Around the time Kamala Harris was taking over the reins of the Democratic presidential ticket, a mysterious group reportedly began a smear campaign against her, paying social media influencers tens of thousands of dollars to promote posts, according to reports.

In late July, a network of influencers who had been recruited to push conservative messages about Donald Trump or President Joe Biden throughout the summer, received an email requesting they make colorful sexual insults about Harris, according to Semafor.

In return, they would be paid tens of thousands of dollars via Zelle, a digital payments network.

  • @Darkard
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    1562 months ago

    “mystery group”

    Oh yeah, a real head scratcher.

      • SatansMaggotyCumFart
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        -612 months ago

        The Russophobia on this site is simply disgusting.

        It’s one of the most powerful and free countries in the known universe and Lemmy should have more respect.

        • @[email protected]
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          2 months ago

          Did you miss this recent news?

          Justice Department Disrupts Covert Russian Government-Sponsored Foreign Malign Influence Operation Targeting Audiences in the United States and Elsewhere

          Influence Operation Relied on Influencers, AI-Generated Content, Paid Social Media Advertisements, and Social Media Accounts to Drive Internet Traffic to Cybersquatted and Other Domains

          e: or was that /s? Poe’s law broke my sarcasm detector years ago

        • @Doomsider
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          132 months ago

          Most powerful most free! Surely you can see how stupid you sound.

            • @Doomsider
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              72 months ago

              If I am an American and I say that the US is the best country ever I would sound stupid. So yes, you sound stupid.

                • KillingTimeItself
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                  42 months ago

                  the military was shit on by a random farming country in the eastern european region, with literal fucking tractors.

                  they’re also know for randomly arresting people for political reasons.

        • KillingTimeItself
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          92 months ago

          im russophobic, not slavophobic. There’s a difference, thank you very much…

          /s for shitpost obviously.

          • SatansMaggotyCumFart
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            -122 months ago

            It’s not like the Russians are coming to our great country and eating our cats and dogs.

        • @[email protected]
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          82 months ago

          maybe if their leader(s) hadn’t spent 20+ years attempting to subvert global democracy and sow seeds of radical, racist violence across the internet we’d feel a touch different…

    • Diplomjodler
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      182 months ago

      Nobody could ever possibly guess who it is.

  • @[email protected]
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    1232 months ago

    Trump is literally a rapist. What could she have possibly done that could compare in the slightest?

  • @kescusay
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    1142 months ago

    Russia. It’s Russia.

    • @[email protected]
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      282 months ago

      Hey! It could totally be some other nation state that has strong, documented ties to the party running against Harris!

      /s

        • Optional
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          42 months ago

          You mean with the cyber? Yeah probably. Of course the cyber is very big.

          • AmidFuror
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            22 months ago

            I don’t know why I didn’t realize before today that it could have been Barron Trump!

      • @kescusay
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        32 months ago

        There must be dozens! At least eight! No doubt five other nations are doing it, and when we catch both of them, boy howdy won’t that country be upset!

  • @[email protected]
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    782 months ago

    she could be a coke snorting hooker with her own line of designer buttplugs, and i’d still vote for her over trump

    • @[email protected]
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      92 months ago

      Anyways, enough politics. Tell me more about these hypothetical designer Kamala Harris buttplugs…are they shaped like her or…?

    • Cethin
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      12 months ago

      I want to live in the world where it’s not wrong for a campaign to sell buttplugs. What a great world that would be, where sexuality isn’t some evil presence to be hidden away. If that ever happens, that candidate probably has my vote.

  • @[email protected]
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    452 months ago

    The Internet used to be a common resource and information system.

    Now it is a propaganda warzone.

    • Optional
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      132 months ago

      Well, yes. But only because it’s cheap as dirt and massively effective.

      • @whotookkarl
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        12 months ago

        Demagogue is the old word for influencer, people that prey on emotions and prejudices to manipulate people to agree with them politically.

  • kn0wmad1c
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    2 months ago

    I think it’s hilarious that the lede makes it appear that this story was broken by George Santos, who lies about literally everything.

  • @Raiderkev
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    42 months ago

    Such a mystery… No way the Kremlin could be responsible, right?

  • @viy
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    02 months ago

    Yes

  • @[email protected]
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    -522 months ago

    I don’t get why they don’t attack her on her policies (like supporting Israel’s genocide), not on superficial bullshit

    • Flying Squid
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      792 months ago

      They also support Israel’s genocide, so…

    • @CM400
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      292 months ago

      Perhaps it’s because a) it works, and b) they know republican policy is less popular. They could lie about policy (well, more than they already have), but I think they’re going to save that for after the first debate, personally.

    • AmidFuror
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      242 months ago

      You mean like they could try to get leftists to vote for Jill Stein or write in Che Gueverra instead? I think they already do that, but not through right wing influencers, if you know what I mean.

      • @TexasDrunk
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        32 months ago

        I would guess that most Americans have zero opinion on it at all. Money supports it.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 months ago

      They already attack her for not supporting Israel’s genocide enough.

      If you think Republicans are going to do anything to stop Israel from wiping every single Palestinian off the face of the earth, you’re an idiot.

    • @ChexMax
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      22 months ago

      Seems like you mean we, not they