Recent revelations suggest that Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, in partnership with her running mate Tim Walz, is engaging in troubling manipulation tactics through social media platforms. According to reports, the campaign is utilizing a private Discord server where volunteers are directed to amplify pro-Harris messages, artificially manufacturing online support and skirting platform rules. This practice, known as “astroturfing,” has raised serious concerns about the campaign’s commitment to transparency and compliance with election laws.
The Harris-Walz campaign has allegedly seen success in gaming Reddit’s algorithm, but its operations extend far beyond. Reports indicate the campaign has shifted focus to Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), a platform known for its influence over political discourse. One of the Discord server’s key strategies involves instructing volunteers to manipulate X’s “Community Notes” feature—crowdsourced fact-checking notes appended to misleading tweets.
Volunteers are reportedly encouraged to downvote Community Notes that contradict the campaign’s narrative, even when the notes accurately flag misleading claims. In one example, the campaign attempted to distort a statement by Donald Trump, suggesting he labeled non-supporters as “dangerous people.” In truth, Trump was referring to individuals within the government leaking sensitive information, but the campaign sought to suppress this context using organized downvoting efforts.
JUST IN: The Kamala Harris campaign caught manipulating Community Notes to spread left-wing propaganda on X, according to the @FDRLST.
The campaign is reportedly using a Discord server to swarm “hordes” of users to manipulate CN.
The strategy is also being used to limit… pic.twitter.com/g1BaJvZthf
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 30, 2024
The Community Notes system, is a neutral way to address misinformation, allows users to propose fact-checking notes. If enough users vote in favor of a note, it is appended to the original post. However, reports suggest that the Harris-Walz campaign has taken to coaching volunteers on manipulating this feature. Paid Democratic staffers within the campaign’s Discord server have allegedly written misleading Community Notes targeting GOP messaging, encouraging volunteers to rate them favorably to ensure their visibility.
Interestingly, CNN’s Daniel Dale, a fact-checker known for his critical stance on Trump, recently published a column exposing the errors and disinformation present in Harris-Walz campaign posts. Even so, the campaign’s efforts to manipulate Community Notes seem to have been met with limited success, as the system’s design minimizes the impact of coordinated interference.
