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Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

justice.gov

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Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#51

Post by BitwiseFool »

flyingcircus3 wrote: post #40
happytoexplain wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>ironically the joke meme the rеtard stalinists are now hysterically pretending was "еlection interference" is basically how they interfered with this еlection. Trolling aside, what does this outburst mean in relation to the image?

The tweet is an example of what seems to be the right's favorite method of argument of late: Decontextualize the subject to the point where it can be equated to something the left has done/previously supported. Here, the left voted by mail in larger numbers than the right. That's how they interfered with the election, supposedly. Just like the sign is recommending voting from home. See also: BLM riots are the same as…

Decontextualizing is just the norm on the internet. I don't think it's a favorite tactic of "the right" as much as it's just something everyone does when having short arguments online. A recent example I noticed is how the Parler deplatforming was boiled down to "it's a private company denying service just like what that cake shop did".

A nuanced and evenhanded discussion just isn't conducive to our neutered attention spans or the desire for upvotes and clap-back repartee.

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#52

Post by dragonwriter »

DannyB2 wrote: post #11

The announcement is dated: Wednesday, January 27, 2021 (today) > Douglass Mackey, aka Ricky Vaughn, 31, of West Palm Beach, was charged by criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York. He was taken into custody this morning So he was taken into custody this morning. (today) > As alleged in the complaint, between September 2016 and November 2016, in the lead up to the Nov. 8, 2016, U.S. Presidential Election…

> They're only now dealing with something that happened over four years ago?

“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine”.

> Am I missing something?

Yes, the history of the crime and related events related in the complaint linked fromm the press release. Compressing a bit:

The various Twitter accounts used in 2016 were under false names, a Congressional Candidate for whom Mackey worked outed Mackey as connected to the “Ricky Vaughn” the accounts in late 2018, the FBI interviewed that candidate and a documentary filmmaker who has interviewed “Ricky Vaughn” in 2018 and confirmed the identity in late 2020. There's lots of stuff not directly germane to the charges against Mackey about the narrative left out, but there was presumably more investigation to attempt to identify others involved because several co-conspirators are listed only by Twitter IDs.

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#53

Post by Person5478 »

ev1 wrote: post #3
ericras wrote: post #2

The meme in question: https://twitter.com/squid_o_the_day/status/13544897278319697...

For those that didn't quite understand this (like me ..): The person in question posted large amounts of images like this - fraudulently said it was paid for by the campaign to elect the candidate - specifically targeted people of colour that supported a non-conservative candidate - told those people that they could text a number to vote instead of vote (which is not valid), and to avoid voting in person afterward -…

yeah I went in expecting to disagree, but then agreed wholeheartedly.

That's no different than setting up a "voting booth" in a black neighborhood so they don't go to a real voting booth. 100% deserve jail time for that.

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#54

Post by ndiscussion »

admax88q wrote: post #48
ndiscussion wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does it say about their intelligence that they didn't choose to learn about internet scams, given how devastating they can be?

What does it say about your intelligence that you didnt choose to learn about diabetes given how devastating it can be?

My BMI is 20 what's yours?

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi...

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#55

Post by ndiscussion »

dbingham wrote: post #38
ndiscussion wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does it say about their intelligence that they didn't choose to learn about internet scams, given how devastating they can be?

It says that they've had better things to do with their time than waste a lot of it on the internet.

Fantastic level of coping skills. I'm too IMPORTANT to be smart!

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#56

Post by dragonwriter »

function_seven wrote: post #37
mc32 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A case like this doesn’t go from 0 to 100 in a week.

I think that's parent's point. The case was stuck at "99" (like the old IE progress bar) internally, and only now has it been permitted to reach "100"

The Complaint details the key connection being made between the pseudonym and the real person in a podcast appearance by a Congressional Candidate in 2018, and key FBI investigative activities occurring in October 2020, so it's not like it has gotten to 99 before Trump was in office and then Trump’s DOJ sat on it until Biden came into office.

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#57

Post by mikestew »

core-questions wrote: post #22
ndiscussion wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But actually, stupid people are more likely to get viruses, and I've never fallen for any scams.

How do we feel about some kind of objective standardized test that you'd have to pass in order to be allowed to vote? Should cover some high-school basics as well as an understanding of the published platform for all major candidates in the election.

How do we feel about some kind of objective standardized test that you'd have to pass in order to be allowed to vote?

Sure you want that? Because if there are any questions on the test about Jim Crow laws, you're going to fail.

https://www.treeoflogic.com/literacy_test.htm

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#58

Post by mcguire »

hprotagonist wrote: post #18

For example, on Nov. 1, 2016, Mackey allegedly tweeted an image that featured an African American woman standing in front of an “African Americans for [the Candidate]” sign. The image included the following text: “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text ‘[Candidate’s first name]’ to 59925[.] Vote for [the Candidate] and be a part of history.” The fine print at the bottom of the image stated: “Must be 18 or older to vote…

There's also

"The complaint alleges that in 2016, Mackey established an audience on Twitter with approximately 58,000 followers. A February 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab ranked Mackey as the 107th most important influencer of the then-upcoming Election, ranking his account above outlets and individuals such as NBC News (#114), Stephen Colbert (#119) and Newt Gingrich (#141)."

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#59

Post by dragonwriter »

anonu wrote: post #4

What exactly is the code or law that is being broken here? Don't get me wrong - guys like this should be shutdown. By who is altogether another debate. The govt rarely loses when they bring cases like this - so they probably think they have a pretty airtight case. Any background or clarification would be helpful - as both the press release and complaint are scant on details. EDIT: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/t…

> this says "2 or more persons" to be a conspiracy.

And the complaint includes 4 co-conspirators identified by Twitter IDs. Conspiracy doesn't require the other co-conspirators to be charged simultaneously, or at all, it only requires that they exist.

Re: Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference

#60

Post by dragonwriter »

woah wrote: post #30

Is everyone else thinking what I'm thinking? Did Trump suppress this investigation for 4 years?

> Did Trump suppress this investigation for 4 years?

The key FBI interviews, per the Complaint, were conducted in fall of 2020. So, no.

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