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Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
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7 Jan, 11 tweets, 6 min read
I’ve spent years researching and warning about veterans being radicalized by foreign and domestic actors spreading viral, bogus, and hateful content. @VetAffairsDems investigated and recently a report. @HouseVetAffairs objected. One of those vets just died in the Capitol.
When I finally got to testify about the 191-page report that I wrote about @VVAmerica’s troll investigation before House Vet Affairs, all the Republicans wasted their time and mine complaining about how Facebook and Twitter were mean to conservatives. This death is on their hands
To be more specific: this death is on the hands of the former committee Ranking Member, @DrPhilRoe, and that of his staff. It was under their direction and leadership that Republicans blocked any and all efforts by Dems to combat the targeting of vets for radicalization online.
Vietnam Veterans of America’s report is available at VVA.org/trollreport
The @VetAffairsDems’ report, as well as links to the hearing that I described, are available here. Big thanks to @RepMarkTakano and staff for their leadership and persistence overcoming Republicans’ partisan roadblocks: veterans.house.gov/news/press-rel…
The Air Force veteran who died in the Capitol last night was radicalized in part by the QAnon conspiracy theory. Here she refers to yesterday as “the storm,” which Q followers have anticipated as the event that would lead to a purge of anything and everything that is not Trump.
This QAnon shit has radicalized a ton of veterans, and been embraced, promoted, and perpetuated by veterans who wield massive online influence, like former Navy vet (and real piece of shit) Jack Prosobiec. The now-dead QAnon Air Force vet retweeted Jack yesterday.
One of QAnon’s central figures (who I’ve been Facebook friends with since 2016 and have watched him and family go increasingly batshit crazy since) is disgraced former Army General and Trump’s first NSA, Mike Flynn. Now-dead QAnon Air Force veteran was influenced by him as well.
A year ago today WaPo published a story about how the entire Trump Administration refused to respond to the findings in VVA’s report. @SecWilkie (who all major vets orgs have called for the resignation of, btw) still refuses to act to get VA to help educate vets in media literacy
.@CISAgov came across the WaPo piece (linked here) and reached out to VVA to start an education campaign to help vets fight against those targeting them online with disinformation. Thanks to @C_C_Krebs + staff, it was the first partnership of its kind.

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
The Capitol riot has claimed the life of not one -- but two veterans.

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More from @KrisGoldsmith85

Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
7 Nov 20
One of the two QAnon wannabe terrorists who traveled to Philly to get arrested last night was Joshua Macias, founder of #VetsForTrump. I discovered last year he tried working with North Macedonians to promote the Vets for Trump... and then they stole his Facebook page.
Josh is an interesting guy. And while Facebook appears to have taken his personal account down, you can see his Twitter account that's still live here: twitter.com/joshuamacias
In late August I noticed that Veterans for Trump was saying goodbye since Josh had "family issues." veteransfordonaldtrump.com/farewell-for-n…
Read 16 tweets
Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
27 Oct 20
Now to be clear, these aren’t hacked materials. The fascists frequently organize via Telegram to mass report stories that they don’t like. These guys gave me the keys, I’m not a hacker.
And furthermore, I'm not doxxing anyone or giving out private information. I'm only discussing a public figure, Thomas Rousseau, who is the only one in the group who is allowed to operate under his real name and without a mask. (Weirdly, these guys call other people "cucks")
So, not being a hacker, I don't know how useful this kind of thing is... but a tipster just sent me Patriot Front's RocketChat subdomain info. Maybe someone out there (like @RocketChat) can do something with this publicly-available info. subdomainfinder.c99.nl/scans/2020-10-…
Read 10 tweets
Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
27 Oct 20
I've spent years tracking + fighting against foreign disinformation campaigns. But after discovering self-described fascist groups like this, I feel the need to re-prioritize a bit. Gen-Z isn't going to save us. Trump losing won't make nazis disappear.

buzzfeednews.com/article/janely…
Patriot Front, a gang of masked kids that credits its success in red-pilling and recruiting Gen-Z white boys on platforms like @tiktok_us, is an @instagram-filter-era nightmare led by a 22-year-old Thomas Rousseau of Grapevine, TX.
It wasn't until @BuzzFeed reached out to @Twitter within the last 24 hours or so that this platform finally booted @pfthomas1488, who was tweeting stuff like veiled threats against the police who arrested him in August.
Read 17 tweets
Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
25 Oct 19
After over 12 years of advocacy, filing appeals, raising awareness for #badpaper... + hundreds of hours on the part of the attorney @UrbanJustice connected me to a decade ago... My discharge has finally been upgraded to Honorable.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who supported me!
@UrbanJustice As wonderful as it is to have this one box on my DD-214 fixed... the @USArmy couldn't let me go without leaving something on my enlisted service record to make it look like I'm a criminal. They've given me an arrest record... which, I do not have.
The new separation authority that they inserted in Box 23 says: "AR 635-200, PARA 5-14."

That translates to "Concealment of Arrest Record (para. 5-14) – If false statements regarding a juvenile or adult offense were made in enlistment documents."

2id.korea.army.mil/soldiers/pdf/l…
Read 19 tweets
Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
7 Aug 19
Need help from Twitter world — I found a lost dog running down the street. In Takoma, Washington DC. No name or number on the collar. Can he be ID’d by the rabies tag? Going to hold until noon when the shelters nearby open. In the meantime, please help me find the owner!
I made a makeshift collar. He’s got a strong drive to go — so I’m letting him lead me — maybe he knows where home is.
Spoke to Vetco — they’re contacting the owner and calling me back.
Read 109 tweets
Kristofer Goldsmith Profile picture
23 Apr 19
5 days ago, I called out the @DailyCaller and exchanged tweets with the editor-in-chief over foreign admins who were involved in running their Facebook page. Thread here:
Today, I got a call from a @DailyCaller reporter looking for a statement on some scoop they think have about about VVA's liberal bias. This same reporter has reported on his perceived liberal bias of other VSO representatives in the past.
I'm very transparent about my personal politics. As are my colleagues, Vietnam veterans who have been fighting for veterans reform on the Hill for decades. I have nothing to hide. I have to wonder if this piece is some kind of retaliation for my comments last week.
Read 7 tweets

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