Authentic reposted this
Former Senior Adviser to Kamala Harris. Founder of Authentic. Organizer of White Dudes for Harris. Raised $1B+ in small-dollar online donations. Expert in AI, emerging tech, digital advertising. Mental health advocate.✌️
I have never spoken publicly about this before, but over the last year and a half, our agency (Authentic) has been targeted by a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory that suggests our company is somehow involved in the Donald Trump fraud trial in New York. The accusations against us are absurd and completely false. However, this has not stopped MAGA world conspiracy theorists from harassing our employees and sending death threats to some of our families. I’m speaking up today because on August 1st, Jim Jordan and the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee opened a partisan investigation into Authentic, which they immediately leaked to Twitter and Fox News to publicize within minutes of us receiving the letter. They are pursuing a baseless, MAGA-led conspiracy theory to call into question the fact that Donald Trump was found guilty in his NY fraud trial by a jury of his peers. Over the last year, we have tried to trust and respect the process. However, since the committee has chosen to recklessly spread misinformation and endanger lives, we felt compelled to publicly share our response to their recent request for Authentic’s documents and communications. The letter below is our formal response to the House Judiciary committee. I encourage you all to read it carefully. We’ve provided the committee with important context that debunks these conspiracy theories and demonstrates that there is nothing on which to base this inquiry. If the committee is genuinely interested in uncovering the truth, we encourage them to consider the facts, not the cherry-picked, manipulated, misrepresented information they have been parroting. They should focus their time on the real issues facing our nation. Our priority going forward is to protect our staff, ensure our client work continues uninterrupted, and stand firm in the face of these baseless accusations. We appreciate everyone’s support during this challenging time and are committed to staying strong as we navigate this together.
I'm sorry for the suffering of you, your family, and others caught up in this partisan crap. We as a country are heading down the path of violence replacing discourse and guns replacing votes. While I doubt that most Americans wish this path, it is the way many of our elected officials are driving things. As the voters we need to ensure that violence is not tolerated and that political campaigns compete for the minds and hearts of their constituents by arguing the merits of their policy approaches.
So sorry you're dealing with this, Mike. If you or Loren want to connect to talk best practices on the cyber / doxxing side, just say the word – happy to share any materials we have.
Absolutely insane you have to deal with this. The whole GOP has lost their minds.
This is the most ridiculous thing I've heard this week .. I'm sorry your team and you are having to deal with this
Fuck those guys. And so much love headed yours and the rest of the teams' way.
Dude, keep fighting the good fight. Lots of moving parts. Best wishes your words don't fall on deaf ears and appreciate reminding us that if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything. Your integrity is inspiring.
This is horrific. These people will stop at nothing to quash dissent. I'm afraid that it's only going to get far worse when they begin to realize how badly they're going to lose.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. Threats, intimidation, stealing, doxxing -- all are unacceptable and I hope all are held accountable for their harassment.
Horrible. Unconscionable. Good luck getting it resolved
Blended Organizing Strategist building governing power for working people at the intersection of digital, organizing, and data.
2moAs someone who went through something very similar, I am very sorry you and your team have to deal with this bullshit. I hope you have found some good lawyers, some good crisis comms people (who aren't your team), set up a command center full of joyful warriors, and are thinking about how to turn this shitshow into opportunities to do what you do even better, with more people and in more places. Good luck, rooting for you, and here to help.