This is only a small example of how networks of troll-bots will be operating though the 2020 election. WTF indeed.
Multiple far-right figures helped a likely network of bot accounts spread a false claim on social media connecting former Texas congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke with an alleged mass shooter in Texas.
On August 31, a gunman in Odessa and Midland, TX, killed seven people. While the alleged shooter’s motive is still unknown, a false claim appeared afterward on social media that the alleged shooter had an O’Rourke sticker on his car (authorities said there is no evidence for this) and reportedly spread with the help of likely bot accounts. Other crucial players that spread the falsity included multiple accounts supporting the QAnon conspiracy theory, a member of Turning Point USA’s advisory council, far-right gang the Proud Boys, a former Trump White House adviser and current Sinclair contributor Sebastian Gorka, and current Trump campaign adviser Tony Shaffer.
As both @conspirator0 & The Washington Post reported, the initial account that started this about O'Rourke spread in a suspicious manner that suggested a bot network. But besides that, some of the biggest amplifiers of the false claim on Twitter & Facebook were QAnon supporters.
That includes a Facebook account whose meme pushing the false claim got tens of thousands of shares. The O'Rourke campaign specifically called out this post last night.
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After the spread of the claim with the assist of QAnon accounts, Joel Fischer, a TPUSA advisory council member who has a history of pushing social media falsities, pushed the claim. The tweet went viral & was picked up by Sebastian Gorka & the Proud Boys on Telegram.
The false claim was also picked up by Tony Shaffer, a member of Trump’s 2020 advisory board, who pushed the claim from the original account that started it (which has since been suspended). Schaffer doubled down when asked about the tweet by The Washington Post.
Today’s example: