{"id":2361852,"date":"2024-10-30T18:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T22:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federalist-sparks-musk-probe-of-harris-campaign-x-manipulation\/"},"modified":"2024-10-30T18:59:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T22:59:19","slug":"federalist-sparks-musk-probe-of-harris-campaign-x-manipulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federalist-sparks-musk-probe-of-harris-campaign-x-manipulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Federalist Sparks Musk Probe Of Harris Campaign X Manipulation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederalist-sparks-musk-probe-of-harris-campaign-x-manipulation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2361852&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elon Musk has announced that his team is investigating Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s potential manipulation of social media aimed at artificially inflating her \u2064support ahead of the elections. This inquiry follows a two-part investigative series published by The Federalist, which revealed that the Harris\u2064 campaign has allegedly \u2062been utilizing coordinated messaging tactics, known as &#8220;astroturfing,&#8221; across various online platforms like \u2063Reddit and \u2064X (formerly Twitter). This practice involves creating a false impression of\u2064 widespread support, likened to companies paying for fake reviews to boost\u2062 their product visibility.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation\u200d highlights concerns about \u200cthe authenticity of political discourse on platforms like Reddit, where a significant number of\u2063 posts have been linked to Harris&#8217;s campaign volunteers. These actions have raised questions about potential violations of platform rules and\u2062 election integrity. Additionally, the\u2063 report suggests that the Harris campaign may be instructing its supporters to systematically undermine criticisms\u200b by downgrading community notes that reflect poorly on her\u2062 campaign. As the investigation unfolds, it aims to shed light on the implications\u200d of such strategic online behaviors for\u200c democratic processes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JQebIC76jpw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Farzad \/ YouTube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/elon-musk-launches-investigation-after-the-federalist-exposed-harris-campaigns-social-media-manipulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Elon%20Musk%20Launches%20Investigation%20After%20The%20Federalist%20Exposed%20Harris%20Campaign%E2%80%99s%20Social%20Media%20Manipulation&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/elon-musk-launches-investigation-after-the-federalist-exposed-harris-campaigns-social-media-manipulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Elon%20Musk%20Launches%20Investigation%20After%20The%20Federalist%20Exposed%20Harris%20Campaign%E2%80%99s%20Social%20Media%20Manipulation&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/elon-musk-launches-investigation-after-the-federalist-exposed-harris-campaigns-social-media-manipulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/elon-musk-launches-investigation-after-the-federalist-exposed-harris-campaigns-social-media-manipulation\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Elon%20Musk%20Launches%20Investigation%20After%20The%20Federalist%20Exposed%20Harris%20Campaign%E2%80%99s%20Social%20Media%20Manipulation&amp;body=Elon%20Musk%20announced%20his%20team%20is%20investigating%20Vice%20President%20Kamala%20Harris'%20manipulation%20of%20social%20media%20to%20inflate%20her%20online%20support.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/elon-musk-launches-investigation-after-the-federalist-exposed-harris-campaigns-social-media-manipulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>X owner Elon Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1851657604025753713\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that his team is investigating Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo; manipulation of social media to artificially inflate her online support.<\/p>\n<p>The billionaire entrepreneur announced the probe after The Federalist published two parts of a three-part investigative series about the Democrats leveraging a cadre of dedicated followers to &ldquo;spread election disinformation, and skirt election laws&rdquo; with online forums, including X. (Read part one <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/29\/busted-the-inside-story-of-how-the-kamala-harris-campaign-manipulates-reddit-and-breaks-the-rules-to-control-the-platform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a> and part two <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/block-community-notes-we-dont-like-harris-campaign-caught-red-handed-manipulating-x-to-censor-criticism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-80753c089bbb44cf740ad95722f258a7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-80753c089bbb44cf740ad95722f258a7\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;We are investigating this,&rdquo; Musk wrote on X a few weeks after <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/07\/elon-musk-this-will-be-the-last-election-if-harris-wins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warning<\/a> voters at a Pennsylvania rally this fall that if Harris wins, &ldquo;this will be the last election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"1Tq\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We are investigating this <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JR7gikRDxY\">https:\/\/t.co\/JR7gikRDxY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1851657604025753713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>According to the anonymous internet watchdog <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/reddit_lies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reddit Lies<\/a>, writing in The Federalist, the Harris campaign is engaged in a practice known as &ldquo;astroturfing,&rdquo; wherein massive swaths of coordinated messages generate an illusion of support far broader than actually exists.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no different than a shady company paying a team to write a bunch of fake Amazon reviews about their product to make it appear to be a better and more popular product than it is,&rdquo; the watchdog reported this week. &ldquo;On Amazon, that might result in a product getting more sales. In a U.S. election, it could mean that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-harris-campaign-manipulates-reddit-to-control-the-platform\/\" title=\"The Harris Campaign Manipulates Reddit To Control The Platform\">falsely advertised candidate receives<\/a> more votes. This behavior is not only incredibly dishonest, but in many cases, it directly violates the Terms of Service they&rsquo;ve agreed to by operating on certain social media platforms.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On Reddit, the <a href=\"https:\/\/explodingtopics.com\/blog\/most-visited-websites\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sixth<\/a>-most popular website in the world, &ldquo;126 of the top 1,000 posts in the past month on r\/Politics were posted by official Harris-Walz campaign volunteers.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-747e29d3f20d67989b296143c3803972 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-747e29d3f20d67989b296143c3803972\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;Owning one out of every eight of all top posts in r\/Politics is not an easy feat, and it doesn&rsquo;t just <em>happen<\/em>,&rdquo; wrote Reddit Lies, explaining how the Harris campaign made it happen as part of a coordinated effort of volunteers deliberately working to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">circumvent platform safety guards<\/a> against spam. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s safe to say that the Harris-Walz astroturfing operation has fundamentally compromised the authenticity of political discussions on Reddit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Reddit Lies outlined in part <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/block-community-notes-we-dont-like-harris-campaign-caught-red-handed-manipulating-x-to-censor-criticism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two<\/a> of the investigation for The Federalist how Harris supporters are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-launches-probe-into-harris-inflating-online-support\/\" title=\"Elon Musk Launches Probe Into Harris Inflating Online Support\">systematically downgrading community notes<\/a> that make her campaign look bad. Despite reform measures implemented at X under Musk, &ldquo;virtually none of the false and misleading tweets from Kamala Harris&rsquo; campaign have Community Notes appended to them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;One likely explanation for this discrepancy is that the Harris campaign is directing volunteers on its Discord server to vote down Community Notes even when those notes accurately say the campaign is being deceptive,&rdquo; Reddit Lies reported. &ldquo;In the &lsquo;twitter-community-notes&rsquo; channel found on the Harris-Walz Discord, paid Democrat staffers are also writing dubious Community Notes on X to undermine GOP and Trump messaging. They then encourage volunteers to rate them positively.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca6b57ab1277215337d862ab1f27a559 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca6b57ab1277215337d862ab1f27a559\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Tristan Justice<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JusticeTristan\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\" rel=\"noopener\">@JusticeTristan<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/tristanjustice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/censorship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">censorship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elon Musk<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kamala Harris<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">social media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">tech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/twitter\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/x\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">X<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elon Musk revealed that his team is looking into Kamala Harris&#8217; alleged social media manipulation to boost her online support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2361853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Elon-Musk-2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6919,35844,4241,44051],"class_list":["post-2361852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-federalist","tag-harris-campaign","tag-manipulation","tag-musk-probe"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Elon-Musk-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2361853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}