A pro-Hillary Clinton PAC is spending $1 million to create a digital propaganda machine that will spread pro-Clinton information and debate anything that casts Clinton in a negative light. The PAC is launching a hired “task force” of online trolls to manipulate Clinton’s image.
[revad1]
The PAC, named Correct the Record, is launching an initiative called “Barrier Breakers 2016”. An official press release states the initiative will focus on debating supporters of Bernie Sanders that they’ve affectionately named “Bernie Bros”. In a highly hypocritical move the group plans to carry out its mission to “combat online political harassment” by directly attacking and debating anyone who posts anti-Clinton sentiments on social media sites. The group brags that they’ve already:
“addressed more than 5,000 individuals who have personally attacked Secretary Clinton on Twitter.”
Their ultimate goal is to create an online “safe space” where Clinton supporters can gather and share pro-Clinton information without having to engage anyone with a dissenting opinion. They will then take the information and content created in these “safe spaces”and circulate it throughout other online communities and social media sites.
“The task force will provide a presence and space online where Clinton supporters can organize and engage with one another and are able to obtain graphics, videos, gifs, and messaging to use in their own social spaces,”
The group of trolls has been organized in anticipation of the 2016 general election. However, many online users are claiming to already be feeling the effects of the group’s effort. One Reddit user, that goes by the handle OKarizee, wrote on the popular content sharing site Reddit.com:
“This explains why my inbox turned to cancer on Tuesday,[I’ve] been a member of reddit for almost 4 years and never experienced anything like it. In fact, in all my years on the internet I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
Correct the record is openly “creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation.” and is using FCE loopholes to openly coordinate with the Clinton campaign. PACs are normally prohibited from coordinating with political campaigns but Correct the record claims that it can coordinate because the information is being posted to internet forums and blogs. They claim that material posted to the internet for free does not count as an “independent expenditure” and is exempt from a supreme court ruling that outlawed this type of behavior for independent expenditures for political campaigns.
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