Criminal complaint - you can scroll through and read the descriptions of the texts/graphics they used, and how they line up with the story linked above. justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
Some interesting tidbits from the complaint:
-they were working on Brexit too (see pp 15)
-they were using REFLEXIVE CONTROL by putting something inflammatory, dumb and FAKE into the narrative in order to get people to FREAK OUT and act against their own interests (see pp 13)
CORRECTION: they were not working on Brexit - they got ideas by watching what was happening in Brexit (pp 15)
Worth noting also that Ricky Vaughn aka Douglass Mackey very actively boosted the ten_gop account created and run by Russia. huffpost.com/entry/trump-wh…
The most disturbing thing from the last 4+ years has been a blatant push towards cruelty and the attempt to wipe empathy and decency from our discourse. amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/01/26…
Talk of executing people you don’t like; sneering at and harassing parents whose children were murdered at school; harassing the surviving children; telling strangers you don’t care if their loved ones are fighting for their lives over COVID because “everyone dies.”
These things cannot be allowed normalcy. These things are not okay.
Since I know people love to read only the headlines, there are a few key caveats listed in this article, chief among them that they recommend closing restaurants and bars in exchange for keeping schools open. (more key points below) nytimes.com/2021/01/26/wor…
another key point: mask compliance. In our school district, kids are allowed "mask breaks," take their masks off to eat, and pre-schoolers are taking masks off to eat breakfast, lunch + snack, and to take naps. IMO, we need to cut down the removal of masks as much as possible.
key point #3: widespread testing. The Biden admin, and the experts cited in this article, call for widespread testing as part of the safe re-opening plan. This means testing before people have symptoms, and/or if they don't have them (in other words, rapid antigen tests).
WTF? “And already, disillusioned QAnon followers are being preyed upon by extremist groups keen to pick up new members.” Take a look at all the Q t-shirts people were wearing as they violently overtook the Capitol. Q *IS* an extremist group.
I can understand the singular need to remove an imminent threat from social media. HOWEVER. It didn’t have to get to this point, & it should never get to this point again. How we handle this going forward cannot be centered around Trump or other, specific bad actors. (thread)
Social media in its current iteration allows bad actors to pretend to be anyone, anywhere, with any kind of credentials. There are no guardrails whatsoever for the public to effectively ascertain whether what they’re seeing is real or fake; organic or purposely manipulated.
Social media in its current iteration allows bad actors to erect and command digital armies - from thin air and with little investment - with none of us the wiser that they’re in our midst.
I am now wondering if Bill Barr’s resignation had anything to do with catching wind of what was being planned. It was a few days after Trump allegedly met with Tarrio and a few days before Trump started telling people to show up on the 6th for a wild protest.