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Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference
- ericras 6y agoThe meme in question: https://twitter.com/squid_o_the_day/status/1354489727831969794 https://twitter.com/squid_o_the_day/status/13544897278319697...
- ev1 6y agoFor 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 - therefore resulting in several thousand votes probably not being counted since they never voted, based on carrier logs
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- raverbashing 6y agoYeah. Some things you don't joke about. Not like that at least Like, yeah, you don't make "fake pretend money" that looks like the real thing and get away with it.
- Person5478 6y agoyeah 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.
- happytoexplain 6y ago>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?
- deafsquid5 6y agoIt was a joke and Democrats claimed it was election interference
- bovermyer 6y agoThis account is clearly a troll account specifically targeting this post. A moderator needs to cull this.
- Jtsummers 6y agoThe trick with posters like the GP is to: 1. Not respond. 2. Flag/downvote. When they pop into threads like this one (which are more likely to pull in trolls and kin), flagging will quickly result in accounts like this ending up shadowbanned.
- flyingcircus3 6y agoThe 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 an insurrection, Obama started family separation at the border.
- BitwiseFool 6y agoDecontextualizing 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.
- swebs 6y agoWe've finally entered the age of illegal memes.
- deafsquid5 6y ago09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
- dragonwriter 6y ago> We've finally entered the age of illegal memes. Well, we’ve always been in the age of illegal memes in the sense relevant to the item in question, to wit, “but, I use a meme” has never been a defense to a crime.
- jancsika 6y ago> ironically the joke meme the rеtard stalinists are now hysterically pretending was "еlection interference" is basically how they interfered with this еlection. Unfortunately, I'm not fluent in Clickbaitian. Will someone who is please translate?
- alisonkisk 6y agoThe squid tweeter is pretending that legal voting by mail in 2020 is equivalent to setting up a fake "vote by txt" system under fraudulent pretenses in 2016. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25932826 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25932826
- anonu 6y agoWhat 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/text/18/241 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/241 << this says "2 or more persons" to be a conspiracy.
- woah 6y agoIt says right in the complaint: Title 18, United States Code, Section 241
- striking 6y agoIf you read the complaint, it describes more than one conspirator.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> 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.
- edmundsauto 6y agoOne note of context: Ricky Vaughan (this persons alias) was the name of Charlie sheens rebellious character in Major League.
- ndiscussion 6y agoI'm sure we're better off without the votes of individuals "deprived" their vote by this meme.
- deafsquid5 6y agoAgreed
- relaunched 6y agoI think your comment is repugnant. We all have areas of our life where we can be a little naive. We, as a society, should work to protect the weakest among us - not blame them for their weaknesses. If your problem is that these people aren't smart enough and shouldn't be voting, then a democracy probably isn't for you.
- deafsquid5 6y agoGood for you
- ndiscussion 6y agoYou're right, not that i have a choice.
- happytoexplain 6y agoThis is one version of a broad category of highly elitist sentiments that is disturbingly common. They all take the form of underestimating a person's "intelligence" or "worth" based on that person's understanding of one aspect of one system, e.g. computer virus vectors ("only stupid people get viruses"), social engineering ("only stupid people fall for phone scams"), etc. It's poisonous, and pretty obviously immoral, but most of all, it's indicative of ignorance. Experience with people will demonstrate that this sentiment, even stripped of its hatefulness, just isn't factually true.
- ndiscussion 6y agoBut actually, stupid people are more likely to get viruses, and I've never fallen for any scams.
- deafsquid5 6y agoSo can people sue 4chan for microwaving their iPhones?
- happytoexplain 6y agoIt's more obvious that microwaving your phone is bad than voting by phone or web is bad, more obvious that any given made-up benefit of microwaving your phone is untrue than the ability to vote by phone or web is, and not as harmful as losing your vote. The comparison has too many faults to be useful. You should address the issue directly, rather than relying on analogies.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- DannyB2 6y agoThe 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, Mackey conspired with others to . . . They're only now dealing with something that happened over four years ago? Am I missing something?
- newacct583 6y agoNot sure if this is sarcasm or not, but to spell it out: one good hypothesis might be that the victor in the election in question left office last week and doesn't control the justice department anymore. The same guy fired one FBI director and two attorneys general during the same term. This case seems to be based on a handful of public tweets and some phone records that can be trivially subpoenaed. It's clearly been ready for years, and was likely suppressed internally.
- DannyB2 6y agoNot sarcasm. Your reply was informative. I hadn't considered (although I should have) that the candidate in power would have interfered with the prosecution of this. Thanks.
- mc32 6y agoA case like this doesn’t go from 0 to 100 in a week.
- function_seven 6y agoI 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"
- dragonwriter 6y ago
- hprotagonist 6y agoFor 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. One vote per person. Must be a legal citizen of the United States. Voting by text not available in Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid for by [Candidate] for President 2016.” that seems reasonably open-and-shut "very naughty, no, bad, don't do that!"
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y agoOther sources show this is the code https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/241 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/241
- mcguire 6y agoThere'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)."
- woah 6y agoIs everyone else thinking what I'm thinking? Did Trump suppress this investigation for 4 years?
- cyberlurker 6y agoIt might not have been active suppression but a chilling effect on investigations of this kind.
- 7546746745674 6y ago> chilling effect The only "chilling effect" is people facing ten years in prison for memes.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Did Trump suppress this investigation for 4 years? The key FBI interviews, per the Complaint, were conducted in fall of 2020. So, no.
- seabj0rn 6y agoI love that the filing begins with "A Florida man was arrested this morning..." Florida Man strikes again!
- williesleg 6y agoWhen are they going after voter fraud?
- deafsquid5 6y agoHN is a shitty echo chamber. You tech bros just suck each other's cocks off all day
- 7546746745674 6y agoA leftwing "comedian" did the same thing, directed at Trump voters: https://twitter.com/mskristinawong/status/795999059987173377 https://twitter.com/mskristinawong/status/795999059987173377 https://archive.is/JDJGa https://archive.is/JDJGa When is the FBI coming for her? And where are the "it's a private company" censorship apologists now? The slope is slippery after all.