Election Day [Week][Month[s]] [Year] 2020 follow-along thread

[Kimstu]

@urbanredneck2

How about the whole “Walk-away” movement?

What “movement”? “#WalkAway” is fundamentally a made-up astroturfing ploy that only conservatives seem to be gullible enough to believe in.

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 from New York City. […]

News sources have debated the extent to which WalkAway is an example of astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement. David A. Love of CNNcondemned the campaign as “pure propaganda [and] a psychological operation.”[8] 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.”[9]

Abby Ohlheiser of The Washington Post claimed that “[t]here’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.[10] ThinkProgresscharacterized the WalkAway campaign as “a grifting operation,” noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees.[11] […]

Straka has stated that WalkAway does not receive major donations and that “everything is grassroots support from Americans who send us $5 or $100.”[9] As of May 2020, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that of the $20,104 donated to WalkAway in 2020, $7,521 were contributed by nine large ($200 or more) donors, of which Straka is one.[14][ better source needed ]

WalkAway received a $10,000 donation from Alex Jones and InfoWars.