२७ सप्टेंबर, २०१४

"Poll Watcher Militia" was a hoax.

Predictable, of course.
The original page made derogatory statements about liberals and urged people to harass voters who signed the Walker recall petition who were sex offenders, tax dodgers or anyone with an outstanding warrant....
The question is why anyone fell for it, though I'm sure many of those who spread the word about it knew or suspected it was fake but took advantage of the opportunity to manipulate the anti-conservative hatred.

ADDED: The author of the linked Capital Times article, Steven Elbow, commenting in his own thread, tries to make up for his gullibility by saying that whoever put up the page was trying to encourage other people to harass people who had signed the Walker recall petition:
The author of the “militia” webpage knows that airing his ugly views is risky – drawing outrage from anyone with a sense of fairness and decency, and causing embarrassment to those who share those views but have to walk that thin line between the mainstream and the extreme to maintain their political credibility. So instead of putting his name behind his views, he airs them anonymously. Whether he considers it a hoax or not is irrelevant. The page espouses the views of its creator. More worrisome is it taps into that dark current of hate that drives today’s politics, normalizing threats, violence and racism. And that scares people. That’s why this story was reported, and why it resonated with readers.
Elbow is making a big assumption! We don't know who put up the webpage, so we can only speculate why that person did it. It's at least as likely that a Walker hater put the website up in a scheme to propagate the opinion that conservatives are out to suppress the vote. It's also possible that it was a "pure" troll, committed to neither side, but hoping to get some fun out of watching lefties and righties go at each other. Isn't that what the use of the "Trollface" meme tends to mean? (You have to click through Elbow's link to the Facebook page to see the deployment of that stock cartoon laughing face.)

५९ टिप्पण्या:

Misinforminimalism म्हणाले...

The Left seems to lack the "if it seems too good to be true..." sensor.

exhelodrvr1 म्हणाले...

You fell for Obama ...

RecChief म्हणाले...

huh, just like the race scandals at those small private colleges, if evidence doesn't exist, make it up?

rehajm म्हणाले...

But hey, we stopped talking about Mary Burke the plagiarist for a while, eh comrades?

garage mahal म्हणाले...

So predictable that you didn't predict it?

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

That confirms the aphorism that being Liberal is a mental illness. That one was a fly over of the Madison Cukoo Nest. Ergo: the pranksters need to be charged with Criminal Politics in the first degree. When will the Swat teams show up...my guess is 3:00 AM.

David म्हणाले...

"The question is why anyone fell for it, though I'm sure many of those who spread the word about it knew or suspected it was fake . . ."

But many are also predisposed to believe all the crap that is put out there. A combination of prejudice and ignorance is hard to beat.

PackerBronco म्हणाले...

Blogger garage mahal said...
So predictable that you didn't predict it?

9/27/14, 9:12 AM


We don't predict things like the sun coming up.

Michael K म्हणाले...

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a source of hoaxes and is a successful enterprise by one lefty lawyerwho gets a lot of publicity and quite a bit of money by duping lefties.

Morris Dees is a multimillionaire as a result of his entrepreneurial talents and lefties stupidity and bias.

Birkel म्हणाले...

"garage mahal" was one of the pimps for this story.
And now "garage mahal" has the pretend audacity to act all butt-hurt.

Those middle school coaches owe you significant money for the brain damage you obviously incurred, pimp.

What a fucking clown.

paminwi म्हणाले...

The Cap Times fell for it. They had stuff both in print and on-line. Libs are SOOOOOO smart! After all, they are led by the smartest man on earth, right?

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Michael K said...
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a source of hoaxes and is a successful enterprise by one lefty lawyer who gets a lot of publicity and quite a bit of money by duping lefties.


Yup, the SPLC is pretty sleazy, but at least Morris Dees cured his own poverty.

The Crack Emcee म्हणाले...

"The question is why anyone fell for it, though I'm sure many of those who spread the word about it knew or suspected it was fake but took advantage of the opportunity to manipulate the anti-conservative hatred."

For the same reason conservatives lie:

It's how whites "debate,..."

RecChief म्हणाले...

our daily "whites are racist" post by Crack Emcee.

Really man, I got some serious glares from my co workers from laughing so hard at that last bit.

The constant drumbeat has itself become a joke.

I can't wait to see how you tie a volcano eruption to bigoted whites.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Those middle school coaches owe you significant money for the brain damage you obviously incurred, pimp.

Man, it must suck to be you. You wake up, go to Althouse, and look for posts written by me. That's pretty pathetic and you should consider deleting your account.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent म्हणाले...

"So predictable that you didn't predict it?"

Hilarious, garage. I remember you screaming and throwing your apron over your head about this. But that's the inevitable result of learning your critical thinking skills from Michael Moore. Schlub Populism 101.

अनामित म्हणाले...

Rally round Col. Gaddafi's own when the balloon goes up.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Hilarious, garage. I remember you screaming and throwing your apron over your head about this.

I don't recall that. Refresh my memory.

richard mcenroe म्हणाले...

exhelodrvr1 Ah, but the question is, who will Ann fall for in 2014?

अनामित म्हणाले...

Just to clarify, is Althouse claiming the Facebook page was a hoax made up by liberals in order to make conservative look bad? Or was this page put up by a conservative who decided to say it was a hoax after he started getting some attention?

Because I'm not buying it was a conservative who was planning from the start for this to be a hoax. That is too dippy to believe for even a minute. What would be the purpose?

jr565 म्हणाले...

if they can't get the villain they want, by god they'll make it. And then attack all republicans because of it.

jr565 म्हणाले...

Why did people believe it? Liberals probably believed it. Because they have this notion of republicans/conservatives as bogeymen. All then is required is to fill in the stats and talknig points with what a conservative might say and voila, the libs believe it.

Biff म्हणाले...

The first thing I thought of when I heard that there were new protests in Ferguson after a makeshift memorial to Michael Brown was burned was that it was intentionally set by someone who sees political advantage in race baiting, i.e. by someone on the Left. The second thought was that perhaps someone lit a memorial candle, leading to unanticipated consequences. Waaaay down the list was the possibility that some racist character snuck into the neighborhood and set the memorial on fire.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/24/protesters-return-to-ferguson-streets-after-michael-brown-memorial-burns/

iowan2 म्हणाले...

The comments at the link are the true 'story'.

just because it was all fabricated doesn't mean that it wont actually happen. ei Dan Rather, just because the whole thing was fake and we were told the proof was forged doesn't mean the story isn't true.

Achilles म्हणाले...

People like garage have nothing to stand for. They say they want a fair society and to help the poor but their policies of redistribution are anything but fair and the poor are relegated to shitty public schools whose funding is determined by local property values. All of their policies are meant to create a permanent underclass.

The only thing they can argue against is a caricature. All Crack can do to support Obama is call his opponents racist. Garage has to attach himself to hoaxes like this and still believes it to be true, even after it is proven not to be.

Progressives are a net negative to society everywhere they exist.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"So predictable that you didn't predict it?"

I sure did.

Henry म्हणाले...

The fallback position (thanks Facebook friends) is that even fake threats are real because they will scare people from voting.

Uh huh.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

I don't remember if I put up a post calling attention to it for the purpose of saying I think this is a false flag operation, but we talked about it here, Meade and I. You don't have to believe me, of course, but I don't lie.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Garage has to attach himself to hoaxes like this and still believes it to be true, even after it is proven not to be.

Nothing was proven to be not true. Who knows. Walker does have a creepy, cult-like following. Check the #wiunion hashtag on Twitter, or ask Meg Gorski. Or ask anyone that collected recall signatures.

अनामित म्हणाले...

Love how garage talks as if the left has never harassed anyone.

This guy has not only zero integrity, he has negative integrity.

Drago म्हणाले...

Shorter garage: The fact that it's not true only proves how true it really is.

David म्हणाले...

The Cap Times played this as a completely straight story, the lefty commenters to the Times article swallowed it whole and it was the "most read" story in the Times for that edition.

Again, a combination of prejudice and ignorance is hard to beat.

Drago म्हणाले...

David said...
The Cap Times played this as a completely straight story, the lefty commenters to the Times article swallowed it whole and it was the "most read" story in the Times for that edition.

The decades of left-wing indoctrination/inculcation are paying off...as they inevitably must.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Again, a combination of prejudice and ignorance is hard to beat.?


I don't recall conservatives assuring us this was all a hoax. I could have missed it though. I did hear that there wasn't any proof Republicans were involved with it.

Drago म्हणाले...

garage: "Man, it must suck to be you. You wake up, go to Althouse, and look for posts written by me."

Says the guy who woke up, went to Althouse, saw a post written by Birkel and responded to it.

Wow garage, that's pretty pathetic and you should consider deleting your account.

Especially since you cannot top your "sombody's pretending to be a lawyer online" comment from the other day that Rusty called out.

LOL

RecChief म्हणाले...

"
I don't recall conservatives assuring us this was all a hoax. I could have missed it though. I did hear that there wasn't any proof Republicans were involved with it."

Criticism from the guy, who has the conclusion in place before the story is told, not to mention before any evidence is in, about other people not jumping conclusions.

You're as funny as crack, if only because it is hilarious to see you backtrack, etc.

n.n म्हणाले...

Confirmation bias. The human ego seeks to save face when it is confronted with contradictions.

The doctrines of collective and inherited sin can only logically be applied to principled actions and positions. They are also applied in a war where its victims are classified as collateral damage. Extrapolation from exceptional or circumstantial evidence to reach general conclusions is exploited to reinforce bias, foment prejudice, and create leverage.

damikesc म्हणाले...

Walker does have a creepy, cult-like following.

Which pol doesn't? Hell, some people want to vote for noted plagiarizer and empty suit Burke for governor of Wisconsin.

Crazy, huh?

Walker ALSO has a creepy, cult-like opposition. Obsessing over nonsense like "Secret routers" and the like.

I don't recall conservatives assuring us this was all a hoax.

I know I mentioned that Facebook posts aren't proof of anything. So I guess that puts me ahead of you.

It seemed awfully clumsy to be an actual group. More like how Democrats are convinced Republicans behave when "nobody is really looking"

Birkel म्हणाले...

Pimp keeps pimping and objects that we call him a whore. Quit whoring yourself out cheap, "garage mahal". You are a spooge stooge for Democrat shenanigans.

At least allow yourself the "I am brain damaged from my middle school athletic accomplishments" excuse. It's the only excuse that engenders pathos.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe म्हणाले...

You'll never go broke feeding people's preconceived ideas.

Entire TV networks are based on this principle.

अनामित म्हणाले...

This is the beauty of Yik Yak.

You can tweet all the Racism and Rapist stuff you want. Then you can point to it and say, "Look how racist and rapey we all are!! The Horror!"

अनामित म्हणाले...

And lets not forget the hoax about the Blue Fist posters hanging above the DA's desk. The question is why anyone fell for that, though I'm sure many of those who spread the word about it knew or suspected it was fake but took advantage of the opportunity to manipulate the anti-liberal hatred.

And by using the term "false flag" is that Althouse's way of saying that she suspects it was a liberal who put up that militia Facebook page in an effort to make conservatives look bad? Is that how the story is being spun now?

garage mahal म्हणाले...

suspects it was a liberal who put up that militia Facebook page in an effort to make conservatives look bad? Is that how the story is being spun now?

I doubt it. If anything, talk of harassing Democrats at the polls would fire up Walker's base.

RecChief म्हणाले...

"And lets not forget the hoax about the Blue Fist posters hanging above the DA's desk."


huh, first I have heard of that. where was that reported?

Francisco D म्हणाले...

Wow!

Garage is acting tough and angry instead like the weasel who tattles on his fellow high schoolers.

Your parents lied by telling you that you were special in hopes of getting you out of the basement and into a real job.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

You need a "liberals are stupid" tag, Professor.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Your parents lied by telling you that you were special in hopes of getting you out of the basement and into a real job.

That was just embarrassingly bad. Did you actually think that was funny?

JD म्हणाले...

Seriously creepy. Birkel and Drago do seem to have a strange obsession with Garage Mahal.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

I have the dumbest trolls.

PackerBronco म्हणाले...

Garage trying to go with the "fake but accurate" meme?

At some point you gotta know when to stop digging that hole.

CWJ म्हणाले...

Garage Mahal writes -

"I have the dumbest trolls."

Now that's funny!

Birkel म्हणाले...

If somebody confesses to programming a self-refutation bot that they named "garage mahal" I will believe it.

Meade म्हणाले...

madisonfella said...
"And by using the term "false flag" is that Althouse's way of saying that she suspects it was a liberal who put up that militia Facebook page in an effort to make conservatives look bad? Is that how the story is being spun now?"

Why couldn't it be a "false flag" by someone who is neither a liberal, a conservative, a Democrat, or Republican? It's the internet. Haven't we all learned by now not to be so quick to jump to conclusions?

Drago म्हणाले...

PackerBronco said...
Garage trying to go with the "fake but accurate" meme?

It sounds like he's actually going with the "fake but still not fake" meme.

Which takes a very special brand of stupid.

CWJ म्हणाले...

Regarding Althouse's addition. Yep! The "hate" is assumed a priori. Because it is a premise, not a conclusion, lack of evidence or even counter evidence, is irrelevant.

That's what I find so frustrating about the left. I will by and large grant them their good intentions while fervently disagreeing with their tactics and prescriptions. It's the presumption of my bad motives on their part that leaves me with no basis of discussion with them in return.

Rusty म्हणाले...

PackerBronco said...
Garage trying to go with the "fake but accurate" meme?

At some point you gotta know when to stop digging that hole.


That's what makes him so goddamn funny. He has no idea when to quit.

Curious George म्हणाले...

W\hen I saw this post I said "I'll bet dumb and dumber double down".

And sure enough...

Matt Sablan म्हणाले...

Too Good To Be True Usually Isn't.

Matt Sablan म्हणाले...

Honestly, the scandals RecChief mentioned, the receipt/tip hoaxes, etc., etc.

You'd think journalists would have a LITTLE due diligence regarding stories that they want to be true. That's, that's like pragmatism 101. The more you want something to be true, the more you fact check it.