Key Insights:
- Harris campaign accused of using Discord to coordinate volunteers in suppressing X Community Notes criticism.
- Reports claim Harris volunteers artificially boost posts with unrelated hashtags, violating X’s content manipulation rules.
- Philadelphia DA sues Musk’s PAC over voter sweepstakes, alleging improper electoral influence.
Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), has announced an investigation into allegations that Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is using coordinated online strategies to shape public perception on the platform.
Reports suggest the Harris campaign is organizing volunteers via a Discord server to promote her posts and suppress criticism by manipulating X’s Community Notes feature, which is intended to provide fact-checking on the platform.
These alleged tactics have raised questions about whether the campaign’s online activities might be violating X’s terms of service, which prohibit coordinated actions to distort content rankings. Musk responded swiftly to the news, stating that his team would look into the claims.
Harris Campaign Accused of Suppressing Community Notes
According to reports, the Harris campaign has been instructing volunteers through Discord on how to downvote or “block” Community Notes that contradict or criticize her posts on X. Community Notes is a feature that allows users to attach fact-checked notes to posts, aiming to provide context or correct misinformation. By downvoting these notes, the Harris campaign’s volunteers are allegedly attempting to diminish the visibility of factual corrections or opposing viewpoints on Harris’s posts.
Additionally, reports suggest that volunteers are being encouraged to use popular, unrelated hashtags to make Harris’s posts appear more popular than they are. This tactic, known as “hashtag hijacking,” is often used to boost engagement artificially and can create the illusion of widespread support. Such practices may violate X’s rules, which prohibit coordinated efforts to manipulate content visibility and spread misinformation.
Coordination Through Discord and the Reach App
In addition to Discord, the Harris campaign reportedly utilizes a tool called Reach, an app that allows volunteers to quickly share campaign-related content, including memes, videos, and other materials intended for mass distribution on social media. Volunteers reportedly receive specific instructions on how to engage with X content in ways that suppress criticism of the Harris campaign while amplifying favorable posts.
These actions resemble traditional “astroturfing” tactics, in which a campaign creates an artificial appearance of grassroots support through orchestrated online activities. Previous investigations have suggested that similar tactics were used by the Harris campaign on other platforms like Reddit. The alleged goal is to control the online narrative surrounding Harris’s campaign while minimizing the reach of any counterpoints or criticisms.
Potential Violations of X’s Terms of Service
Musk introduced the Community Notes feature to foster transparency on X, enabling users to add context and fact-checking to posts that might be misleading. The system relies on user contributions, with other users voting on the accuracy and relevance of the suggested notes. This process is intended to provide a balanced, community-driven fact-checking mechanism.
However, if the Harris campaign is found to be systematically downvoting or suppressing Community Notes that challenge their narrative, it could represent a breach of X’s terms of service. These rules are meant to prevent coordinated manipulation of the platform, which could lead to misinformation or a distorted public view of political messaging.
Reports also suggest that some paid campaign staffers are creating and promoting Community Notes favorable to Harris while downvoting notes supportive of her political opponents.
Elon Musk’s PAC Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Sweepstakes
While Musk investigates the Harris campaign’s activities on X, he is also under scrutiny for actions involving his own political action committee (PAC). Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner recently filed a lawsuit against Musk’s PAC, America PAC, over a $1 million sweepstakes aimed at boosting voter turnout in key swing states. The DA’s office claims this sweepstakes could violate federal election laws, which prohibit offering financial incentives to influence voter behavior.
The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, seeks to block the sweepstakes, arguing that it could interfere with fair electoral practices. The Department of Justice had reportedly issued a prior warning to America PAC, raising concerns that such incentives might constitute improper influence in elections.
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