A Twitter Account With Two Fake IDs Accused a Democrat of Assault. Then Pro-Trump Sites Ran With It
Source: The Daily Beast
Linda Flores emerged on Twitter to allege that she was assaulted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal. He denies it. And she may not actually exist.
BEN COLLINS
GIDEON RESNICK
SAM STEIN
11.17.17 4:50 PM ET
A woman claiming to be from Connecticut made an explosive allegation of sexual assault against Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Friday. Her account quickly made its way through conservative chat forums, where contributors roundly called for the Senator to address the allegations and be held accountable for them.
But it is not entirely clear that the woman making the charge actually exists. In fact, a quick search shows that the account ripped off bio photos of women in Texas and London and misspelled the name of the accusers Connecticut hometown. The account was quickly shut down once the accusation went viral on rightwing media, with the user then emerging to claim shed been hacked. After that, the account was suspended. And in a statement to The Daily Beast, Blumenthals office strongly denied the charge.
It began at 5:56 pm, on Thursday, when the initial tweet was posted. In it, Linda Flores said that she had waited almost 40 years to tell my story about how she was an intern at a law office with @SenBlumenthal & was sexually assaulted by richard countless times.
Told the story to my husband has been eaten me alive since, Flores tweeted.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-twitter-account-with-two-fake-ids-accused-a-democrat-of-assault-then-pro-trump-sites-ran-with-it
NanceGreggs
(27,818 posts)... that there will be more such accusations coming out of the woodwork.
It's a traditional GOP tack: If one of yours is accused of something, simply accuse the other side of having done the same thing.
We just saw this play out with the "Hillary colluded with the Russians" meme. And let's face it, the GOP really has no other option than to throw this stuff out there and hope that it sticks.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)And of course it was easy, since many democrats already think we have to believe anybody accusing anybody of something.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)marble falls
(57,204 posts)why. He's never been held accountable and its way past time.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,505 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)marble falls
(57,204 posts)very, very old!
orangecrush
(19,617 posts)Once is coincidence.
Twice is suspicious.
Three times is enemy action.
FakeNoose
(32,748 posts)No need to wait for 1 and 2 any more.
I may sound paranoid, but I see Russian trolls behind everything now.
it's been eaten her alive? Wouldn't an intern know how to spell eating?
orangecrush
(19,617 posts)Is obvious!
(Referring to the twitter troll.)
KPN
(15,650 posts)tv news here in SE Oregon. It's more than just overtly proTrump sites.
Isn't there any way that Twitter and FB can be held accountable? Lawsuits? I 'd be willing to donate toward legal action against these two sites in particular. Or am I just barking up a tree.
We need to deal with this somehow -- can we really count on the American people given corporate and oligarch control of media and campaign finance, not to mention GOP control of the federal government currently?
blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)apologies from all concerned GOP operatives will be forthcoming.
BigmanPigman
(51,627 posts)to be starting a lot of this shit...it is called DISTRACTION!
tblue37
(65,487 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)Even when it comes from people that might not actually exist.
George II
(67,782 posts)....would know he's the most bland, asexual man in the Senate.
I'm not even going to think about the possibility that this is true.
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)Apparently even when bots are making them.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)But bot don't care.
Bengus81
(6,932 posts)Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)These enemies of the free world will not give up.
For this vile assault on good man, they deserve not to be pissed on if they caught fire.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)He and Chris Murphy are wonderful senators. They are a bulwark of liberalism in a sea of retrogrades.
This is just horrible. I am so sorry for the Blumenthals because they have to deal with these lowlifes. Talk about a special place in hell...
not fooled
(5,801 posts)is get the verbiage out there....facts and subsequent debunking don't matter--the damage is already done: putting the idea in 'Muricans' heads that both-sides-do it.
dchill
(38,532 posts)Even though they put me in a state of dis-bot-belief.
Roland99
(53,342 posts)Russians? Who knows
What we do know is that social media is a sizable force. It has the ability to affect lives, policy, elections
An abusive social media is an enemy
Pugster
(229 posts)Blumenthal is a harsh Putin critic.