Trolls on 4chan repeatedly posted the IDP hotline # telling people to "clog the lines"

[highplainsdem]

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/clog-lines-iowa-caucus-hotline-posted-online-encouragement-disrupt-results-n1131521

Users on a politics-focused section of the fringe 4chan message board repeatedly posted the phone number for the Iowa Democratic Party, which was found by a simple Google search, both as screenshots and in plain text, alongside instructions.

"They have to call in the results now. Very long hold times being reported. Phone line being clogged," one user posted at about 11 p.m. ET on Monday, two hours after the caucuses began.

"Uh oh how unfortunate it would be for a bunch of mischief makers to start clogging the lines," responded another anonymous user, sarcastically.

Some users chimed in, posting alleged wait times on hold, imploring others to “clog the lines [and] make the call lads."

[redstatebluegirl]

1. 4chan needs to be investigated by the House as a terrorist organization.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Each precinct should have had sealed envelopes, with certain assigned numbers & pass keys.

.

These should have only been opened in the event of a problem, and multiple dial-in numbers used that divide the precincts up to a single primary and a contingent number.

Hopefully there were passwords and passkeys for each precinct to help prevent imposters.

.

[ripcord]

4. Evidently the lines were answered by live people

Someone posted a photo of the paperwork with the phone numbers so republicans have been calling in to express their support for the President.

[TheBlackAdder]

8. If they were in a sealed envelope, they would not have those numbers ahead of time.

.

If someone opened and took a picture of it, it would have identified which location, and it would have only compromised just one primary and one alternate number, only impacting a smaller percentage of precincts.

After all these years, you'd think they'd have their shit together. It's not rocket science.

.

[Farmer-Rick]

3. And who is orchestrating these trolls????

Shorty Putin's goon squad. Russia is already interfering in our elections.

Everytime some electronic equipment doesn't work during this election, simply assume it's Putin and the GOP. You will be closer to the truth then assuming some Democratic official screwed up. We need to rely on paper. Don't trust any electronic equipment. Try to vote by paper if you can...absentee ballots are not counted in most states unless the race is close, the same for provisional ballots.

Overwhelm the cheat machine with votes and voters. Get everyone to vote.

Remember how upset the Bernie voters were last election? Putin is trying to imitate that again. All computer glitches are the result of Putin and the GOP.

[MineralMan]

5. We Democrats are so naive and trusting. We don't anticipate threats,

so we make it too easy for people to obstruct our plans. I remember seeing that phone number, too. when I did, I said to myself: "WTF!" That's just begging for people to tie that number up."

That's a fatal flaw in basic communications security. You don't give out a phone number that is being used for a critical function. Not in this toxic environment. So, a bunch of kiddies on 4chan, who are always looking for a way to ratfuck something, started calling it and blocking people who were supposed to use it.

We are too naive for our own good. Democrats trust people too much. We assume that people will do the right thing. That's just foolish.

The whole reporting thing should have been treated as TOP SECRET by the party folks running the IOWA caucuses. Instead, they made it easy to disrupt the entire process. Moronic.

[jmg257]

6. Wow - how did ANYONE not see such a thing happening?! Online polls? Open political phone numbers?

[question everything]

7. Blame the the caucus goer(s)? who put on social media the phone number

Don't blame the Trumpeters for taking advantage of the ones obsessed with social media who have to constantly twit, and post and just show the world how "smart they are."

In hindsight - always twenty twenty - "devices" should have been banned from caucus rooms. After all, they did it during the impeachment in the Senate. And if the senators - notoriously publicity seekers - can do it, so can voters.