Thread by @BuffyWicks

Here’s our sorry excuse of a president—the President of the United States of America—on Russian state TV calling Vladimir Putin “a great guy.” He’s a dictator who rules w/impunity, oversees terror campaigns against LGBTQ+ ppl, & attacked our democracy.

It comes just a day after the son of our president — accidentally gave away the game, when he posted this vile tweet about Senator @KamalaHarris during the Democratic Debate. He then deleted it, but not before observant watchdogs figured out it was an aggressive bot campaign—

.@RVAwonk did yeomans work uncovering just how quickly the message @DonaldJTrumpJr shared ab @KamalaHarris had spread. It spread through a network of fake @Twitter accounts. The same vile, hateful msg.

https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1144461081189875712

In response to stories unmasking the bots, new bots started pushing a new narrative: bots w/African American profile photos, claiming they were⁠ being suppressed by the DNC. And also, apparently, folks w/amazing telekinetic powers to share the same exact message, verbatim.

.@realDonaldTrump & Putin's fear of @KamalaHarris apparently knows no bound, bc the willingness of their bots to go low, has no limit.

I hesitate to share these, bc they're truly vile statements ab 2 ppl I know & respect. But what's being done by bots on this site, must be seen.

These bots aren't just attacking @KamalaHarris, they're attacking the entire progressive movement. They're set up to respond to subjects hated by the far right.

Post ab conditions @ the detention camps on border? Were you told to stop crying & get off your ass? That was a bot.

Now, w/that last set you might say the msg was good: "Donate $, resources or vol time to make conditions better. Don’t just bitch ab it & cont to act hypocritical."

But look more closely—do those handles & profile pics strike you as ppl who would TRULY care? No? Bc they're fake.

Last wk, I tweeted my most popular tweet ever. Someone responded w/a similar "get off your ass & do something" msg. The response made it clear they didn't know I was an elected member of the CA State Assembly, so I informed them.

It went viral, receiving almost 2.5M impressions—

After the tweet went viral, something curious happened: several ppl messaged me to say they had similar msgs⁠—w/the same exact phrasing⁠—sent in response to 1 of their tweets. What did they share w/mine? They also used the resist hashtag, seems to be a favorite for Trump bots:

These bots spew hate all over @Twitter. They revel in spreading racist, misogynist, xenophobic, homophobic lies.

1 of the most vile lies was spewed by @realDonaldTrump himself: that @SpeakerPelosi & Dems support infanticide. Truly foul. But a REAL favorite of Trump & Putin bots.

I wish I could say this series of tweets was the product of intense research. It wasn't.

As a female elected official in CA, these Trump bots set their sights on my account. You start to see patterns: sports helmet pic. #MAGA handle. No followers. But VERY strong⁠—hateful—views

What do we do to #BeatTheBots? The truth is, I don't know—yet.

Here's what I do know: we must do something. And fast. These bots are corrosive⁠—feeding off of our worst frailties, insecurities & fears. Is it any wonder @realDonaldTrump is driving them?

huffpost.com/entry/twitter-…

Here's what we can't rely on: we can't rely on @Jack or @Twitter to #BeatTheBots. Bc it wouldn't be that difficult. They could do it. They simply refuse to⁠—and in refusing, this racism, misogyny, homophobia, & xenophobia continues to spread, unchecked. buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…

I sit on the Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee in the CA State Assembly. Now, I've only been in ofc for just under 7 months⁠—but I'm committed to addressing the unchecked power of #BigTech.

The health of our democracy requires we #BeatTheBots.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…