initiative, as it is officially presented as a collaborating entity.
The contract concerns the completion of a project titled "First phase of the observatory of media and public opinion stances on international issues." The program would be under the scientific coordination of Professor N. Marantzidis.
Its mission was the systematic monitoring of the media and the mapping of how public opinion perceptions are formed on international issues. Among other things, it provided for conducting a nationwide survey of 500 citizens, focusing on Greeks' perceptions of international developments, geopolitical players, and the country's role on the international stage. The research budget amounted to 6,000 euros.
In the activity of the Integrity Initiative, the Athens team, composed of journalists, also appears to have played an equally significant role.
According to the organization's description, this was a group that operated discreetly, with article writing and the operation of an informational website as its main tools. Its mission was to detect influence networks that, in its assessment, connected Russian interests with powerful players in the Greek economic elite.
According to the hacked documents, its head was journalist Despoina Afentouli (this is Ino Afentouli), who served in the NATO Public Affairs Office.
The ELIAMEP foundation appears to be under the organization's influence, with scientists Thanos Dokos, Ioannis Armakolas, and Giorgos Tzogopoulos having direct contact as members of the Greece Team.
Particular relations also seem to exist with the website insidestory.gr and its owner Dimitris Xenakis, with two journalists, Katerina Oikonomakou and Giannis Goranitis, also mentioned by Anonymous as members of the Athens team, to which insidestory.gr journalist Tasos Telloglou also appears to belong.
In the organization's "Progress Report," T. Telloglou is assessed as having "direct contact and alignment with the German embassy in Athens." Two more members appear to staff the action team: former "Eleftherotypia" journalist S. Alonistiotou and translator Katerina Chrysanthopoulou.
Of course, the reference to journalists who acted "discreetly," while having an intense public presence and steady article-writing activity, leaves open the question of exactly which part of their "action" remained out of public view.
Documento then addressed journalists and scientists whose names were implicated, according to the documents leaked by Anonymous, with the Integrity Initiative.
"Marantzidis in the Service of the Foreign Office"
In November 2018, Anonymous pulled back the curtain on an activity that had until then been unfolding away from the public spotlight. Part of the puzzle of the revelations that followed was the current confidential advisor to Alexis Tsipras, academic Nikos Marantzidis.
But how did his name become linked to an "invisible chain of command"? Let's take things from the beginning.
In the crosshairs of Anonymous at that time was the British Integrity Initiative, an organization that claimed to defend democracy against misinformation. However, what was revealed painted a different picture.
Behind the NGO's title lay a mechanism connected to the Foreign Office and funded by the British Foreign Ministry itself—a fact that Integrity Initiative later admitted.
With the banner of countering Russian influence, Britain had developed a network of collaborators across Europe, extending from academia to the media. The aim was not merely the production of analyses or the recording of misinformation phenomena.
The real target, according to the revelations, was the formation of a network capable of influencing public discourse and intervening in critical political developments.
These groups did not operate autonomously. The tactics of the individual groups appear to have been coordinated through the Integrity Initiative, with local British embassies giving instructions on how they would develop their activities in the countries where they operated.
Intervention in Spain
How this mechanism functioned in practice became clear in Spain. There, the Integrity Initiative appears to have participated in an organized campaign against the appointment of former military officer Pedro Baños to the National Security Service.
Through coordinated mobilization of part of the Spanish media, an attempt was made to overturn a government choice in the name of confronting the "Russian threat," highlighting a role that, according to its critics, far exceeded the limits of a simple information and analysis initiative.
The stakes were not journalistic criticism of Russian influence, but shaping developments through coordinated media interventions.
Operation "Greece"
In 2017, Greece emerged as a country of particular interest to the Integrity Initiative. In the organization's internal texts, it is referred to as a country that, due to political and economic instability as well as particular historical conditions, was considered particularly vulnerable to Russian influence and misinformation operations.
For this purpose, the organization is said to have set up in Greece a structure with two distinct groups, both under the coordination of London. One group was based in Thessaloniki and was developed mainly by members of the university community. The traces of the Integrity Initiative appear to reach the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).
The Anonymous documents refer to an academic study examining how Greek media handled the case of the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018, an event that caused a serious diplomatic clash between the West and Russia.
The study bears the signature of Panagiotis Paschalidis, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at AUTH, and was published on the official website of the Integrity Initiative, indicating the connection of this specific research project with the organization's network.
When Documento contacted him, P. Paschalidis stated that he had no knowledge of the leak of the documents in which his name was mentioned.
The Observatory
The leaked documents also reveal a second, more organized branch of activity, linked to the University of Macedonia and a plan to create a mechanism for monitoring the media and public opinion through the establishment of a Media Observatory.
At the center is a person who repeatedly appears in the organization's reports: Nikos Marantzidis. His presence in the Integrity Initiative documents is not limited to a simple name reference. On December 14, 2017, a person connected to the organization meets in Athens with Sissy Alonistiotou and the journalist of "Kathimerini," Ilias Maglinis.
In the ensuing report, the two journalists, together with N. Marantzidis, appear to be attacked by a right-wing newspaper and characterized as "traitors."
In the same text, the author conveys N. Marantzidis' views on Russian influence in Greece and specifically on the role of Ivan Savvidis. "Nikos (i.e., Marantzidis) believes that (i.e., Savvidis) is an emissary of Putin. Savvidis' role is to prepare the ground for the expansion of the Orthodox Church and, by extension, Russian control in Greece."
According to the document's author, "the Russian Orthodox Church has monasteries near Thessaloniki which provide an economic base for both Savvidis' businesses and Russian interests in the region."
Marantzidis Asks for €25,000
The author of the report presents N. Marantzidis as the appropriate person to undertake more organized action against what the Integrity Initiative considered Russian propaganda. As a solution, he proposes funding him for the creation of a "propaganda observatory," noting that N. Marantzidis requests 25,000 euros annually for its operation.
In the same report, it is noted that S. Alonistiotou and I. Maglinis appear willing to meet with him, while N. Marantzidis is described as an academic who has at times expressed positions challenging New Democracy's (ND) political dominance, yet remaining largely outside intense public criticism.
A few months later, the documents record a different picture. In a report concerning a planned meeting at S. Alonistiotou's home in Athens in June 2018, it is stated: "Nikos feels betrayed and has shifted to writing articles supporting SYRIZA."
The March 2018 Contract
In March 2018, the idea of an observatory appears to take more concrete form. Among the leaked documents is a contract dated March 13, 2018, signed between the British Institute for Statecraft and the University of Macedonia, represented by Efthychios Sarzetakis from the Department of Economic Sciences.
The Institute for Statecraft is directly linked to the Integrity Initiative, as it is officially presented as a collaborating entity.
The contract concerns the completion of a project titled "First phase of the observatory of media and public opinion stances on international issues." The program would be under the scientific coordination of Professor N. Marantzidis.
Its mission was the systematic monitoring of the media and the mapping of how public opinion perceptions are formed on international issues. Among other things, it provided for conducting a nationwide survey of 500 citizens, focusing on Greeks' perceptions of international developments, geopolitical players, and the country's role on the international stage. The research budget amounted to 6,000 euros.
The Athens Team
In the activity of the Integrity Initiative, the Athens team, composed of journalists, also appears to have played an equally significant role.
According to the organization's description, this was a group that operated discreetly, with article writing and the operation of an informational website as its main tools. Its mission was to detect influence networks that, in its assessment, connected Russian interests with powerful players in the Greek economic elite.
According to the hacked documents, its head was journalist Despoina Afentouli (this is Ino Afentouli), who served in the NATO Public Affairs Office.
The ELIAMEP foundation appears to be under the organization's influence, with scientists Thanos Dokos, Ioannis Armakolas, and Giorgos Tzogopoulos having direct contact as members of the Greece Team.
Particular relations also seem to exist with the website insidestory.gr and its owner Dimitris Xenakis, with two journalists, Katerina Oikonomakou and Giannis Goranitis, also mentioned by Anonymous as members of the Athens team, to which insidestory.gr journalist Tasos Telloglou also appears to belong.
In the organization's "Progress Report," T. Telloglou is assessed as having "direct contact and alignment with the German embassy in Athens." Two more members appear to staff the action team: former "Eleftherotypia" journalist S. Alonistiotou and translator Katerina Chrysanthopoulou.
Of course, the reference to journalists who acted "discreetly," while having an intense public presence and steady article-writing activity, leaves open the question of exactly which part of their "action" remained out of public view.
What They Answered to Documento
Documento then addressed journalists and scientists whose names were implicated, according to the documents leaked by Anonymous, with the Integrity Initiative.
- T. Telloglou stated that "whatever I have done, I have written publicly."
- Th. Dokos stated that "it was an introductory meeting,"
- I. Armakolas said, "whatever my director has told you."
- D. Xenakis mentioned: "We had seen them two years ago."
- S. Alonistiotou noted: "Never a meeting for professional reasons."
- K. Chrysanthopoulou stated that there was no involvement beyond a panel, while
- I. Maglinis spoke of an "exchange of academic and theoretical views."
Marantzidis: "I Will Immediately Exercise All Rights Provided by Law"
In a statement yesterday regarding Documento's publication, Nikos Marantzidis states the following:
"The nature of my scientific studies has taught me to have a deep understanding of political hostility and expediency. As well as knowledge of the extremes to which it can reach. Tsipras, after all, was never a colorless politician, but a political figure who generates feelings of love but also hatred. Sometimes even the transitions from love to hatred. This leads to strange and dark paths.
It appears that such a path has been taken by the one who, today, wanting to strike Tsipras, highlights a wretched and utterly baseless front page in the newspaper Documento. Which, no less, portrays me as an agent of the British secret services advising Tsipras and thus Tsipras himself as a mouthpiece for dark foreign forces. Okay, for me, it could be just another joke; from a clumsy anti-communist, I got upgraded. I became James Bond.
For the case of the Hellenic Police (EL.AS.) and Alexis Tsipras, whose return to active politics aims to demolish the rotten and corrupt system of the Maximos Mansion, as well as its offshoots that were monitoring half the political system, journalists, businessmen, and citizens, it is not a joke. Perhaps beyond the obvious goal of slander, there lies another. Since they write that Tsipras has agents by his side, we have the right to hear him for reasons of national security. Do you think my thought is exaggerated? That these things don't happen in a well-governed democracy? Time will tell. Although the government has taken care, by law, to ensure we can no longer even know if we are being monitored.
In any case, and whatever their intentions may be, because this case does not only concern me, I will immediately exercise all rights provided by law against the slanderers, in order to defend the truth."
"Marantzidis Got Mitsotakis-itis and Threatens Documento with Lawsuits"
After Marantzidis' announcement, the newspaper, through its website documentonews.gr, responded as follows:
"Professor Nikos Marantzidis decided to follow the path of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, threatening Documento with lawsuits. The reason is that the newspaper records the relationship of the said advisor, with funding from Organizations linked to the British Foreign Office.
Mr. Marantzidis appears to be a member of a network that, in the name of confronting the 'Russian threat' (following the patterns of the old Soviet threat and the anti-communism served by Marantzidis), essentially became a tool of British propaganda. Greek journalists also belonged to this network. What we wrote is not only true and even a subject of criticism in Britain regarding the methods of the Foreign Office, but was published in 2018 in Documento as part of a major investigation that began with evidence from Anonymous.
Nikos Marantzidis did not want to give us answers then, even though we asked, but (what else could he do) silently accepted the publication of the documents. Eight years later, he decided to be offended and talk about slander and threaten with lawsuits. We are here for him to do whatever he wants. He can ask Alexis Tsipra, whom he advises lately, what fate befell those who attempted to hide behind lawsuits and artificial sensitivity. It is particularly significant, however, that he characterizes the undeniable relationship with the Integrity Initiative organization as a reproach we make about espionage and agents. We do not know what this relationship is and if it reaches levels of espionage, but scientific work is not about serving the British state against another foreign state. It is significant, however, that Nikos Marantzidis, in his response-threat to Documento, resorts to methods that are the tactic of other circles.
By reversing reality, he argues that his connection with agent work (you said it) is done to justify the surveillance of those he associates with, i.e., Tsipras. He links the newspaper that revealed the wiretaps and the list of those monitored by the Mitsotakis regime, with the justification of future surveillance. For someone to have the audacity to do this, they are either foolish, shameless, or serving a dirty scheme.
Marantzidis' beloved organization, however, participated, as revealed by the British press, in character assassination operations against Labour's Jeremy Corbyn. As characteristically written in the Sunday Mail: 'Explosive documents that were leaked and handed to the Sunday Mail reveal that the Integrity Initiative is funded with £2 million from Foreign Office funds and is run by experts in military intelligence services.' There is still a plethora of documents regarding the role of this specific front organization, which we will publish, naturally awaiting Marantzidis' response, to whom we will remind the proverb (Greek, not British) 'the hare shook the fern, a bad omen for his head.'"
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