Walk Away Movement

[ogsball]

I have Benn hit by several strange pro Turmp YouTube posts in my feed lately. They are nicely done and clearly aimed at young adults. They seem rational at first then they take those strange hard right-wing leaps of logic that one comes to expect from the Hanity / Limbaugh cults. Anyhow one was about this Walk Away Movement that claims a massive membership from pro Turmp ex-democrates.

What's the story on these people?

[Squinch]

1. They are like Antifa, the tooth fairy, caravans of criminal Mexicans at the border, and

women who slept with Donny Bodybags without being paid a lot of money.

[2naSalit]

3. +1

[Nevilledog]

4. *snicker*

[FM123]

2. Odd that you are being targeted now. It was big during 2018 midterms.

However, #WalkAway has also now been connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots, and it is now the seventh most popular Russia-influenced hashtag as of this writing, according to the website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russian influence on Twitter as part of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of the nonpartisan German Marshall Fund. The purpose of this now-astroturf campaign is to manipulate public opinion by creating the illusion that this is a popular movement. In reality, #WalkAway has become pure propaganda, a psychological operation.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/opinions/russian-bots-2018-midterm-elections-opinion-love/index.html

[JHB]

5. Whatever it is, it's not "massive", and in every way dodgy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WalkAway_campaign

The WalkAway campaign, also styled #WalkAway, is a social media campaign that was launched ahead of the United States 2018 mid-term elections by Brandon Straka, a hairstylist and actor from New York City.[1][2] According to the campaign's website, the campaign "encourages and supports those on the Left to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today."[3] New York Post and Fox News websites posted coverage of WalkAway after a Washington rally in 2018.[4][5] New York Post and Fox News websites posted coverage of WalkAway after a Washington rally in 2018.[4][5] In August 2019, President Donald Trump thanked Straka on Twitter for the movement.[6]

News sources have debated the extent to which WalkAway is an example of astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement. David A. Love of CNN condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda, a psychological operation" and "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots".[7] The website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russia's interference on U.S. elections, reported that WalkAway was "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots to manipulate voters into thinking the movement was more popular and active that it actually was."[6] However Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept claims "Hamilton 68 was, and remains, incredibly opaque about its methodology, refusing even to identify which accounts they designate as “promoting Russian influence online.”"[8]

Abby Ohlheiser in The Washington Post claimed "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions – or even thousands – of Democrats", and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video.[9] ThinkProgress characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation," noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees.[10]

Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Straka of presenting royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock and claiming they were of people who had left the Democratic Party.[11] Straka has denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign. Snopes posted a tweet from Stern stating that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shared the meme.[12]

[vlyons]

6. Ban and block those creeps from messaging you.

nt

[LakeArenal]

7. Seems an odd first thread about a rw theory of Trump "democrates".

But okay. They don’t exist. Never.

[stillcool]

10. yeah. me too.

[ogsball]

11. Not Really My Frist time

I was a bit more active before the 2016 election and frankly was crushed when the site went down election night. Since then I admit I don't post . . . at all usually. I don't even log in much, but with the election coming up and as I suspected Russian bots being active I thought I'd pay more attention.

I grew up a cultural Republican but through my education and life experiences I've shifted a great deal. I like to say that Rush Limbaugh made me an independent, Dick Cheney made me a Democrat.

I apologise but I probably still won't be posting much except maybe questions. . . It's not really this old guys forum. I also apologise for the typos, I posted from my phone where I have a hard time typing correctly. I'll proof read better in the future.

I have found DU a generally credible place to get information. Thank you all.

[LakeArenal]

12. Typos are nothing. Content is everything.

[lapucelle]

8. There are no such people.

It's an astroturf operation. No need for us to be alarmed. We can all sleep soundly tonight.

I read profiles.

[Iggo]

9. Aw.

[GoneOffShore]

14. Send them links to The Lincoln Project, VoteVets, and Meidas Touch videos.

There's also a huge Republican Voters Against Trump YouTube channel.