Tag: twitter
Kyrsten Sinema

Announcing Senate Retirement, Sinema Praises Her Own 'Civility'

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) will not be seeking another six-year term in 2024, after posting a video to her official X/Twitter account announcing her retirement from the US Senate.

Sinema bemoaned the partisan climate in Washington in the video, stating that "despite modernizing our infrastructure, delivering clean water, delivering good jobs and safer communities, Americans still choose to retreat farther to their partisan corners."

"These solutions are considered failures, either because they're too much, or not nearly enough. It's all or nothing," she said. "The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic, attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word."

"I believe in my approach, but it's not what America wants right now," she continued. "Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.

Though she was initially elected as a Democrat, Sinema left the Democratic Party at the end of 2022 and has been a consistent thorn in the side of Democratic majority in the Senate since President Joe Biden took office. She and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) — who is also retiring at the end of the year — were the two deciding votes that killed Biden's signature "Build Back Better" legislative package, which would have guaranteed universal pre-K and child care to parents, paid family leave and additional funding for environmental programs, partially funding by an additional tax on the wealthiest Americans.

In March of 2021, Sinema angered Democrats as the deciding vote to kill legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. After stepping onto the Senate floor, Sinema gave the clerk a thumbs-down, with an additional curtsy, before turning around and leaving the chamber. She also rebuffed Democrats' efforts to get rid of the filibuster, allowing Republicans to maintain a blockade over any legislation that failed to garner the 60 votes needed to advance a bill to the full floor for debate after a cloture motion was invoked.

Later that year, immigration activists from the group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) confronted Sinema in a public restroom over her refusal to back a pathway to citizenship for so-called "Dreamers," or children of undocumented immigrants who were brought across the border at a young age. LUCHA defended the bathroom confrontation, saying Sinema "denied our requests, ignored our phone calls, and closed her office to her constituents," and that she "hasn’t had a public event or town hall in years."

That confrontation happened at the Phoenix campus of Arizona State University, where Sinema taught a graduate-level course on campaign fundraising. The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein likened Sinema's course to "getting rich people to give you money." He reported that Sinema racked up nearly $1 million in campaign donations from groups opposed to the Build Back Better bill she helped defeat, and that she "has received tens of thousands of dollars in maxed-out contributions from private equity partners and investment firm CEOs who stand to lose in the event of a tax hike on corporations or the rich."

In January, Sinema made headlines after a Daily Beast investigation found that she had spent more than $200,000 in taxpayer money on private jet flights since 2020. Sinema reportedly spent roughly $116,000 in 2023 alone. Almost all of the flights were within Arizona, and were for one or two-day trips. The Beast observed that the cost of Sinema's flights last year were more than the annual salaries of nearly all of her staff.

With Sinema no longer running, the Arizona US Senate race in 2024 will be between Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) and former newscaster Kari Lake, the presumptive Republican nominee who ran a failed campaign for governor in 2022.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Kenneth Chesebro

Trump Lawyer Used Secret Twitter Account In GOP Coup Plot

Kenneth Chesebro, one of the architects of Donald Trump’s fake elector plot, had a secret Twitter account he hid from investigators in Michigan that he used to promote some of his extremist theories. In October Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony in Georgia’s RICO case against Donald Trump and 18 others.

Using the handle “BadgerPundit,” Chesebro hid “dozens of damning posts that undercut his statements to investigators about his role in the election subversion scheme, a CNN KFile investigation has found,” CNN reported. “The Twitter posts reveal that even before the 2020 election, and then just two days after polls closed, Chesebro promoted a far more aggressive election subversion strategy than he later let on in his Michigan interview.”

When confronted with evidence the account belonged to Chesebro, his attorneys admitted it belonged to their client, while minimizing the damning posts as a “random stream of consciousness” where he was just “spitballing” and “being a goof.”

But, in one instance, when accused of promoting an article likened to the “death of democracy,” Chesebro on his secret social media account replied, “it’s called politics, dude,” CNN’s KFile team reports.

“When he was doing volunteer work for the campaign, he was very specific and hunkered-down into being the lawyer that he is, and gave specific kinds of legal advice based on things that he thought were legitimate legal challenges, versus BadgerPundit, who is this other guy over there, just being a goof,” said Robert Langford, an attorney for Chesebro.

But CNN reveals that on his BadgerPundit Twitter account, Chesebro said, “You don’t get the big picture. Trump doesn’t have to get courts to declare him the winner of the vote. He just needs to convince Republican legislatures that the election was systematically rigged, but it’s impossible to run it again, so they should appoint electors instead.” That was posted to Twitter, now X, on November 7, 2020, “the day multiple media outlets, including CNN, called the election for Joe Biden.”

CNN reports that contrary to his secret social media claim, “in his interview with Michigan investigators, Chesebro said the very opposite, claiming that the entire electors plan was contingent on the courts.”

“I saw no scenario where Pence could count any vote for any state because there hadn’t been a court or a legislature in any state backing any of the alternate electors,” Chesebro said.

In another twist, CNN reports, “In an email to Trump attorneys in early December 2020, Chesebro linked to a Google Drive account for the email address TheBadger14@Gmail.com, which was once used by BadgerPundit in a tweet as his contact information. Chesebro also cited the BadgerPundit account in emails to a Trump campaign official and attorney John Eastman on January 5, 2021, pointing to tweets from BadgerPundit arguing that Pence had the authority to pick the electors on January 6.”

Chesebro’s BadgerPundit account on X still exists, but has been “protected” so only those he has granted access to can read his posts. ”

TheBadger14 is also identified by Chesebro in his bio on X as a blog. NCRM found that site has been active since at least 2011, but posts from the past few years are also hidden from public view. Its “About” page suggests it is a venue for Chesebro to discuss “mocking, through exaggeration for comic effect, relatively routine instances of progressives behaving badly.”

Read the entire CNN article here.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Elon Musk

Musk's Twitter Put Ads For Major Brands On Terror-Linked Neo-Nazi Account

Twitter has placed ads for brands like Honeywell, Discovery, National Women’s Soccer League, the Pittsburgh Steelers, USA Today, and Manchester City on the verified account of the National Socialist Network, a leading neo-Nazi group that engages in violence, has connections to terrorism, and uses Elon Musk’s platform to recruit new members. Twitter's actions are reminder to advertisers that despite rebranding efforts by Musk and Linda Yaccarino, Twitter (now called X) remains a toxic environment for companies.

Musk hired Yaccarino, an advertising executive, in an effort to convince companies that it is safe to advertise on Twitter. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “X Corp. is cutting ad prices as it tries to woo brands back to the Elon Musk-owned platform” and is “warning brands that they will lose their verified status unless they reach certain spending thresholds.”

Twitter has had a problem with advertising revenue since Musk took over. Media Matters and other outlets have documented the appearance of brand advertisements on accounts that feature Holocaust denial, white nationalism, and other toxic content.

The National Socialist Network is an Australian group named after Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party (aka the Nazi Party). It stages pro-Hitler and neo-Nazi rallies, including one in May that ended in violence.

The Age described them as “Australia’s largest white supremacist group” and reported that members are “involved in prolific networking with other violent cells across Australia and overseas.” The publication additionally reported that “despite the network’s public claims to disavow violence, behind the scenes some in the group laud” the New Zealand mosque shooter “as an inspiration whose ‘unjust’ jailing has put the group on a ‘timeline’ to revolution.”

Thomas Sewell, the group’s leader, was found guilty in December of “recklessly causing injury and affray” during a 2021 attack on a Black security guard. Members of the group have also “pleaded guilty to possessing documents and records of information for terrorist acts.”

The National Socialist Network joined Twitter in November 2022, shortly after Musk completed his deal to buy Twitter. On November 12, they tweeted: “Elon Musk is a true homie #ElonIsDestroyingTwitter.” Their account has been “verified since July 2023.” Musk has said that verified accounts are eligible to receive a share of ad revenue, meaning that advertisers could be helping to fill the coffers of a neo-Nazi organization.

The group has used its account to celebrate Hitler (“the greatest man to ever live!”) and has posted the swastika. It also attempts to recruit followers on the platform, including by writing: “So long as the Jews push for their Voice to Parliament, all White men of good conscience must fight against it. We implore all White Australians of our ideals to join the revolution!”

Twitter has monetized the neo-Nazi account and has placed numerous ads on it. Media Matters found ads this week on the National Socialist Network's account for the following brands:

A job recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol also appeared on the account of the National Socialist Network, meaning that the federal government is potentially spending money to recruit neo-Nazis. (Media Matters previously documented that an ad for the agency also appeared on a leading white nationalist account.)

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Elon Musk

Samsung, Dish, And ​'Wall Street Journal' ​Ads Appear On White Nationalist Twitter Account

Ads for major brands including Dish, Samsung, and The Wall Street Journal have been appearing on the verified Twitter account of VDare, a leading white nationalist group. Those companies are associating with a site that is largely dedicated to complaining about the alleged danger and inferiority of nonwhites, especially immigrants.

Musk has turned Twitter into a nightmare for advertisers, with accounts featuring antisemitism, racism, anti-LGBTQ hate, and misinformation thriving on the platform. Media outlets and researchers, including Media Matters, have documented that corporate ads have appeared next to toxic accounts, including those that promote Holocaust denialism, and major advertisers have left Musk’s platform.

The advertisers remaining on Twitter are having their ads placed directly on the accounts of white nationalists, including VDare’s verified account. Information on that account states that it’s been “verified since February 2023.” (Musk stated in June that “Twitter will start paying creators for ads served in their replies. First block payment totals $5M. Note, the creator must be verified and only ads served to verified users count.”)

VDare is a white nationalist site and organization. Headlines on its site have included:

  • “One Problem With These Hispanic Immigrants Is Their Disgusting Behavior.”
  • “Diversity Is Strength! It’s Also…Hispanic Immigrants Taking Over FBI’s Ten Most Wanted.”
  • “Indians Aren't That Intelligent (On Average).”
  • “America Does Not Need ANY Immigrants From Africa.”
  • New Wave Of Failure Migration: Ethiopians On The Way.”

Tags on the site include: “Immigrant Mass Murder,” “Anti-White Hate Crimes,” “White Guy Loses His Job,” “Birthright Citizenship Reform,” “Minority Occupation Government,” “Disgruntled Minority Massacre,” “Death Of White America,” “Black Serial Killers,” “War On Whites,” “Jewish Fear and Loathing of Donald Trump,” and “Immigrants And Disease.”

It also runs regular “great replacement” updates designed to warn white readers that they are being replaced by nonwhites. (The so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theory is a white supremacist trope that’s motivated violence, including mass murders.)

VDare has previously posted content praising Musk for calling out supposed “anti-white racism from U.S. Media” and responded to his complaint about the new Lord of the Rings series on Amazon by tweeting, “Elon Musk is /ourguy.”

Numerous companies and even the U.S. government have been advertising directly in VDare’s Twitter account. Media Matters found ads for the following while looking at VDare’s feed:

The advertisement for CBP was an invitation to apply for jobs. Border Patrol has a history of problems with online racism and bigotry in its ranks.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.