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[Trojita]

FEC loopholes mean Correct the Record can openly coordinate with Clinton’s campaign.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/21/hillary-pac-spends-1-million-to-correct-commenters-on-reddit-and-facebook.html

Citing “lessons learned from online engagement with ‘Bernie Bros,’” a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC is pledging to spend $1 million to “push back against” users on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Instagram.

Correct the Record’s “Barrier Breakers” project boasts in a press release that it has already “addressed more than 5,000 people that have personally attacked Hillary Clinton on Twitter.” The PAC released this on Thursday.

The PAC was created in May of last year when it was spun off from the American Bridge SuperPAC, which is run by longtime Hillary and Bill Clinton supporter David Brock. Brock also founded the left-wing media watchdog website Media Matters for America.
Some Bernie Sanders-supporting users on Reddit already started to notice the changes on Thursday afternoon.

Due to FEC loopholes, the Sunlight Foundation’s Libby Watson found this year that Correct the Record can openly coordinate with Clinton’s campaign, despite rules that typically disallow political campaigns from working directly with PACs.

“SuperPACs aren’t supposed to coordinate with candidates. The whole reasoning behind (Supreme Court decision) Citizens United rests on (PACs) being independent, but Correct the Record claims it can coordinate,” Watson told The Daily Beast. “It’s not totally clear what their reasoning is, but it seems to be that material posted on the Internet for free—like, blogs—doesn’t count as an ‘independent expenditure.’”

Watson previously worked at Brock’s Media Matters for America, where “their whole mission is to debunk conservative misinformation [and] a lot of that ends up being defending Hillary Clinton,” but says she’s never seen anything like this initiative.
“Usually places like MMFA and CTR are defending her against the media and established figures. This seems to be going after essentially random individuals online,” she said. “I don’t know that they’ve done anything like this before.”

David Brock is the fucking worst.

 

[Touchdown]

good, fools need to be corrected.

 

[Kinyou]

good, fools need to be corrected.

Were you paid to say that?

 

[GK86]

I wonder if the ones on gaf are getting paid or doing it for free.

 

[ViciousDS]

Were you paid to say that?

That's for the guy who's going to edit his post XD

 

[uncelestial]

Don't like loopholes being used.

Do think it's smart for a campaign to get in there and fight in the trenches online.

 

[Cheebo]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

 

[teruterubozu]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

Is this where we audition for the job?

 

[Trojita]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

David Brock is the guy that wrote a book, that he made a lot of money on, victim blaming Anita Hill for sexual harassment she received from Clarence Thomas. He called her a slut.

This isn't coming from a place of great reputation.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

You got all their a/s/l's huh?

 

[Kangi]

Grand. Because Hillary supporters weren't dismissed enough as non-existent without giving people ammo like this.

Thanks, David Brock.

 

[VendettaRed07]

I'm underpaid.

 

[Retromelon]

All part of the plan

 

[Dead Man]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

Uh huh. Tell me more.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

This is bad? Almost every [anybody] on Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

tee hee

 

[Bronx-Man]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

It ain't just Reddit.

 

[ChosenPredator]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

hmmmm, don't know why this made me laugh, you should REALLY take a look at this place deeply.

 

[Slayven]

Waste of money, they are the worst performing voting demographic

 

[hawk2025]

Thanks, Brock.

Does he not understand that this just makes proper debate sound non-genuine?

People can dismiss anyone now, and simply ask "So, how much are you getting paid for this?"

Waste of money, waste of time, and it only undermines the type of "defense" you can't buy and that's worth a lot more than 1 million dollars.

 

[Crayons]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

hi hillary

 

[Kaladin]

The amount of money just thrown around in political campaigning in the US blows my mind.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Whoa boy, gotta love campaign finance abuse.

 

[jediyoshi]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

Good to know you don't see a distinction when rules are skirted.

 

[DedValve]

All part of the plan

I never thought I would say this. Least of all in a thread about Hilary.

Thank you cruz. You made this. You did this.

 

[BanGy.nz]

David Brock and Bill Clinton need to locked away until after the primary.

 

[Eighty Deuce]

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

This has to be a meme post

 

[atr0cious]

Royalan's employer is stepping it up lol

 

[EnlightenedMint]

It's worked so well for Israel.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

I don't understand how thus breaks any rules? It's nice to see the echo chamber in Reddit being broken though. That place is the brain tumour of the Internet.

 

[Chris R]

Wait, I could get paid to troll some trolls? Sign me up!

 

[God Dayumm]

I wonder if the ones on gaf are getting paid or doing it for free.

Which would be more pathetic?

 

[SolarPowered]

This has to be a meme post

lmao

We get some variation of this twenty times a day on the OT. At this point even I feel more white than Hispanic in political threads.

 

[Verelios]

good, fools need to be corrected.

This is bad? Almost every single Bernie supporter in Reddit is a brainddead white 20 something male who spew uninformed bullshit. Maybe this will help them learn a thing or two about actual politics.

Guys. Guys. Come on, not like this.

 

[Trojita]

I don't understand how thus breaks any rules? It's nice to see the echo chamber in Reddit being broken though. That place is the brain tumour of the Internet.

“SuperPACs aren’t supposed to coordinate with candidates. The whole reasoning behind (Supreme Court decision) Citizens United rests on (PACs) being independent, but Correct the Record claims it can coordinate,” Watson told The Daily Beast. “It’s not totally clear what their reasoning is, but it seems to be that material posted on the Internet for free—like, blogs—doesn’t count as an ‘independent expenditure.’”

They aren't supposed to communicate at all.

 

[Reverend Funk]

You guys are stepping on yourselves slow down.

 

[The Technomancer]

Co-ordination is bad and illegal

In theory a movement to actually try and engage misinformation is good

Meh

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

They aren't supposed to communicate at all.

Why do they need to communicate though, if all they're doing is hiring Hillary's hasbara?

 

[Cagey]

I don't think having campaign affiliates getting into arguments on social media with an age demographic that has resoundingly rejected a candidate is the best way of reaching out to and winning over said age demo, especially given how that demo uses social media.

Then again, I'm not paid to advise political campaigns, so the hell do I know.

 

[3phemeral]

All part of the plan

 

[dramatis]

Trojita please use paragraph spacing in the quotes

That said, article indicates that David Brock claims he can collaborate on the basis of 'blogs', but it doesn't seem like there is definitive proof of collaboration with the Hillary campaign. If they mean 'collaborating' as in copypasta-ing material posted on Hillary's campaign website, I'm not really sure that's collaborating?

I don't think astroturfing is very helpful in political campaigning, but if Brock manages to at least get data on how effective it is, that would be great, thanks. Otherwise he can scoot off into a corner of his own self importance.

 

[cacildo]

Thats pretty good

 

[norm9]

Do people actually retain new information when they're corrected?

Not me. I'm ignorant and don't give a fuck.

 

[DR2K]

Considering all the misinformation being spewed out it's not a terrible thing to correct them. As long as they're not smearing Bernie I don't see the issue.

 

[hawk2025]

Do people actually retain new information when they're corrected?

Not me. I'm ignorant and don't give a fuck.

It's not about them, it's about everyone else reading it.

Still a bad idea.

Considering all the misinformation being spewed out it's not a terrible thing to correct them. As long as they're not smearing Bernie I don't see the issue.

It undermines genuine, natural discussion and corrections.

I wonder if the ones on gaf are getting paid or doing it for free.

See?

An easy way to make people not even try to listen.

 

[Earthstrike]

I wonder if the ones on gaf are getting paid or doing it for free.

Nah, People on gaf tend to use logic and reasoning of their own free will.

 

[norm9]

It's not about them, it's about everyone else reading it.

Still a bad idea.

Seems like correct information is already out there a few clicks away.

Guess when you got all this money, you have to justify spending it somehow.

 

[Trojita]

Trojita please use paragraph spacing in the quotes

Drama pls..... your wish has been granted.

 

[The Technomancer]

See?

An easy way to make people not even try to listen.

Natural discussion is already drowned beneath deliberate misinformation, I'm not sure there's a "pure" conversation that's tainted by this idea

 

[nib95]

So are they essentially doing mass shilling? Eg like the JIDF? Usually organisations etc resort to this sort of stuff when they're trying to shut people off from the truth, or mislead, drown out an alternative message, skew messaging in general, change hearts and minds, or push through favourable propaganda or information. Interesting to know these are the sorts of tactics her PAC's of all things are resorting to, because her own supporters evidently can't do the job, or simply aren't enough.

It's also interesting in the sense that it highlights why her own campaign might have to spend less money on these sorts of things. She's essentially got the establishment and/or PAC's etc spending the money to do this sort of thing for her.

 

[Mxrz]

Good or bad, probably need more than $1 million to "correct" that reddit sub. I don't think the Sanders campaign could run it any better even if they were in charge.