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NRSC Uses Twitter Account To Send Fake RTs From Democratic Politicians, Including President Obama

» 32 comments

And you thought we were finished with political Twitter stories? C’mon, this is Washington we’re talking about! The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s getting blowback today from both the left and right for a series of fake re-tweets sent from the NRSC’s official @nrsc Twitter account. The bogus RTs each make reference to Democrats failing to produce a budget, and include a link to a webpage, www.demsplanforamerica.com, that is–wait for it–a blank page.

The fake RT from @BarackObama reads “My budget failed 0-97 but wait till you see @SenateDems budget -BO.” Another, using the Twitter handle of Tim Kaine reads, “First Recovery Summer, now @SenateDems budget plan website http://www.demsplanforamerica.com, we’re on a roll!” The messages were sent out from the @nrsc account to its 14,110 followers–and of course, the “original” messages do not show up on the Twitter accounts of President Obama, Kaine, Jon Tester, Harry Reid or Claire McCaskill.




And surprise–nobody’s laughing. Even Andy Levy, who helps bring the funny to Fox News Channel’s overnight Red Eye, was quick to blast the NRSC via Twitter, “@NRSC What the hell is wrong with you? How do you not realize it’s unethical to make up fake tweets from people?”




Many on Twitter are calling for the NRSC to remove the tweets–which may violate the site’s terms of service. So far, the stream of tweets remains on the NRSC’s page.

(h/t Jamison Foser)

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  • Emma

    Republicans; keeping it ethical and classy 24/7.

  • perceptorii

    These are the same geniuses who tried to torpedo Marco Rubio’s Senate run so that it would interfere with Charlie Crist’s ambitions. While this is obviously an attempt at parody, it’s really dumb. There’s a reason why Tea Party activists have been working around establishment groups like the NRSC, rather than with them.

  • tatboy

    Emma said:
    Republicans; keeping it ethical and classy 24/7.

    Um… do you want me to give you examples from the other side? I won’t be hard. Do you really think it only goes one way?

  • lillyluminatus

    tatboy said:
    Um… do you want me to give you examples from the other side? I won’t be hard. Do you really think it only goes one way?

    Of Democrats manufacturing statements “made” by Republicans? Yes, please.

  • Alice67

    “@NRSC What the hell is wrong with you? How do you not realize it’s unethical to make up fake tweets from people?”

    IOKIYAR

  • Alice67

    tatboy said:
    Um… do you want me to give you examples from the other side? I won’t be hard. Do you really think it only goes one way?

    Examples of Democrats faking Tweets from Republican? Yes, I’d like to see that. Got any?

  • lillyluminatus

    Alice67 said:
    IOKIYAR

    Indeed. As with everything else.

  • http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

    And the food fight ratchets up another level. NRSC is innovating newer and even uglier ways to try to discredit and destroy. Let’s see, Dems give us Ryan shoving an old lady off a cliff and the GOP responds with his trash.

    Celebrating a third decade of No Party Affiliation! See why?

  • Thelonious Funk

    If the NRSC has time to tweet, we should re-examine the NRSC’s responsibilities.

  • BFD

    tatboy said:
    Um… do you want me to give you examples from the other side? I won’t be hard. Do you really think it only goes one way?

    I think you don’t have the balls to condemn this, only point in the other direction.

    I condemn my side all the time.

    As an atheist I condemn NBC leaving out “under God” and as a Democrat I condemn the ATF’s Fast & Furious operation.

    Try it. It wont kill you….

    “I condemn this idiocy”

  • http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

    The NRSC tweets are an example of a potential problem which doesn’t seem to have a straightforward answer and though I’d love a discussion on the subject, I’m not seeing an easy solution.

    Back when Homeland Security launched the NTASAlerts Twitter account, I wondered in comments about the possibility that someone could faux-retweet an alert message to cause panic and I touched upon the idea again, when the possibility remained that @RepWeiner’s account had been “hacked”. After all, if special laws were to be adopted to protect the integrity of a Congressperson’s personal Twitter, then it’d have to include faux-retweets by definition.

    Of course, if one were to faux-retweet DHS, it’d likely fall under existing terror laws, as would a coordinated effort to faux-retweet it along with several major news agencies in hopes of inciting violence, but that’s untested waters. And as I suggested several times during #weinergate, the possibility exists that Twitter may not retain IP records, so such a terrorist act may be difficult to investigate, plus any investigation would happen after the fact and be reliant on the perpetrators not using blind proxies.

    Right now as long as Twitter allows faux-retweeting, something which would be almost impossible to prevent without restricting the user’s ability to amend retweets and the freedom to allow rephrasing, we’re looking at just another step down a road which began with the Twitter “death” of Morgan Freeman.

    Personal responsibility is really our only safeguard. Naturally, a user should take it upon themselves to verify anything included in a tweet, but the National Republican Senatorial Committee should be a trusted source and though this time it’s relatively innocuous, it’s just further evidence that we shouldn’t believe anything we’re being told, no matter who is saying it.

  • Call_Me_Ishmael

    tatboy said:
    Um… do you want me to give you examples from the other side? I won’t be hard. Do you really think it only goes one way?

    Thus explaining the origin of your non de posting, “tit for tat”? It’s amazing that the “but they did it first” comeback hasn’t died the irrelevant death it deserves.

  • BarneyFranken

    lillyluminatus said:
    Indeed. As with everything else.

    You cant seriously think that republicans get a pass with ‘everything’? Really? Now liberals are complaining about a double standards and bias? LOL. Yeah ok.

    The faux outrage here is mind numbing. Who would take these tweets as being real?

    If the RNSC is serious in their intent to fake a tweet, then I condemn that, absolutely.

    If it was a parody, which it seems rather obvious that it is, then it doesn’t bother me- it seems someone is just trying a (too) clever way to say that the dems have no plan. If someone really thought Obama tweeted that then they are an idiot, sorry.

  • BarneyFranken

    BFD said:
    I think you don’t have the balls to condemn this, only point in the other direction. I condemn my side all the time. As an atheist I condemn NBC leaving out “under God” and as a Democrat I condemn the ATF’s Fast & Furious operation. Try it. It wont kill you…. “I condemn this idiocy”

    Just like when you said you would be the first to call for Weiner’s resignation if it were true…

    and then you pulled a disappearing act instead.

    Oh well, its not like anyone takes you seriously anyway.

  • BarneyFranken

    lillyluminatus said:
    Of Democrats manufacturing statements “made” by Republicans? Yes, please.

    The fake Koch brother thing comes to mind- that’s an easy example.

  • Call_Me_Ishmael

    BarneyFranken said:
    The fake Koch brother thing comes to mind- that’s an easy example.

    “The fake Koch brother thing”? There’s a fake Koch brother? One of the Koch brother’s thing is fake?

  • Grammie

    BarneyFranken said:
    If the RNSC is serious in their intent to fake a tweet, then I condemn that, absolutely.

    If it was a parody, which it seems rather obvious that it is, then it doesn’t bother me- it seems someone is just trying a (too) clever way to say that the dems have no plan. If someone really thought Obama tweeted that then they are an idiot, sorry.

    .
    Dittos.

    BTW, if anyone was actually snookered who cares what such an imbecile thinks?

    This outrage is a tempest in a teacup.

  • BarneyFranken

    Call_Me_Ishmael said:
    “The fake Koch brother thing”? There’s a fake Koch brother? One of the Koch brother’s thing is fake?

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/02/23/133996140/wisconsins-gov-walker-takes-prank-call-from-fake-koch-brother

    sorry should have clarified- I thought most people knew about the Scott Walker – fake Koch brother story.

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  • BFD

    BarneyFranken said:
    Just like when you said you would be the first to call for Weiner’s resignation if it were true…

    and then you pulled a disappearing act instead.

    Oh well, its not like anyone takes you seriously anyway.

    You sir, are a liar.
    I was skeptical of Weiner from day one, I never attempted to blame anyone else for a “conspiracy” against him, and I was one of the first to call repeatedly for his resignation.

    If you are going to go after me don’t do it with a sack of bullshit, mkay?

  • http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

    @BarneyFranken: I don’t want to get into a tit for tat, primarily because I’m trying to approach this issue non-politically, but one difference between the faux-tweets and the “fake Koch” is that Scott Walker was the only one snookered by the prank call, while the NRSC used a broadcast platform.

    Perhaps, Sarah Palin getting pranked by the disc jockeys on air is a little closer, but their listeners knew it was a prank, so it’s not exact. Unfortunately and again not exact, but the closest thing that comes to mind using fake voices was when a for-profit ad agency sold celebrity voice impersonations as the real thing. In that case, both the client (political candidates) and the audience were misled.

  • BarneyFranken

    BFD said:
    You sir, are a liar.I was skeptical of Weiner from day one, I never attempted to blame anyone else for a “conspiracy” against him, and I was one of the first to call repeatedly for his resignation. If you are going to go after me don’t do it with a sack of bullshit, mkay?

    Interesting: the word “repeatedly” means plural right? Too bad you dont have an actual comments to back up that assertion. You in fact went MIA when the Weiner story went south, which I found ironic since you said you would be the “first” to call for his resignation- but in fact you sat the whole story out:

    BFD May 30, 2011 at 6:38 pm said:
    This story is pointless to me until we get some kind of proof from either side.TBH if it is true I would be the first to call for Weiner’s resignation. Not for the photo, he could have survived that.For the lying.

    If you can find your comment that proves this to be true, I’ll apologize- but from what I saw you were only conspicuous in your absence.

  • BarneyFranken

    Magister said:
    @BarneyFranken: I don’t want to get into a tit for tat, primarily because I’m trying to approach this issue non-politically, but one difference between the faux-tweets and the “fake Koch” is that Scott Walker was the only one snookered by the prank call, while the NRSC used a broadcast platform. Perhaps, Sarah Palin getting pranked by the disc jockeys on air is a little closer, but their listeners knew it was a prank, so it’s not exact. Unfortunately and again not exact, but the closest thing that comes to mind using fake voices was when a for-profit ad agency sold celebrity voice impersonations as the real thing. In that case, both the client (political candidates) and the audience were misled.

    Im not trying to compare anything either- I am a firm believer of each story standing on its own merits, and the “they do it too” argument is lazy and tiresome.

    I am simply answering someone asking this direct question:

    lillyluminatus said:
    Of Democrats manufacturing statements “made” by Republicans? Yes, please.

    .

    Alice67 said:
    Examples of Democrats faking Tweets from Republican? Yes, I’d like to see that. Got any?

    and without hesitation I thought of an example- it took like 2 seconds- though its not on twitter per say the impact was still pretty big, and it was not a parody but a deceit- It clearly isnt a comparable situation in any real sense though, other than someone pretending to be someone they aren’t.

  • Sanders Youth

    Hey look another in a long list of examples of IOKIYAR As Dusty Rhodes said, “No respect! No honor! There is no honor amongst thieves in the first place! He (Ric Flair a Republican) put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don’t know what hard times are daddy! Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work. They got four or five kids and can’t pay their wages, can’t buy their food. Hard times are when the auto workers are out of work and they tell em’ go home. And hard times, are when a man works on a job thirty years. THIRTY YEARS! They give him a watch, kick him in the butt, and say HEY a computer took your place daddy. That’s hard time! That’s hard times! And Ric Flair (Republican), you put hard times on this country by taking Dusty Rhodes out. THAT’S HARD TIME!!

  • Nacho

    BarneyFranken said:
    I am simply answering someone asking this direct question:

    lillyluminatus said:
    Of Democrats manufacturing statements “made” by Republicans? Yes, please.

    You can’t really call The Buffalo Beast “The Democrats” especially when responding in a story about the NRSC.

  • http://constitutionallibertarian.co.cc DavidKramer

    RT@BarackObama unemployment and the economy sucks.

    Did I just hack the Obama tweeter account? Wow, who wrote this article?

  • Prom Night Dumpster Baby

    Classy as ever

  • skyfet

    Whats new? These guys perfected perjury, false statement and outright lie, turned a war veteran to a coward and a coward into a man of action, slandered John McCain for having a Black child, Race baiting, divide and conquer between different class of people on race, wealth and background. They’ve sunk so low that actions like this are minor in my eyes.

  • GuessWhoSuka

    hehehehe…..

    Wow….hey look,Republicans showing no class whatsoever…I’m shocked.
    After that little stunt with the fake Obama this weekend,I think it’s fair to say the Cons are having quite a week yea?

    hahahahaha………keep on the good work Cons,,,we’re all laughing….

    weeee!!!!!!

  • bealzebubba

    as low-brow as it would appear to some, is it any different than the dude who did the fake BP public relations tweets? I know the intent is different but it’s the same kind of thing.

    And all anyone has to do is click on the @twitterName link and they’ll quickly figure out if the RT is real or not. you can’t authentically fake a tweet unless you hack the account.

  • lillyluminatus

    BarneyFranken said:
    You cant seriously think that republicans get a pass with ‘everything’? Really? Now liberals are complaining about a double standards and bias? LOL. Yeah ok.

    See: David Vitter, Larry Craig, John Ensign

  • lillyluminatus

    BarneyFranken said:
    The fake Koch brother thing comes to mind- that’s an easy example.

    Yes, because catching someone saying something totally indefensible is just like making shit up that they didn’t actually say.

    I mean, really!?

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