Great to be on @DeadlineWH with @NicoleDWallace this week to discuss my book #TheBreach. Ginni Thomas is the avatar for the evolution of conspiracy theories in GOP royalty. Money, power, and access - over facts and decency.
@DeadlineWH@nicoledwallace Read my new book #TheBreach to learn more about how we identify those responsible for spreading crazy to defeat democracy.
Obamagate was a prevalent conspiracy theory pushed by QAnon accounts, right-wing influencers, and President Donald Trump in May. The Obamagate hashtag surfaced on May 10th, 2020… 2/25
accumulating over two million tweets by the end of May 11th, and another four million tweets by the end of the week. According to research by @AlKapDC, a researcher at Media Matter, #Obamagate originated on QAnon Twitter. 3/25
As I’m reading the Senate Rules Report on #January6th I will tweet some observations.
I am struck by the statements in the early pages on bureaucratic incompetence, decision-making paralysis & inter-agency communications and intelligence breakdowns.
Free speech & actionable credible threats of violence are not mutually exclusive
It boggles the mind that an excuse for inaction from FBI and DHS is not being able to discern enough between speech and actionable intelligence... and blame the “intelligence community”. Hmm
FBI, DHS and USCP have their own authorities and intelligence shops. Look internally for blame. USCP should have the confidence, resources, capabilities & expertise to release their own intelligence bulletins/reports. Mobilizing resources should be contingent on that expertise.
A primer on validating the The Trump-Tuberville call—if you have the authority & the data release isn’t voluntary
Call Detail Records (CDRs), which show call detail activity, are easily accessed through WARRANTS. They are not classified but are protected /thread
In reference to the alleged call between Trump and Tuberville, for example, the CDRs show call times and duration (plus other info). Fun fact: the data is available from the service provider OR the phone manufacturer based on what the data owner allows for storage or reporting.
Warrant language must be very specific and it takes experience and training. When submitting warrants for providers, GSM phones have specific providers and request needs, as do 4GLTE or 5G (based on the technology and the networks they traverse). Why do I know this...
GOP colleagues have stated that impeachment is divisive and could cause further violence. I disagree. Allowing President Trump to walk away, validates messianic conspiracy theories and disinformation. It could me more dangerous. Thread
QAnon adherents and those who believe “Stop the Steal” conspiracies view this as a vanguard movement of apocalyptic and revolutionary ideology. QAnon is “syncretic” now including fantasies pushed by Flynn, Powell etc— that deep state evil doers are afraid of evidence against them
A significant part of this conspiracy envisions an all-at-once insurrection (signified by the code: WWG1WGA:” where we go one we go all”) against pedophilic and satanic lawmakers. President Trump, in this fantasy, stands as the man ordained to stop them.
Data is the only way to refute idiocies like Obamagate. Our @ncri_io report details how trolls start & spread conspiracy theories through “coordinated inauthentic behavior”, using Obamagate as a primary example. networkcontagion.us/reports/the-qa…
Starting with #QAnon networks and worming its way to the White House twitter feed, #Obamagate sells nutjobs the idea that Obama (and a pedophile deepstate) controlled US Intelligence to try and jail President Trump so they could drink the blood of children and gain eternal life
Part of how #QAnon works is to create an interconnected mythology with more populist versions on the surface - Obama tried to get the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign - with craziness getting heavier the deeper you go: they were satanic deepstate pedophiles for instance...