Martin Armstrong The Flip Phone Peace Architect

In the annals of self-aggrandizing financial pundits, few moments capture the sheer absurdity of Martin Armstrong's persona quite like that viral clip from the 2025 Cornerstone Forum.

 

There he sits, the self-proclaimed cycle sage and AI wizard, at a grand conference table surrounded by fellow "experts" in geopolitics and economics. Suddenly, his ancient Motorola Razr flip phone erupts with a polyphonic ringtone straight out of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas—prompting chuckles from the room and eternal meme status online.

This is the man who claims to forecast global events with pinpoint accuracy using his "Socrates" supercomputer, yet he's fielding calls on a relic from 2004 that's about as secure as a postcard. No encrypted smartphone for the guy who boasts of advising intelligence agencies and dodging government plots—nope, just a cheap, hackable flip phone blaring video game nostalgia in the middle of a serious discussion.

But wait, it gets better. This flip phone fiasco isn't just a tech faux pas; it's a perfect metaphor for Armstrong's entire schtick: outdated, unreliable, and hilariously out of step with reality. While he's busy positioning himself as a legendary international advisor consulted by governments worldwide, the evidence paints a picture of a convicted felon whose "expertise" has led to massive investor losses and a trail of debunked claims.

Remember, this is the same Armstrong who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a $700 million fraud scheme back in the '90s, only to rebrand himself post-prison as a persecuted visionary. 

And now, for the bombshell: Armstrong has repeatedly claimed that none other than Donald Trump personally tapped him to architect a peace proposal for the Ukraine-Russia war. Yes, you read that right—the flip phone guy fancies himself a shadow diplomat brokering world peace. In a series of X posts and blog entries starting in October 2025, Armstrong detailed a "core peace proposal" he says Trump "asked me to write," including demands like honoring the Minsk Agreement, lifting sanctions on Russia, allowing a Russia-Alaska tunnel (?!), and threatening U.S. withdrawal from NATO if the EU doesn't comply. 

The proof is immutable: A Rumble video originally titled "Trump Finally Calls in Armstrong to Prevent WWIII" (URL: https://rumble.com/v70snr8-trump-finally-calls-in-armstrong-to-prevent-wwiii-martin-armstrong.html) was hastily retitled to scrub Trump's name after scrutiny—but the "trump" keyword lingers in the link like a digital fingerprint. Armstrong's own blog echoes the claim, framing it as his grand contribution to averting global catastrophe. 

Meanwhile, actual reports on Trump's peace efforts (like a 28-point plan) make no mention of Armstrong whatsoever, suggesting this is just another layer in his myth-making.
 
Isn't this guy totally ridiculous? Here's a "peace architect" whose communication tech is a security nightmare—vulnerable to eavesdropping, with no modern encryption—yet he wants us to believe he's trusted with sensitive geopolitical debriefings. The contrast is comedy gold: Armstrong crosses his arms smugly in video after video, charts flickering on his monitors, spinning tales of outsmarting Soros and advising Thatcher, all while his flip phone exposes him as a boomer stuck in the past.

 

Arms crossed, ego wide open:
 The Flip Phone Peace Architect reveals Trump's 'secret' reliance on him.

If he's consulting world leaders, why not upgrade to something that doesn't scream "I'm hiding from the NSA... or just cheap"? This episode underscores the echo chambers that prop him up—podcasts and conferences where his fraud conviction is dismissed as a conspiracy, and his boasts go unchallenged. 


For those in his orbit, like the upcoming Cornerstone Forum 2026 where he's tentatively listed (but not confirmed), this should be a wake-up call. Armstrong's "peace architect" fantasy is just the latest in a long line of ridiculous claims. Share the flip phone clip far and wide—it's the perfect antidote to his hype.

Martin Armstrong: The Hand-Chopping Bloviator and His Traveling Circus

I apologize in advance.
This page is pure overkill.
One click and you will never unsee it.

1. The Hand-Chopping Bloviator in Action

(0:00, 0:20 – 0:40 of the official WEC 2025 Day 1 clip – link) 

 

and

(0:08 – 0:25 of the official WEC 2025 Day 3 clip – link) 

Watch closely. Three times in sixty seconds he does it:

• elbows frozen at 90°, hands locked like cheap animatronics
• savage backhand chops that literally throw his own ideas away
• right hand jammed deep in pocket – the universal body-language symbol for “I stopped caring five minutes ago”
• all while claiming central bankers hang on his every word.
   

This is not a man who believes his own forecasts.

This is a man swatting flies that only he can see.

2. Center Stage: The Glowing Socrates Shrine

 While the hand-chopping bloviator flails, the real star of the show stands silently in the background:

• life-size gypsum Socrates bust, computer tablet at its side, on a black-draped pedestal
• big blue glowing Socrates box on the floor, "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" on the wall
• more blue and red glowing empty Socrates boxes on white-draped pedestals, containing nothing but air and marketing

Nobody has ever turned a profit from the glowing boxes.

Nobody has ever received a single trade signal from the glowing bust.

The only person who makes money is the hand-chopping bloviator, via $150/month, $2,750 conference tickets, and $1500-$2000 webcast replays.  

3. The Audience of Lost Souls 

Pan the room (Day 1 clip, 0:18 – 1:05):

• median hair color: snow white
• median energy level: barely above mortuary
• median expression: polite applause for a god that stopped answering decades ago 

These are not the “traders, financial companies and sovereign nations” advertised in the brochure.
These are the last faithful who still believe the glowing boxes might one day speak.

4. The Criminal Architect Behind the Curtain

Every perfectly lit pedestal, every slow-motion drone shot, every orchestral swell is the signature of Marcus Vetter – the German film-maker who has been polishing this turd since 2011.
He turned a contempt-of-court felon into “The Forecaster”, and he is still on the payroll turning half-empty hotel ballrooms into “the alternative to Davos”. 

Martin Armstrong spams himself with Promotion then plays the Victim Card

Martin Armstrong can only thrive on disasters of his own making because he has never achieved anything else in life. 

Don't believe it? Let's go:

He, or some of his surrogates, created two X accounts that impersonate him:

Martin A. Armstrong @ArmstrngEcon and Maritn A. Arrncrtong 

One of these accounts, created 2015, mirrors his personal account as a member of his link farm, directing more traffic to his site.

The other account creates fake conversations with his main account, potentially triggering X's algorithm to boost Armstrong's visibility (replies increase "conversation" metrics). 

Armstrong’s ‘imposters’ spam his X—yet no ban. Why?

The bot-like repetition screams automation.

 

Yet  instead of simply reporting these accounts as fake or blocking their replies, he tolerates them because of their utility. This is the smoking gun. They’re his puppets, boosting his "genius" myth.

In his recent blog post Verifying X, he now plays the victim card. Then he double-dips by again boosting his ego:

There are people out there scamming whatever they can. I work way too much just in an advisory role. There is no way I am going back to managing money. Anyone using my name is a fraud. Some hedge funds are using our models, but they do not solicit using my name.

 

Orchestrated.

 

Read more:

Martin Armstrong Inner Circle Details

Martin Armstrong The Hyper Shill

Martin Armstrong The Hyper Fool

 

Grok AI calls Martin Armstrong's Bluff

Here you can put Martin Armstrong's claim that he has  The only fully functional AI System in the World to the test.

To set the stage, it already happened in the context of The Martin Armstrong Scam on Zero Hedge.

The test was carried out during a recent conversation on 26 March 2025 at:

Mississippi just eliminated it's income tax per https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/americas-current-economy/mississippi-eliminates-income-tax/

The author re-published the entire content of Armstrong's entire blog page that you can read here:

Mississippi Eliminates the Income Tax  

After getting challenged by another person, the author conceded:

Thanks for the info - I did not intend to "promote" him, but thought that the news was pertinent, and factual.  Since you brought up past fraud (of which I was unaware), I did a (GROK) query:

The result of the query is as follows: 

As of today, March 25, 2025, Mississippi has not fully eliminated its state income tax, but it has taken significant legislative steps toward that goal. The article from Armstrong Economics, dated March 23, 2025, states that "Mississippi lawmakers have finally removed the state income tax," suggesting a completed action. However, a closer look at recent developments indicates that the process is phased and not yet fully implemented.

In March 2025, the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 1, known as the "Build Up Mississippi Act." This bill outlines a gradual elimination of the state income tax. According to reports from multiple sources, including Mississippi Today and WAPT, the plan reduces the current 4% flat income tax rate by 0.25% each year until it reaches 3% by 2030. After that, the tax will continue to decrease based on specific revenue triggers—namely, when state revenue exceeds 85% of expenses—until it is fully phased out. Governor Tate Reeves is expected to sign this bill, having expressed strong support for eliminating the income tax, but as of this date, there’s no confirmation that he has done so yet.

Additionally, the legislation includes other tax adjustments to offset the revenue loss: it cuts the grocery sales tax from 7% (the highest in the nation) to 5% effective July 1, 2025, and incrementally increases the gas tax by 9 cents per gallon (from 18 cents to 27 cents) by July 2027. These changes aim to shift the tax burden away from income and toward consumption, though critics argue this could disproportionately affect lower-income residents.

The Armstrong Economics article’s claim that Mississippi "joins Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Texas, and Wyoming" in eliminating the income tax is premature. Those states currently have no state income tax, whereas Mississippi’s elimination is still in progress and contingent on future economic conditions. The process could take years, potentially extending beyond 2030, depending on revenue performance.

In summary, the statement is partially accurate but overstated. Mississippi has legislated a phased elimination of its income tax, recently passed by both the House and Senate, but it has not yet "eliminated" it as of March 25, 2025. The process is underway, not complete. For the most current status, confirmation of the governor’s signature would be needed, which isn’t explicitly reported as finalized in available sources as of this date.

  The author then comments:

2030?  sounds like a long ways out! ...
...
I'd say the article is misleading at best... sorry about that.

Read more:

Martin Armstrong the Disinformation Agent

Martin Armstrong's Informant Behind the Curtain 

The Martin Armstrong Scam on Zero Hedge

The Zero Hedge Site

For those who don't know the site, zerohedge.com is a somewhat difficult to describe in a sentence. In case you don't know it, I suggest that you read this article to get an idea (even though this article is somewhat outdated and I don't fully agree with it):

Zero Hedge, Russia, and the Business of Conspiracies

But here is what counts:

More than 25 times bigger: According to similarweb.com estimates, zerohedge.com has about 27 million visits per month compared with 1.1 million visits per month of Martin Armstrong's site armstrongeconomics.com

The Logical Connection between Armstrong Economics and Zero Hedge

Visitors of the Zero Hedge site are considered gullible and easily manipulated. Even though they may consider themselves seasoned critics because they have learnt to mistrust the authorities. But they have clearly not seen it all as I can show you with:

Martin Armstrong and his Socrates: The Conspiracy of the Cartel

Martin Armstrong wants to get as many of these people as possible to visit his own site where he runs his scam business. See:

Armstrong Economics - The Scam Business Model Exposé
 

For this reason, he aligns his own blog content with the content of Zero Hedge.

To exploit this alignment, he and his sock puppets and shills praise Martin Armstrong on Zero Hedge and he puts his Clickbait that links to his blog on the Zero Hedge site wherever possible and as often as he can afford to do it.

Martin Armstrong's Identities on Zero Hedge

It has been known by many for years that Armstrong's Zero Hedge main account is dustinthewind. I have verified this personally by style and timing analysis. You can browse his recent replies at his profile.

If you are more than irritated by what you see there, you may consider reporting this user at mailto:abuse@zerohedge.com

Candidates for his other current sock puppet accounts that he might be using personally are Francis Marxximus,  Francis Marximus,  Skip59, which has gone through some name changes since Apr 17 2024).

While my earlier analysis indicated that Franzis Marxximus is Armstrong himself, I think there is a high probability that someone else such as Armstrong's strategic adviser Ashley Warren operates this account.

Some of his affiliated other current most prominent shill accounts are BugMan, MoralsAreEssential, Thomas Malthaus, smacker and Sparehead. I don't know who is behind these others, perhaps Armstrong himself, other members of his Inner Circle or just paid shills and fanatic cult members. Read more about examples of these fanatics at:

Martin Armstrong's Premium Cult Members

The strongest indication of sock puppet presence is the average count of up-votes that Armstrong gives himself using his sock puppet accounts which is around 5 to 6.

The Sock Puppet Master's Smoking Gun

A good sock puppet master manages multiple accounts, each representing a distinct character, such as having odd style elements like double and triple punctuation and different times of the day when they post comments, or that religious character who quotes the bible. But there is one weakness in this one-man band system: If the master is out of action, then all his sock puppets are out of action as well. And this is exactly what happened during Hurricane Milton and in its aftermath at around Oct 10 2024. He was forced to evacuate and his property would have suffered some damage. He would have faced a power outage like two million others in his area.

During that time, between Oct 10 and Oct 13, there was no content on Zero Hedge by anyone that mentioned Armstrong. Caught!

Martin Armstrong's Daily Routine

To discover Armstrong's daily routine I had to analyze the timing of his activities which involved the recording of his publications over several weeks.

Every day, at around 4 to 5 am Eastern Time or even earlier, he publishes up to five pages on his own blog site. As I wrote earlier, the subjects of his pages are aligned with topics that are trending the most on Zero Hedge. What is trending there is easy to measure by the count of page reads and comments that are shown in the Zero Hedge summary home page.

Only minutes later, he selects matching 3rd party content on Zero Hedge and  copies his blog pages, including formatting and links, as COMMENT into the discussion sections of the Zero Hedge articles. He often replies to his own comment with another one as continuation because of the 5,000 character limit for each comment.  He effectively re-publishes 80% of his entire blog in the Zero Hedge comments sections every day. 

This process takes him only a few minutes because he has access to the HTML source format of his own blog pages. He might be using what appears to be some copy and paste template that allows for easy transfer.

After up to eight comments of this type, he stops this and writes other comments, typically copied from pro Russia propaganda sites or just some of his own  rants. The number of comments that refer to his blog pages may reach 15 a day which typically the number of comments he makes per day.

Armstrong does not usually reply to other user's comments to his Zero Hedge pieces there using his main account dustinthewind. If at all, he uses his other accounts for this, effectively running a sock puppet show as observed elsewhere. For most users, this creates the illusion of depth and wider support of Martin Armstrong.

Depending on how safe he feels (my presence has made him feel unsafe), he reduces the number of marketing messages and creates a balance with multiple messages that play to the tune of the general consensus. He does this simply to make his spamming activity less obvious. This approach secures his Zero Hedge account, an approach that he has refined over many years there and elsewhere.

After combining these activities with the time gaps between them, my statistics indicate that Martin Armstrong as dustinthewind alone spends two hours every day trolling Zero Hedge.

Once he has completed his task, he moves over to the next (smaller) forum and performs a similar activity there as I already wrote in Exposed: Armstrong Economics in The Free Republic Forum. Of course, in between he has to service many other internet assets that host / mirror his content. See an extensive but not complete list of them in Affiliate Sites and Channels

Armstrong's Main  Zero Hedge Articles

Zero Hedge publishes perhaps 50 articles per day, and I assume that this publishing space is up for sale. Once or twice per month, Armstrong gets his content published there. That content is often his interviews such as done by Interview host Greg Hunter. I guess that this business relationship further secures his comments account because Zero Hedge does not like to bite the hand that feeds it.

Armstrong's main articles are an integral part of his Populist Hot Button Topic Campaign. Read more at Campaign Structure and Operations. Because of this, it is quite predictable when his next Zero Hedge article will appear.

Armstrong's Illegal Activity in the Zero Hedge Comments Sections

Because all this has become very obvious to me, I gave Armstrong some challenges in response to these "comments" and his articles.

But as a professional trickster and liar he knows how to run the show and he is indeed well prepared.

He has multiple shill characters who come to the rescue as planned. Playing the numbers game, they form a small pack of dogs who defend him, creating the illusion of wider support. This tilts the balance in his favor because every challenger is outnumbered. They do not all go after the same challenger at the same time because that would be too obvious. They share the load and pop up here and there in isolation but in a coordinated way, often attacking the same challenger during the same day.

The striking circumstantial evidence of Armstrong's control of these shills is the following:

1. The shills magically appear just in time when Armstrong needs them, just as sock puppets do
   
2. The shills always post only AFTER Armstrong made his first comments as dustinthewind
   
3. When I appeared to have overwhelmed or frustrated Armstrong, or when he was busy elsewhere, e.g. with an interview, most of his shills are absent as well which indicates that some of them are Armstrong himself or at least controlled by him.
    

A recent example (illegal):

"Francis Marxximus" at Zero Hedge Jul 22 2025 (emphasis added)

He is the only person I have ever read who's computer models have been most right out of all the other annalist. I made 150% on a long term options trade on oil years ago when he said oil was going down to $35. Even my broker told me they were amazed on my trade..

Armstrong never predicted the oil decline that he mentions.

 Another recent example (illegal):

"Francis Marxximus" at Zero Hedge Mar 3 2024 (emphasis added)

Advisor to many central banks.  read him [Armstrong] for years and made money on his computer models. It would be shocking at times how correct his computer would be. No human could do that. You are out of Langley or a wall street banker, That is why you have a low -negative score.

This activity is illegal because of the following two highlighted statements:

1. Martin Armstrong is by court order barred indefinitely from association with a financial adviser. The claim that he advised government financial institutions such as central banks is criminal because it entices Armstrong's unsuspecting scam victims to seek his financial advice which he is barred from giving, based on this claim which is a lie.
2. Nobody has ever made money on Armstrong's "computer models" as claimed. Armstrong's "computer models" are sold under the brand name Socrates as a service. In fact, Martin Armstrong lost over $700 million trading based on the signals of these models. More recent track records are available here: Socrates Subscriber Testimonials as well as Socrates Long Term Past Performance Review and other sources such as at the Armstrong Socrates Repo. Again, it is illegal to claim financial benefits from computerized financial advice which Armstrong is barred by court order from giving.
   

The profile of this notorious sock puppet is at Francis Marxximus

The relevant public document is:

Conviction Injunction (from Armstrong's Supreme Court Appeal, emphasis added)

Former associated person with an investment adviser was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commodities fraud and permanently enjoined from violating antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Held, it is in the public interest to bar Respondent from association with any investment adviser.

Another example (same avatar but slightly different name):

"Francis Marximus" at Zero Hedge Sep 26 2022

How come every time I do a trade based on Armstrong's computer and make thousands on 1 day trades, people down vote me. But Not all. Then there is people like you that say his computer is a fraud. Yet Martin has hundreds of thousands of Subscribers to his Socrates computer.

On that page above there is a lively discussion between Armstrong shills who recommend Armstrong's subscription services. But the story does not end here yet.

Here is the next example. Martin Armstrong poses on Zero Hedge as a satisfied user with fake name "Francis Marximus". Please note when following the links to Zero Hedge, you need to scroll down to the comments section and wait a little. There might be access restrictions as well depending on how far back in time this conversation is. Francis Marximus starts the conversation as follows in the comments section of his Zero Hedge marketing page:

"Francis Marximus" at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022

I got armstrong subscription and been reading him for all of 15 years. He said many years ago that all Pensions will fail going into the great crash and burn. Not just Europe. All his long term subscribers and readers will back up what I am saying.

I counter this this as "ThoughtSplitter" at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022

You are a shill. Nothing could be further from the truth.

See:

Socrates Subscriber Testimonials

and for you:

Martin Armstrong The Hyper Shill

 He responds:

 "Francis Marximus" at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022 (emphasis added)

Been reading Armstrong for many years. You are a friend of the bankers. They hate him.

If the subscribers hate him so bad, how come he has 150,000 subscribers to his Socrates?

I have made quite a bit of money off of his Socrates pro.

I can't help if a lot of simpletons don't understand trading.

I respond as "ThoughtSplitter" at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022

Hello Martin Armstrong. You ARE Martin Armstrong because nobody should know that number 150,000 except you, even while it is a lie (because if it was true then you would not be broke). You can't have it both ways - posing as a user and at the same time being the operator of that business and not be broke.

Did I fail to say you are schizophrenic? You have been running a sock puppet show for the last 40 years. Every man and his dog knows it.

Another user Nosey_Parker responds:

 Nosey_Parker at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022

Wow, MA just got ass rapped on ZH

User Nosey_Parker concludes later:

 Nosey_Parker at Zero Hedge Oct 3 2022

This comments section is the best one for a while. Evidence points to the actual Martin Armstrong coming on here to hawk his wares and shout down the debunkers is brilliant.

The question remains......

If these guys are so good at predicting the markets why do they need to go on shows like USAWatchdog.com to sell their 'secrets' for $50 a month?

Greg Mannarino seems like a nice guy but then begs for $5

Jim Willie is another, supposedly this super successful trade but always in need of a handout.

If I was some kind of nostradamus, I'd make a million or two then buy a nice house by the sea and carry on making a few hundred thousand a year 'working' a few hours a week, not lowering myself to go on Greg Hunter to hawk a crappy self published book or to beg for $10

From the example above you can see that I can identify Martin Armstrong without any doubt, catch him, get him to expose himself, with only TWO messages AND get confirmation from a third party. Because he is a schizophrenic liar.

The Zero Hedge administration deleted the above comments made by user Francis Marximus, comments that were the last ones made from this account. You can see in the profile  Francis Marximus on Zero Hedge that there are no new messages after Sept 2022. Apparently the account was disabled promptly.

However, Martin Armstrong (or his shill), true to his stubborn and intransigent style, created a new account with the same features. See the new user Francis Marxximus which appeared with the same profile picture icon on Nov 11, 2022 (please note the double x in his new name). It still has the same shill role.

An even earlier example (again illegal) where he used his first account (now deleted) with name "Francis Marx" with the same avatar:

I apparently annoyed him as "LetMeAskThis" at Zero Hedge May 15 2020

Check out this decades old scam:

armstrongecmscam.blogspot.com

He responds:

 "Francis Marx" at Zero Hedge May 15 2020 (emphasis added)

Not this crap again.

I've made a lot of money off his computer.

You bankers really hate him.

This multi year engagement shows that he is not just an occasional paid shill or a cult follower but a core member of Armstrong's inner circle.

 

An Armstrong shill prays to God to save his Zero Hedge Sock Puppet Account

Another of his sock puppet shill characters making similar claims is Skip59 (renamed 3 times to Forest43 then Bingo99 then 10Penny since Apr17 2024)

Since he keeps renaming his profile to evade detection and to flush previous messages from his profile, I record the last messages that he sent before his renaming and trivial replies:

His desperation can be seen in the following message:

Martin Armstrong Shill Skip59 on Zero Hedge on Wed, Apr 17 2024 

I don’t know why your so bitter towards Martin Armstrong but I’ll continue praying 🙏 that you get over it..!

When Armstrong starts praying then that usually means that I must have done a few things right. You can still see this message when clicking on the link. And nothing could make it more obvious that the account holder is Armstrong himself or a close associate because who else would pray to save his Zero Hedge account?

In an Aug 2025 post, he doesn't try to hide his location (Armstrong lives in Tampa Bay):

Martin Armstrong as dustinthewind on Zero Hedge Aug 17 2025 

Socrates, the computer forecasting program and AI has predicted that ...

The local TV station here in the Tampa Bay area ran a piece yesterday ...

 

Why doesn't Martin Armstrong stop?

Faced with my exposé and my relentless campaign, one could expect that Martin Armstrong suspends his activities at Zero Hedge to avoid a complete meltdown of his business. But he did not stop. Here is my attempt of an analysis of

Martin Armstrong's Agenda

which partly explains why he didn't act as expected. If there is in fact anything that can explain his actions.

Read more at:

Exposed: Armstrong Economics in The Free Republic Forum 

Martin Armstrong The Hyper Shill 

 

Exposed: Armstrong Economics in The Free Republic Forum

Martin Armstrong as delta7 and his assistant aMorePerfectUnion have been hyperactive as Hyper Shills in that Free Republic forum for decades!

I am exposing Armstrong here for the first time, on Sun Feb 19 2024 as a worldwide first.

delta7

In that forum, at the time of Feb 19 2024, he has posted (republished) 134 armstrongeconomics.com blog pages out of his 500 of his articles there in total.

Being the Hyper Shill as I know him, true to his style, he likes to introduce himself as an Armstrong follower who greatly benefited from Armstrong. Example:

delta7 in "Has Europe Just Committed Suicide?" 

Be sure to visit the website for imbedded graphics, charts, supporting documentation, key dates.

I have followed Martin for 25 years- he has been spot on, so spot on he is the only independent financial “ expert” to have been called upon by more than a dozen governments…from the US ( Volkner, Trump) to China to Australia to England ( he was personal friends with Thatcher and is credited with saving the Pound when Soros destroyed it).

When challenged, he gives replies of a style that some people who know the truth about him are all too familiar with:

delta7 in "Has Europe Just Committed Suicide?" 

I have read Armstrong’s forecasts for 25 years- even back when they were paper newsletters.- uncanny.

Those that criticize him are “ unaware” of history and cycles. I post his articles from his website.

His computer Socrates is legend in governments and financial institutions.

Ironically, I have used the papers he published from his paper newsletters he wrote in his prison cell for style analysis to prove his identity. Even his spelling mistakes have not changed since then.

Interestingly, delta7 has been member since Sept 2002, but there is a 16 year gap of his publications (articles and comments) that includes Martin Armstrong's 11 years that he served in prison.

I was alerted by some members of the forum who suspected what was easy to confirm. Finally, in this reply on Thursday, 30 January 2025, Armstrong's delta7 sock puppet gets exposed by TexasGator as follows:

“I have messages thanking me for Armstrong’s work, “

So, you now admit YOU ARE ARMSTRONG!

Amen!

aMorePerfectUnion

In that forum, at the time of Feb 19 2024, he has posted (republished) 12 armstrongeconomics.com blog pages out of his 250 of his articles there in total. He is certainly not Armstrong himself because he was active in the forum during Armstrong's jail time. He stands out when he defends Martin Armstrong following a script similar to that of Martin Armstrong himself:

aMorePerfectUnion lying in "Martin Armstrong's Bad Calls." 

...
You will not go to any other conference and sit next to central bank managers, family office leaders, etc. at the level of the armstrong economic conference.
...

I could not make any style analysis for this guy but I suspect he is a member of his inner circle. So who is aMorePercectUnion?

At the peak of the 2nd incarnation of his business (after he got out of jail), Armstrong paid a large number of shills, and the logic would have been slightly different then from what it is today. But let me start there, where he made the following admission to me, fully exposing the criminal nature of his business. The communication is documented in a public forum here. I am quoting him as he replies to me directly via private message (emphasis added):

I have hundreds of people working for me creating YouTube accounts and other social media accounts posting positive reviews and feedback. I STILL GET fresh victims daily
...
Maybe you should come work for me? We could really use you around here. We have many aspects to our Ponzi scheme and you will be first in line and be a part of our inner circle purely based on the influence you have online and the threat you present against my business. We always pay our people the best and keep paying them for life just so they don't talk too much and God forbid tell the authorities...

MA

The above was his last-ditch attempt to lure me into a partnership in his business, to recruit me, and to motivate me for deleting thousands of comment messages from hundreds of his YouTube videos.

Because in this message he admits that he pays shills and the fact that as the leader of his inner circle, he has been working as a shill almost 7 days a week for years, I must conclude that he expects at least similar work from the members of his inner circle. What else would they need to do for the money he pays them?

At this time, in Feb 2024, his business has reached a terminal decline, an the end of life period See:

The Defeat of Martin Armstrong

Kentfromohio 

He is another paid shill who posts the well-known lies to help Armstrong find new suckers or to defend him:

Kentfromohio defends Armstrong with lies in "Tariffs to End the War?"

Martin Armstrong is a very credible economist specializing in global currencies and international finance. He has advised governments around the world including the US for decades. He practices sound economics. You comment indicates you know nothing of him and have probably never read his articles or listened to interviews with him.

and

Kentfromohio praises Armstrong in "Putin would be a Fool Again To Agree to Complete Cease-Fire as EU Prepares for War"

Good post by Martin Armstrong. I agree with all that he says in this commentary. I have followed his analysis for years and find that he is very consistent and provides sound advice and very sound forecasts. He understands human nature and the nature of political leaders. He is right about what Russia should do.

 

appeal2 

He is a long time paid shill who has promoted Armstrong with dozens of interviews on his Financial Survival Network YouTube Channel. His Name is Kerry Lutz. He exposes himself in a recent post where he defends his book about Armstrong:

Kerry Lutz as appeal2 advertises his book on Free Republic

Address the facts. They are laid out in my.book. I am not a cult, I have followed his work. Let’s see some higher reasoning here. He’s made these calls that turned out to be right. His batting average is not 100, but he is better than anyone else and I have talked with thousands on my podcast over the past 14 years. Let’s hear logic and a cohesive argument. Let;s put his legal troubles aside for a moment and strictly pay attention to his record.

His book THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MARTIN ARMSTRONG -Conversations with the Master Forecaster" is a total scam. It consists of copies of computer-generated transcripts of all his Armstrong YouTube interviews that everyone can still see on the internet.

 

Update

Not long after my exposé it became obvious that the people running the Free Republic forum are turning a blind eye on Armstrong. Armstrong has been immune against eviction even when caught violating forum rules, with violations that others were seen getting "zotted" for rather quickly. I have had conversations with multiple long time forum members who reported him many times.

And Armstrong operates in his own Free Republic echo chamber undeterred because he does not scale back his self promoting content even when severely challenged.

Martin Armstrong knows that he can afford to provoke other members who challenge him, with the aim to get them banned by the moderators. He can afford to do this because he pays money for the service.

Free Republic is a Criminal Enterprise, with Echo Chambers run for The Scammers

Free Republic is a forum for scammers and (their) suckers. The suckers think it is THEIR forum but it is actually dictated by and run for scammers who provide most of the content. Free Republic takes money from suckers AND from scammers such as Martin Armstrong. Free Republic and Martin Armstrong himself pay a number of people who suppress any criticism to the point where the shills outnumber the critics. They eliminate critics by "zotting" them. They have undercover moderators and spies who work as cheerleaders of the shill crowd. Their  job is easy. Often, they provoke the critics to make the scheme less obvious. One of the undercover moderators is Bikkuri.

To prove my point, I only need to quote one of the suckers who admits that half of the content of the site is supplied by the scammers (emphasis added): BobL defending Martin Armstrong on Jan 26, 2025

... As to suckers paying a subscription fee - half of the articles posted here link to those types of sites, and their credibility is FAR WORSE than what I just read from in this clip ...

The moderation occurs under the cover of forum rules of conduct. The suckers get tricked into thinking that any enemies of the forum get banned because of some deviant political biases. Perhaps sometimes. But they get banned mainly because they undermine the business agenda when they question the integrity of the scammers.

Inevitably, the moderators, shills and suckers accuse the critics of shooting the messenger instead of discussing the clickbait of the scammers. This puts the critics in a difficult situation.

It is the critics who have a message that nobody else is prepared to discuss because it cannot be refuted. Effectively, the moderators and shills are making the ad hominem attacks because it is them who refuse to discuss the criticism. In the end, this is a moot point because the moderators always win.

This environment has created a genre of challengers (only a handful) who are long time members and who know how to not break the rules when warning unsuspecting members of Armstrong's devious scam tactics. Perseverance is their preferred tactic that has a chance limiting the damage that the scammers can do. But there is no lasting solution because as I wrote above, money is involved as everywhere else you look in Armstrong's sphere.

Backlash, End of Story 

On Oct 26, 2025, Armstrong posted a promotional article on Free Republic,  featuring his Greg Hunter interview Armstrong Called In to Prevent WWIII. Someone had already forced Greg Hunter's hand to change the title from originally "Trump Finally Calls in Armstrong to Prevent WWIII - Martin Armstrong".

Armstrong's first comment reads: "The Armstrong bashers have no idea how many sovereign governments call upon Armstrong for advice....now, even President Trump's team has called upon him." 

This article was pulled by the moderators with the note "scammer".

I find it interesting that the article was not pulled from the start, only about 30 minutes later after at least 23 comments were made. Most of the comments were critical of Armstrong such as "I never see anyone touting Armstrong’s genius but himself..." and "You still peddling this convicted felon and confidence-man?".

This combination of facts indicates to me that the community backlash is close to outweighing the benefit of the payments that Armstrong makes to Free Republic, payments that may have dwindled.

On Nov 4, 2025, another of Armstrong's article was pulled from the administrator less than five minutes after its appearance, again with the note "scammer". It looks like Armstrong's lease of his echo chamber at Free Republic has expired.

 

 

Read more:

Martin Armstrong The Hyper Shill

Martin Armstrong and the Russians

Martin Armstrong Book: The Private and Local Money During Financial Crises

In this article I will introduce a Martin Armstrong blog page that he uses to sell a new book "The Private and Local Money During Financial Crises".

Then I will reveal his sales strategy, the trick he uses to sell the book (no, he can't sell the book normally because as usual, it is probably not worth buying).

Then I will show that Martin Armstrong is so sloppy in the production of his tricks that even a casual observer without any background can discover and verify immediately that his story is fake. At last I will produce further analysis that proves that his blog page title is pure disinformation.

Martin Armstrong's Blog Page

Argentina to Permit Provinces to Create Own Currencies

 

The Sales Strategy

The theme for selling the book is that he is so competent in the subject matter of the book that he even acts as an adviser of an acting head of state in that subject matter. This is false advertising, a misrepresentation of performance which is illegal.

The Shill Trick

Please let me remind you that Martin Armstrong is by court order barred permanently from association with any financial adviser, so a claim to advise a head of state in financial matters is fraudulent and the act would be illegal. See:

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION

Therefore, Martin Armstrong uses a trick that allows him to make that claim nevertheless. He uses an anonymous shill who makes the claim on his behalf for perfect deniability. More specifically, he writes himself an email as described in The Fake Fan Email Confidence Trick

No head of state would possibly use Martin Armstrong as an adviser because he has been exposed of making such fake claims before. See:

Which Government has asked Martin Armstrong for Advice?

Martin Armstrong's Claim collapses on itself

In his reply to himself, he writes:

I am not at liberty to say who I have spoken with because we have to sign confidentiality agreements.

It is a lie that Armstrong has a confidentiality agreement because if he had one, the publishing of his blog page would be the first and most prominent a violation of it.

Martin Armstrong's Blog Page Title is Disinformation

The assertion "Argentina to Permit Provinces to Create Own Currencies" is false. See:

Financial Times on Feb 04, 2024:
Milei clashes with Argentine province over plans to issue its own currency,02, 2024

On Wednesday, his interior minister sent a letter to La Rioja’s government warning that issuing its own currency was illegal and could endanger future funding for the province.

 

Further reading:

About Martin Armstrong's Books