Right-wing youth indoctrination outfit Turning Point USA (known to us as Trump-Jugend) has been paying teenagers sub-minimum wages to fill social media platforms with attacks on Democratic candidates and disinformation about coronavirus. Twitter and Facebook noticed and shut down the adolescents’ accounts last month. Yesterday, Facebook removed more “inauthentic accounts”and banned Rally Forge, the political marketing firm that helped Turning Point’s Charlie Kirk turn out the teen trolls. Rally Forge is owned by Arizona Republican official Jake Hoffman, who is also behind a phantom campaign called “Navajos for Trump.”
More:
“Facebook bans marketing firm running ‘troll farm’ for pro-Trump youth group,” Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post
Astoundingly, “on-shoring,” one of Donald Trump’s political promises, is happening. His 2020 campaign’s troll farms have moved from Russia to Arizona. A branch of right-wing youth indoctrination outfit Turning Point USA (known to us as Trump-Jugend) has been paying teenagers sub-minimum wages to fill social media platforms with attacks on Democratic candidates and disinformation about coronavirus. Twitter and Facebook finally noticed and shut down the teen accounts this week.
Turning Point Action, an arm of the nominally-nonprofit Turning Point USA, contracted right-wing social media company Rally Forge (get it?) to coordinate the teen trolls’ spamming. Funding may have flowed through shadow political action groups Turning Point PAC and/or RallyPAC. Turning Point USA, Turning Point Action, and Students for Trump are all headed by Charlie Kirk. Rally Forge and RallyPAC are both run by Jake Hoffman. Turning Point Action and Rally Forge are also behind a phantom campaign called “Navajos for Trump.”
More:
“Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a ‘troll farm,’ prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter,” Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post
Related:
“Turning Point USA co-founder dies of coronavirus-related complications,” Daniel Lippman and Tina Nguyen, Politico
“Pro-Trump super PAC backed solely by bank executive used donations to fund Facebook conspiracy meme campaign,” Brian Schwartz, CNBC
CNN Political Commentator Rick Santorum, former Republican Senator and erstwhile Pope of Pennsylvania, is now on the board of a blockchain-y digital coin called Cathio, “a new payment, remittance and funding platform which provides efficient, secure, and transparent movement of funds within the Catholic world,” promising to provide a “turnkey solution for Catholic organizations to bring their financial transactions into alignment with their beliefs.” “Turnkey”? Wouldn’t that be St. Peter?
How did a Pennsylvania politico get involved with Vatican Venmo? Maybe it’s because his son-in-law is the firm’s CEO.
More:
“Rick Santorum Is a Cryptocurrency Guy Now, Apparently,” Tom Mckay, Gizmodo
“Santorum, Schlapp Shill For Catholic Crypto Coin Whose Founder Has Sketchy Past,” Josh Kovensky, TPM Muckraker
Wayne LaPierre isn’t on the CPAC agenda, but since the NRA is CPAC’s biggest sponsor and the biggest donor to GOP campaigns, he’s certain to deliver his usual demagoguery. There’s a half-hour slot on Thursday’s agenda at 10 AM marked “Special Programming,” so that’s our bet. Mike Pence will bless the gathered wingnuts afterwards, at 10:30.
Gun-totin,’ Trump-votin’ Tea-Party environmental activist Debbie Dooley: “If you think fossil fuel is not damaging the environment, pull your car in a garage, start up your engine, and inhale the exhaust fumes for a few minutes and see what happens.”
Ms. Dooley runs Conservatives for Energy Freedom, and advocates for the expansion of renewable energy. She explains how to explain renewable energy to her fellow conservatives: “If you lead off with climate change, they’re not going to pay a bit of attention to anything else you say.”
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Even though Mr. Falwell Jr. has encouraged Liberty University students to carry concealed handguns on campus and keep them in their dorms, firearms were not permitted in Lynchburg’s Williams Stadium during commencement exercises. Oh ye of little faith ….
Mr. Trump urged the graduates to adhere to the basic founding principles of our Republic, Christian Nationalism, critic-bashing, and college football. Since 30% of Americans are not Christians, will their citizenship be revoked? And if you’re counting critics, 58% of your neighbors disapprove of the job President Trump is doing. And of course many people prefer the NFL to college football. No wonder Trump is fast-tracking Deportation Force recruiting.
Related:
“At Liberty University, All Sins Are Forgiven on the Altar of Football,” Michael Powell, New York Times
Update:
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The suspense is over: President Donald Trump named Federal Appellate Judge Neil Gorsuch as “Man Most Likely to Be Cast as a Supreme Court Justice in a TV Movie.” “I have selected an individual whose qualities define — really, and I mean closely define — what we’re looking for,” said the president, a devotee of central casting.
“It’s ‘The Apprentice, Supreme Court Edition,’ as Trump Summons Finalists to White House,” Maggie Haberman, Michael Grynbaum, and Ron Nixon, New York Times
Related:
“Behind the Smoke Screen: What Reality-TV Veterans Think of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” Julie Miller and Josh Duboff, Vanity Fair
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