Investigation: Was Last Night’s Viral ‘Sticker Kid’ Planted by Sanders Campaign?

Lindsey EllefsonFeb 2nd, 2016, 12:12 pm
 

When it comes to politics, Twitter giveth and giveth and giveth, which was especially true during the Iowa caucus last night. Not only did an old tweet from Donald Trump come back to bite the second-place loser — which is his word, not mine! — but the Internet got a new temporary hero via viral video. Immediately dubbed “Sticker Kid,” the dude making faces and stealing the show behind Hillary Clinton during a speech was deemed the real winner of the caucus by various outlets and social media users.

The Drake University student is named Peter Clinkscales and he “just wanted to hear a presidential candidate speak,” according to intrepid reporter Megan Specia. He told her he doesn’t support Clinton and that he’s still undecided, which seemed a little unlikely coming from an Iowa resident at midnight as the caucus was ending.

Like I said before, though, Twitter giveth and giveth. While Clinkscales insists he is undecided, the micro-blogging platform tells a different story. After an unflattering meme about Bernie Sanders supporters was posted by a conservative joke account two months ago, local Twitter users quickly identified the then-unknown Clinkscales in the procession of Sanders supporters depicted.

Here he is interacting with Josh Hutcherson, who spoke in support of Sanders on the campaign trail in Iowa, at what looks an awful lot like a political rally.

It appears that Clinkscales was a Sanders sleeper cell all along. The unfortunate meme from Twitter User Cloyd Rivers Pics, then, dramatically mischaracterized him; he obviously set out to put in serious work last night.

If you’re looking for confirmation from Clinkscales that he is, in fact, a Sanders operative, don’t hold your breath. He seems to be a very well-trained spy and began working to throw us off his scent over two weeks ago, carefully laying down this foundational tweet:

[image via screengrab]

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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