Clinton SuperPac Admits to Paying Internet Trolls
Bernie_on_a_Plane.jpg
My candidate flies coach. My donations don't pay for AstroTurf.

The Daily Beast reports that Clinton SuperPac “Correct the Record” is openly admitting to spending $1 million to hire fake online Hillary supporters to swarm social media sites like Reddit and counteract Sanders' [actually existent unpaid] enthusiastic supporters' points about Hillary in the interest of “unity”.  Barf. 

Couple quick things: first, there have been a number of diaries claiming to “have switched from Bernie to Hillary” lately, and some of them have been from recently created accounts with no record of pro-Sanders remarks or diaries. More such people have populated the comment sections of such diaries, and someone is reccing them despite what I judge to be their incredible lack of helpful information. That is just a fact, and my opinion about said fact. Second, if one wanted to make the case that there were a vast Clintonian conspiracy behind that rash of new accounts and diaries, this is certainly what one might consider corroborating evidence. Note the SuperPac has already spent $4.5 million on God knows what. So let's be honest this could have been already happenening, and now they believe they have more or less locked up the nomination and so are getting more belligerent/open about it. Third, note that Sanders-supporting diaries tend to still dominate the rec list day in, day out, and that Sanders has no Super Pac. We are on to your presumptive corporate shilling, in other words. Not that we can prove it. What I'm saying is that this is why I have donated so much money to Bernie, because he is a candidate whose message, strategy and tactics are all above board. I.e. What they appear to be. He has gotten this far without steroids. Paid or not, Clinton supporters are welcome aboard.

Citing “lessons learned from online engagement with ‘Bernie Bros,’” a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC is pledging to spend $1 million to “push back against” users on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Instagram.

Correct the Record’s “Barrier Breakers” project boasts in a press release that it has already “addressed more than 5,000 people that have personally attacked Hillary Clinton on Twitter.” The PAC released this on Thursday.

The PAC was created in May of last year when it was spun off from the American Bridge SuperPAC, which is run by longtime Hillary and Bill Clinton supporter David Brock. Brock also founded the left-wing media watchdog website Media Matters for America.

Some Bernie Sanders-supporting users on Reddit already started to notice the changes on Thursday afternoon.

“This explains why my inbox turned to cancer on Tuesday,” wrote user OKarizee. “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, which has received $5 million this campaign season and has spent almost $4.5 million of it, according to OpenSecrets.org, outlined its strategy against “swarms of anonymous attackers” in a press release.

Update: if you want a case in point, look at the diary smearing Dr. Jane Sanders that's on the Rec list, and then look at the date the diarist joined.

Update 2: I give you exhibit B Attack diary on Dr. Jane Sanders by a diarist who joined almost a week ago. Note that I can't PROVE this diarist is a paid troll, nor am I ACCUSING, simply pointing out what a clear pattern is occuring here. www.dailykos.com/...


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Looks like there will probably be some new diarists writing here at DKos: 

Lessons learned from online engagement with “Bernie Bros” during the Democratic Primary will be applied to the rest of the primary season and general election–responding quickly and forcefully to negative attacks and false narratives. Additionally, as the general election approaches, the task force will begin to push out information to Sanders supporters online, encouraging them to support Hillary Clinton.

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We’ve known about Bernie’s paid trolls at Revolution Messaging for some time now.  It’ll be interesting to see some troll on troll violence here once Hillary gets her own troll army.

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Paid by whom? 

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Bernie’s campaign. 

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Got any links? 

Its latest FEC Financial Summary shows just how outrageous campaign spending has become. In the nine months since starting his candidacy, Sanders has accumulated $96,311,423 in “Receipts” (contributions). However, running for the president’s job is costly – Bernie 2016 reports a whopping $81,649,471 in “Disbursements” (expenses).

There are the usual items: staff salaries, rent, airfare, hotel rooms,sound equipment, credit cards, catering, food (lots of pizza), office supplies, ad buys, software, computers, train rides, port-a-potties, internet service, security and at least one limousine rental. You name it, you’ll likely find it. After all, it take a village to run a campaign.

Revolution Messaging consumed twenty percent of those disbursements (see table below). Its services through the end of January have cost Bernie Sanders over $16 million. The biggest chunk came during that month and totaled nearly $7 million.

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