In the Summer of '19 @mastersonmv and the @CISAgov elections team started the #WarOnPineapple to raise awareness about how #disinfo campaigns work. Step 5, "Taking the Conversation into the Real World," is what we saw on Weds when incited insurrectionists stormed the Capitol.
The rigged election claims had all the hallmarks of a foreign influence operation. From identifying the hot button issue, mobilizing accounts, trolls & other high profile accounts beating the drum, & then hopping into mainstream media. Unfortunately, it was a domestic operation.
We saw the rigged election narrative forming over the summer and feared that left unchecked it could land us right where we are, physical violence. So among other efforts, we launched CISA.gov/RumorControl to debunk rumors like hacked voting machines & break the #disinfo chain.
Solving our domestic #disinfo problem is going to be difficult in the long term, but we have a more immediate problem - continued #disinformation inciting additional violence and acts of insurrection in the run up to inauguration on January 20th.
So how do we prevent that?
First, Congressmembers that objected on Wednesday have an obligation to denounce the stolen election claims and implore their constituents to accept the outcome of the election.
Second, State elected officials need to similarly denounce their rigged election claims.
Third, news outlets like NewsMax and OAN need to accept reality.
Fourth, social media platforms mainstream or not need to drop the hammer on rigged election #disinfo. There's no #1stAmendment issue here.
Fifth and finally, the President needs to clearly and unequivocally communicate to the MAGA community that this was a free and fair election, and President-Elect Biden prevailed.
It was not rigged and he lost.
Of course, he can't do that by Twitter, so maybe a nice video on whitehouse.gov? Thanks @jack!
It's not hard to do what's right, you'll survive. Admit you lied to the American people. Do the right thing for the sake of this country. This was a secure election. There was no widespread fraud or anything close to it.
"American voters decide American elections" was our mantra this year. That holds true. American voters decided this election. This last ditch effort to overturn the will of the American voter & the Constitution should be called out for what it is: Un-American and anti-democratic.
These efforts also reinforce the foresight of the Constitutional framers in delegating the authority to conduct elections to the states, rather than a Federal body. An incumbent should NEVER be able to put their thumb on the scale of national elections.
I'm also so thankful that PA and GA prioritized replacing the old paperless voting systems they had in 2016 for the current systems with a voted ballot. There's much more to do, and Congress needs to provide states steady $ to invest in democracy.
As news breaks about what looks to be a pretty large-scale hack, I have the utmost confidence in the @CISAgov team and other Federal partners. I'm sorry I'm not there with them, but they know how to do this. This thing is still early, I suspect. Let's let the pros work it.
Also, hacks of this type take exceptional tradecraft and time. On the 1st, if this is a supply chain attack using trusted relationships, really hard to stop. On the 2nd, I suspect this has been underway for many months. Need good detections to find victims and determine scope.
If you’re a SolarWinds customer & use the below product, assume compromise and immediately activate your incident response team. Odds are you’re not affected, as this may be a resource intensive hack. Focus on your Crown Jewels. You can manage this.