Chuck Holton
Politics • Culture • News
Chuck Holton is an American war correspondent, published author, and motivational speaker.
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Russian Disinformation Rules in Armenia

I just had a chance to sit and enjoy a nice lunch with some new Armenian friends. They're working-class people, salt of the earth, and I'd say a good "average joe" in Armenia. Polite and friendly to a fault, they plied us with more food than we could eat in two days.

The TV was going in the room, a cultural difference I noticed right away. In the States, I'd never have a TV going while guests were at my house. Anyway, the channel was tuned to Russian State Media channel 1.

If you've been watching the news today you've likely seen the horrific images coming out of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, after two Russian missiles slammed into the train station, where thousands of people were waiting for a train, hoping to escape the renewed Russian offensive. More than 30 people were killed and 100 were wounded.

The Russian media was covering it non-stop. But their spin was that this was all fake news - that in reality, Ukraine had sent those missiles to kill its own civilians, all in a ploy to make Russians look bad.

The Russian channel was discussing how pieces of the missile were from a "Tochka" rocket, and claimed that only Ukraine has those. This is an outright lie. There are many instances documented of Russians using Soviet-era Tochka ballistic missiles, in this war and in others. You could see the hosts knew they were lying, by the way they kept looking away from the camera as they spoke...especially the woman on set. She couldn't deny the horror of what they were showing on camera.

What's amazing is that my host was so inclined to buy into this obvious cynicism. He repeated many of the talking points Russian media has been spouting about Ukraine and the US since the war began. A couple of these lies I was able to debunk from personal experience - I was there on the ground and could plainly see the talking points were lies. And I told him so.

His answer was telling. "The side whose propaganda does the best job lying is the side who will win."

I couldn't agree more.

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Is the U.S. Training Syria’s New Jihadist Army?

Very few media outlets are talking about this, but they should be — urgently.

While most of the world is distracted, U.S. troops are conducting live training exercises in Syria with the forces of the country’s new interim government, now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa — a man widely known as a former Al Qaeda affiliate.

Let that sink in.

Recent reports confirm that U.S. personnel at the Al-Tanf garrison have been training members of the so-called 70th Division, a unit formed from remnants of the Syrian Free Army, which now pledges loyalty to this new government. This comes right on the heels of a massacre of Druze civilians, allegedly carried out by those very same government-aligned forces.

Aiding the Next Generation of Jihadists?
This isn’t just a questionable policy — it could be morally catastrophic.

Druze communities, who have long sought neutrality in Syria’s civil war, were brutally attacked.

Christian populations in the region are living in fear, as radical factions become emboldened ...

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Debunked

Debunked: Following several accusations that Israel is causing famine in Gaza, COGAT has released drone footage of the hundreds of truckloads of supplies waiting to be delivered to Gaza by the UN. A statement accompanying the footage claims that 'There is enough food here to feed all of Gaza, if the UN ever came to pick it up.

00:00:39
Did Jewish Settlers Burn a Church?

See for yourself

00:02:32
Episode 622 - Field Producer Dennis Azato and Chuck Reminisce

My erstwhile field producer and cameraman Dennis Azato has accompanied me on ten years of adventures across the globe. Today he joins me in Ukraine and we spend some time remembering our many trips together.

Episode 622 - Field Producer Dennis Azato and Chuck Reminisce
200k Giveaway and Thank You!

We just hit 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, and I want to say thank you. Every view, comment, prayer, and share has helped build this mission. The Hot Zone is about truth on the front lines, and you’ve helped carry it forward.

To celebrate, we’re doing a 200K giveaway. I’m giving out PDF copies of my books, including Making Men. To enter, comment when you started watching and your favorite Hot Zone moment under the video linked below.

Winners will be announced in one week. Watch here to enter:
Winners will email [email protected] to claim their prize.

Thank you for standing with us.

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Hamas Releases Images of Starving Hostage

Palestinian Islamic Jihad just released a video of Rom Braslavski.
He looks like he is in Auschwitz.

The ONLY images I’ve seen of starving men in Gaza… are the Jews held in terrorist dungeons.

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Good Morning Zonnies!!! I hope each of you are having a blessed day! Let us Pray for Israel and Chuck and Connie on their travels!

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Weaponizing Aid: Why Gaza’s Suffering Persists

Well folks, I was supposed to be on my way to Thailand right now to cover the war there. But thankfully, that war ended before I had to board a plane—praise God for that. Not just because it spared me 24 hours of cramped flights, but because it spared countless people the devastation of another conflict. So instead, I get a few extra days here in northern Armenia with my grandbaby before Nathan and I take off on our next adventure.

But let’s get to it—the big headline today is humanitarian aid. Everywhere you look, the narrative is the same: “More aid must go to Gaza. People are starving. Israel is to blame.” That’s what the media wants you to believe.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: aid is rarely just about saving lives. Too often, it’s a weapon—used to control populations, prop up corrupt regimes, and advance political agendas.

Billions of Dollars, Decades of Aid – No Change

Global humanitarian aid tops $60 billion a year, yet places like Gaza, Haiti, Afghanistan, and much of sub-Saharan Africa remain locked in poverty and dysfunction. Why? Because aid has become an industry, not a solution.

As Graham Hancock writes in Lords of Poverty, it’s a “self-perpetuating complex” that feeds salaries, conferences, bureaucracy—and never gets judged on results. Billions pour in, but nobody asks, “Did this actually help anyone?”

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Armenia: A Love Story — Special Feature

Chuck is back in Armenia right now, and it is more than just another assignment. The couple featured in his documentary Armenia: A Love Story — Nathan and Rubina — are now expecting their second child. That means Chuck is about to welcome his sixth grandbaby, making this trip a deeply personal and memorable one.

To celebrate, we’re posting a special feature today. It is like an extended trailer for the full documentary and gives you a taste of the powerful story behind it.

If you are a paying supporter, you can watch the full version right now by searching Armenia: A Love Story in the content library.

If you are not a supporter yet, now is the perfect time to join and experience the full journey for yourself. This is a story of faith, resilience, and love in one of the world’s most complex regions.

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Israel at a Crossroads: Conquer, Besiege, or Capitulate?

Hey folks, Chuck Holton here—coming to you one last time from this balcony in Jerusalem before I head to Tel Aviv and then on to the next frontlines. But before I leave, I want to break down some of the most critical developments from the past week in Gaza and beyond. And believe me, there's a lot to unpack.

Three Roads for Israel

Let’s talk strategy. An analysis in Israel Hayom outlines three main options Israel faces in Gaza:

  1. Conquer Gaza: Full military occupation, boots on the ground, control every inch. But that comes at a high cost—thousands of IDF troops deployed indefinitely.

  2. Besiege Gaza: Maintain pressure without full occupation. This could include arming anti-Hamas factions—like Abu Salai’s clan in Rafah—and continuing selective strikes.

  3. Status Quo: Keep doing what they’re doing—limited incursions, hostage negotiations, and intelligence gathering. But this risks being perceived as weak and prolonging the conflict indefinitely.

As I said on Newsmax, the idea of a ceasefire right now is fantasy. Hamas still believes it’s winning—happy to let their people starve if they can pin the blame on Israel. President Trump nailed it:

“You’re gonna have to fight. You’re gonna have to clean it up. You’re gonna have to get rid of them.”

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