Jason G. Palmer is the owner of "Black Insurrectionist," the anonymous social media persona that was behind some of the most widely circulated conspiracy theories about the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[1][2]
Conspiracy theories
editABC whistleblower affidavit conspiracy
editOrigin of the conspiracy
editAfter the September 10, 2024 debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, "the former president criticized ABC News’ debate moderators, and his supporters piled on about the network's supposed bias."[3]
Two days later, on September 12, 2024, Palmer "elevated [Trump's] ABC criticism with an unverified claim."[3][4]
The conspiracy
editOn September 12, 2024, Palmer tweeted, "I will be releasing an affidavit from an ABC whistleblower regarding the debate. I have just signed a non-disclosure agreement with the attorney of the whistleblower. The affidavit states how the Harris campaign was given sample question which were essentially the same questions that were given during the debate and separate assurances of fact checking Donald Trump and that she would NOT be fact checked. Accordingly, the affidavit states several other factors that were built into the debate to give Kamala a significant advantage. I have seen and read the affidavit and after the attorney blacks out the name of the whistleblower and other information that could dox the whistleblower, I will release the full affidavit. I will be releasing the affidavit before the weekend is out."[5]
This was followed by a series of tweets culminating in the 6-pages of the alleged affidavit on September 14, 2024.[6]
Spread of The Conspiracy
editOn September 15, 2024, "billionaire investor Bill Ackman reshared viral screenshots of the affidavit, tagging Disney CEO Bob Iger and calling for answers. Ackman expressed concerns, saying, 'I find the allegations credible as written, particularly because the affidavit was reportedly made the day before the debate and mentions details, like Harris' smaller podium, that only became public later.'"[7][8]
The Conspiracy Reaches Congress
editOn September 16, 2024, in an interview with Fox Business, U.S. House Representative Dan Meuser (R-PA) cited the unconfirmed affidavit and stated his "hopes to have ABC News officials testify before the House about unfounded allegations the network worked with Vice President Kamala Harris to give her an advantage at last week’s debate against former President Donald Trump."[3][9][10]
ABC's Response to The Conspiracy
editOn Sept. 17, 2024, ABC responded to the allegations with a statement, "ABC News followed the debate rules that both campaigns agreed on and which clearly state: No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates." [11][12]
Fact-Checks of The Conspiracy
editFact-checking website Verify analyzed the claims and concluded that "There’s no evidence to support claims that an alleged ABC News whistleblower exists or that the affidavit they are said to have written is authentic."[13]
Poynter noted that "the affidavit the account later shared, on Sept. 15, was impossible to authenticate and made unsubstantiated claims that it provided no evidence to support. The affidavit’s author claims to have secret recordings of conversations that would prove the allegations, but those have not been released." [3]
Tim Walz Abuse Allegation
editOn October 13, 2024, Palmer tweeted that "an unnamed, male former Walz student had contacted the X account in August, alleging Walz had sexually abused him in the 1990s when he was a student at Alliance High School in Nebraska." Those claims were later debunked.[14][15][16]
Right-Wing Continuation of the Tim Walz Abuse Allegation with an AI Video
editDespite the fabricated emails being debunked, right-wing conspiracy theorists continued promoting the story. Sarah Fields of The Publica (a news outlet) posted an AI video impersonating Matthew Metro, the student who claimed to have been sexually abused by Tim Walz in the debunked conspiracy theory by Palmer.[17][18] The AI video was soon amplified by other right-wing accounts.[19][20][21][22][23]
The AI video was confirmed as fake by Shayan Sardarizadeh (Senior journalist at BBC Verify).[24][18]
Verify, AFP, and the Washington Post separately confirmed that the man in the video is not Matthew Metro.[20][22][21]
Microsoft and Darren Linvill (co-director of Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub) identified the Russian group behind the video as Storm-1516.[20][22][23] "The group 'consistently launders narratives through videos seeding scandalous claims from fake journalists and nonexistent whistleblowers and amplifying that disinformation via inauthentic news sites.'"[20][22][23]
References
edit- ^ Slodysko, Brian (25 October 2024). "The 'Black Insurrectionist' was actually white. The deception did not stop there". Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via apnews.com.
- ^ Archacki, Liam (25 October 2024). "MAGA's 'Black Insurrectionist' Conspiracy Freak Unmasked". Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via thedailybeast.com.
- ^ a b c d Cercone, Jeff (23 September 2024). "How an unsubstantiated, anonymous affidavit about the ABC presidential debate was amplified online". poynter.org. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Mesa, Jesus (17 September 2024). "MAGA Pushes Claim of 'ABC Whistleblower' After Harris-Trump Debate". Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024 – via newsweek.com.
- ^ @DocNetyoutube (12 September 2024). "I will be releasing an affidavit from an ABC whistleblower regarding the debate. I have just signed a non-disclosure agreement with the attorney of the whistleblower. The affidavit states how the Harris campaign was given sample question which were essentially the same questions that were given during the debate and separate assurances of fact checking Donald Trump and that she would NOT be fact checked. Accordingly, the affidavit states several other factors that were built into the debate to give Kamala a significant advantage. I have seen and read the affidavit and after the attorney blacks out the name of the whistleblower and other information that could dox the whistleblower, I will release the full affidavit. I will be releasing the affidavit before the weekend is out" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ @DocNetyoutube (16 September 2024). "Here are the 6 pages of the affidavit for easier sharing. I made an error in the original posting. I duplicated page 5. I would also like to note that there are several pages after the verification page that were specifics about the job the whistleblower did and a transcript of the recordings he had made. The transcripts are even wors than the affidavit" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Viral 'ABC whistleblower affidavit' makes shocking claims, Bill Ackman seeks a probe, finds 'allegations credible'". hindustantimes.com. HT Media Limited. 16 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Ackman, Bill [@BillAckman] (16 September 2024). "Dear Bob, I assume that you have been made aware of this affidavit which was made public earlier today in which a whistleblower states that @ABC worked closely with the @KamalaHarris campaign in sharing the substance of the questions, avoiding certain topics, agreeing on the staging, committing to fact check @realDonaldTrump and not Harris, and more disturbing details" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Chatelain, Ryan (17 September 2024). "GOP congressman says ABC News may be called to testify about Trump-Harris debate fairness". ny1.com. Spectrum News. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Rhetoric about Trump is increasing the heat: Rep. Dan Meuser". 16 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via foxbusiness.com.
- ^ "ABC responds to rigging charges in whistleblower affidavit, 'we followed the debate rules'". hindustantimes.com. HT Media Limited. 17 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ "ABC responds to whistleblower's rigging charges during presidential debate, 'we stuck to the debate guidelines'". The Economic Times. 17 September 2024. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Claims about ABC whistleblower and affidavit alleging debate bias lack evidence". 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via verifythis.com.
- ^ Bajaj, Yash (13 October 2024). "Tim Walz Accused Of 'Inappropriate' Student Relationship, Visiting Gay Bar In Viral Tweet". Archived from the original on 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024 – via timesnownews.com.
- ^ Thalen, Mikael (15 October 2024). "ABC 'whistleblower' hoaxster returns with sloppy attempt to frame Tim Walz". Archived from the original on 15 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024 – via dailydot.com.
- ^ Swann, Sara (18 October 2024). "How an X account pushed an unsubstantiated Tim Walz abuse allegation". Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via poynter.org.
- ^ @SarahisCensored (16 October 2024). "Breaking: Matthew Metro has come forward and officially Accused Tim Walz of s*xually assaulting him while Walz was his teacher at Mankato West High School in 1997" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b @Shayan86 (16 October 2024). "See more viral examples of the deepfake Tim Walz victim video. This is not even a good deepfake. If it's not instantly obvious to most people that it is a deepfake, then we're soon going to be in serious trouble" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ @TheWakeninq (16 October 2024). "Breaking: Tim Walz's former student, Matthew Metro, drops a shocking allegation-claims Walz s*xually assaulted him in 1997 while Walz was his teacher at Mankato West High School. Metro was a senior at the time. If this is true, it's a political earthquake" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d Jones, Kelly. "No, the viral claim about Walz's misconduct while teaching isn't real". Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via verifythis.com.
- ^ a b Swaine, Jon; Blaskey, Sarah; Dehghanpoor, Chris (21 October 2024). "Viral attack on Walz features fake former student making false claim". Archived from the original on 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024 – via washingtonpost.com.
- ^ a b c d McCarthy, Bill. "Tim Walz targeted by unfounded sexual abuse claim". Archived from the original on 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024 – via factcheck.afp.com.
- ^ a b c Delzer, Erielle; Tarrant, Rhona (22 October 2024). "Russian disinformation groups promoting false claims about Gov. Tim Walz, experts say". Archived from the original on 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024 – via washingtonpost.com.
- ^ @Shayan86 (16 October 2024). "A video of a man who calls himself Matthew Metro and claims to be a victim of assault by Tim Walz as a schoolboy in 1997 is gaining millions of views. The video has all the hallmarks of a deepfake, with very unnatural facial features and an out of sync voice" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via Twitter.