UPDATE: AnneOnymous is part of the story...but here is the rest as fleshed out by BuzzFeedBen. The Long Strange Leak Of Mitt Romney's 47% Video
On May 17, Mitt Romney spoke bluntly at a fundraiser at the home of a private equity executive in Boca Raton. Someone recorded him speaking, and that unexploded digital ordinance lay around the 2012 campaign until Monday, when it erupted under Romney's campaign. Its emergence offers a glimpse at the workings of the contemporary media: Chaotically driven by an anonymous leaker; empowered by ubiquitous recording devices; and competing not just with other media outlets, but with the source him or herself.
On May 31, someone posting under the handle "Romney Exposed" began putting audio clips on YouTube.
A little over a week later, on June 10, the apparent leaker took a shot at promoting the video, with a series of comments on Huffington Post pointing to the video.
Then
On August 24, one of the recordings — of Romney talking about appalling conditions at a Chinese factory he visited — popped back into the political chatter. It caught the eye of a BuzzFeed contributor who writes and tweets as NYCSouthpaw as well as of BuzzFeed reporter Chris Geidner, and they posted about the "mysterious" video. Romney's campaign didn't comment, or confirm the video's authenticity. (Background sources said Monday that his company did not in fact invest in the factory.)
...Next HuffPo''s turn:
Huffington Post wasn't the only outlet talking to the leaker. James Carter, a Democratic video researcher, had also made contact via Twitter after the first videos surfaced.
The leaker also flirted with releasing the full payload him or herself.
On August 27, another YouTube account — "Anne Onymous" — uploaded an overlapping set of videos, apparently from the same event. One was deceptively edited to make Romney appear to be saying he'd been born with a silver spoon. Others included the comments that sent Romney's campaign into crisis today, his apparent condemnation of 47% of Americans.
And on September 10, a person with the same handle on DailyKos — biography: "To be confirmed by MSM soon. It's real." — posted the key videos to a diary.
Here is the youtube site with the videos:
Playlist of : Leaked Mitt Romney Videos (8)
She (dunno just guessing) quotes from one...and places it on the side of the playlist.
"95% of life is set up for you if you were born in this country. And, I remember going to ah, uh, sorry just to bore you with stories.
When I was back in my private equity days, we went to China to buy a factory there. It employed about 20,000 people. And they were almost all young women between the ages of about 18 and 22 or 23. They were saving for potentially becoming married.
And they work in these huge factories, they made various uh, small appliances. And uh, as we were walking through this facility, seeing them work, the number of hours they worked per day, the pitance they earned, living in dormitories with uh, with little bathrooms at the end of maybe 10, 10 room, rooms. And the rooms they have 12 girls per room.
Three bunk beds on top of each other. You've seen, you've seen them? (Oh...yeah, yeah!)
And, and, and around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed wire and guard towers. And, and, we said gosh! I can't believe that you, you know, keep these girls in! They said, no, no, no. This is to keep other people from coming in.
Because people want so badly to come work in this factory that we have to keep them out. Or they will just come in here and start working and, and try and get compensated. So we, this is to keep people out. And they said, actually Chinese New Year as the girls go home, sometimes they decide they've saved enough money and they don't come back to the factory.
And he said, so, on the weekend after Chinese New Year there will be a line of people hundreds long, outside the factory, hoping that some girls haven't come back. And they can come to the factory. And, and so as we were experiencing this for the first time, going to see a factory like this in China some years ago.
The Bain Partner I was with turned to me and said, you know, 95% of life is settled if you are born in America. This is uh, this is an amazing land and what we have is unique and fortunately it is so special we are sharing it with the world."
-Mitt Romney-
FOR those interested, she also has a Twitter account note one to David Corn from August 28. see below the squiggle.
TWITTER account of AnneOnymous670
Shows this as first tweet: Made on August 28.
@AnneOnymous670
@DavidCornDC More leaked Mitt Romney fundraiser video. He admits buying sweatshop. More to come. Foreign policy, etc. http://www.youtube.com/...
Following that one more on Aug 28:
@AnneOnymous670
@donnabrazile Romney buys Chinese Bain sweatshop, 20,000 young girls, 12 girls per room, 120 girls per bathroom. http://www.youtube.com/... …
Then not till Aug 30
@AnneOnymous670
@MittRomney "We use @AnnDRomney sparingly right now so people don't get tired of her" http://www.youtube.com/... … I can see how that would happen.
and also Aug 30
@DWStweets #Romney "I wish we weren't unionized!" http://youtu.be/... #Romney brags about #Bain #Sweatshop http://youtu.be/... #LaborDay
Then she ponders:
#MITTROMNEY wants 20,000 #AmericanTroops back in Iraq. http://youtu.be/... I wonder why any of his sons haven't enlisted?
Then they start up again this morning...there are about 4 made between 7 and 10AM
Then she sees the piece go up on MOTHER JONES: and there are a total of 49 to various tweeps including @dailykos linking article:
Here is DK one:
@dailykos SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters http://www.motherjones.com/... …
SO @DavidCornDC may have picked up his on Aug 28
How about... ? Donna Brazile? and DWStweets
Anyway... I appreciate the effort this person is putting in to get this information out to Americans, it hasn't been easy for them. For example, see: 'KOS: Crap Community Behavior' http://www.dailykos.com/...
with its assorted, very assorted, comments, excuses etc.