buzzfeed--2020-09-22--We Got Our Hands On Thousands Of Secret Documents. Let’s Break Them Down.

Twenty-two thousand pages of never-before-released government documents .
Hundreds of thousands of transactions .
More than $ 2 trillion .
A close accounting of BuzzFeed News ’ unprecedented trove .
More than a year ago , BuzzFeed News received a remarkable collection of secret government documents .
This huge trove had been assembled at the request of law enforcement agencies and congressional committees investigating the 2016 presidential election and other matters .
The documents contained private banking information about public figures and senior government officials around the world — along with suspected criminals and organizations tied to terrorism .
Among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activity reports , or SARs , which banks and other financial institutions submit to the US Treasury Department ’ s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , or FinCEN , when they observe transactions that suggest money laundering or other illegal activity .
Such reports can support investigations and intelligence gathering — but by themselves they are not evidence of a crime .
These documents are so closely protected that they are never supposed to be available to the public .
You can ’ t get them through Freedom of Information requests and you can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Banks are not supposed to admit the existence of a SAR — even to other banks .
Prior to this reporting , very few SARs are known ever to have been revealed .
BuzzFeed News has thousands .
Mostly dating from 2011 to 2017 , although describing some transactions that occurred as early as 1999 , the documents provide an unprecedented glimpse into global money laundering .
To analyze them and crunch the numbers , BuzzFeed News teamed up with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 partner news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a yearlong data analysis collaboration that required thousands of hours of manual data entry , the creation of custom-built digital tools , machine learning , and specialized validation software .
But it all came down to those suspicious activity reports .
The Anatomy of a SAR — and How We Dissected Them All SARs have two parts : a set of data tables and a narrative .
Some narratives are bare bones , while others are in-depth accounts including individual transactions , additional parties , and what the money was purportedly being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , these narrative elements alone came to more than 8,000 pages — or about 3 million words .
We tried writing computer programs to automatically extract this crucial information , but we quickly discovered that it was not possible .
So with no other choice , we did it the old-fashioned way : We read every last page .
With the help of ICIJ ’ s document-collaboration platform , BuzzFeed News and the partner newsrooms divided the task among more than 80 reporters .
For each document , the reporters captured every set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICIJ submitted each “ extraction ” to multiple rounds of validation .
It was a massive effort , but it allowed us to map out more than 200,000 of the transactions in the SARs .
This effort gave reporters access to a greater level of structured , searchable detail than FinCEN itself provides to investigators .
In addition to the written SARs , BuzzFeed News received hundreds of spreadsheets that banks had sent to FinCEN .
Although those files often lack the context of the written reports , they list more than 100,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slightly different way of producing these files .
So ICIJ undertook an effort to standardize the field names and address formats to make them more useful to our partners .
More Than $ 2 Trillion — Yes , With a “ T ” In total , these reports flagged more than $ 2 trillion in transactions .
Here ’ s how it broke down .
The Banks : The FinCEN Files contain reports submitted by nearly 90 banks and other financial institutions .
This particular collection of documents is not a representative sample @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this subset , by far the greatest number of SARs come from Deutsche Bank .
Here are the top 10 banks represented in the FinCEN Files , plus the total value of suspicious transactions they flagged : One report , filed in August 2014 by JPMorgan Chase , identifies more than $ 335 billion in suspicious activity , relating to more than 100,000 wire transfers “ sent , received or processed ” over the course of a decade-plus by MKS , a Switzerland-based company that trades precious metals .
“ We can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a half decade ago of which we have no knowledge , ” a spokesperson for MKS told BuzzFeed News and ICIJ .
“ We note , however , that referencing $ 335 billion in purported wire transactions over a twelve-year period creates a false and misleading impression about the scale and scope of our precious metal operations.
” MKS is “ proud of our record of maintaining an industry-leading compliance program , ” the spokesperson said , “ and our long history of maintaining uninterrupted access to financial markets around the world.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least $ 1 billion to the Treasury ; these big-dollar reports account for more than 90 % of all “ suspicious activity ” in these documents .
When banks first encounter suspicious transactions , they are supposed to file a report within 30 days .
But that doesn ’ t mean all of the information is timely : SARs often refer to much older transactions , even some that occurred more than a decade before .
This frequently happens when banks receive new information about old transactions or clients , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but other times , the reason is unclear .
The Objects of Suspicion : The documents provide information on more than 10,000 people and organizations spanning more than 170 countries and territories .
They also touch almost every state in the US .
At least 25 of the people named as subjects have appeared on Forbes ' list of billionaires in 2018 , 2019 , or 2020 , according to an analysis by ICIJ and BuzzFeed News .
The SARs , however , are far more likely to mention organizations than people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a where ’ s where of wealth accumulation and management .
More than 400 feature companies with addresses in the British Virgin Islands , and more than 300 include Hong Kong — two popular places for stashing wealth with little scrutiny .
More than a fifth of the SARs in the FinCEN Files include a subject whose “ address ” is effectively blank : no street number , city , state , or even country .
In some cases , the blank addresses are for customers in the bank ’ s own corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numerous times in the FinCEN Files .
Mayzus Financial Services , an online payment processing company that served clients involved in a bitcoin money laundering ring , sets the record , appearing as a subject of 36 SARs .
Second is Kaloti Jewellery International , a Dubai-based precious metals company that was flagged as a subject in 34 separate SARs by eight different banks .
Here are the five subjects flagged most often : Responding to a request for comment , a representative for Mayzus Financial Services said the company takes compliance seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offline fraudsters , corrupt remittance agents , money launderers , and apprehend hundreds of millions of dollars worth of illicitly gained assets '' and that `` from my perspective MFS has done exactly what it was supposed to be doing . ''
A lawyer for Kaloti said that the number of SARs was `` statistically insignificant '' in the context of its industry .
`` Kaloti vehemently denies any allegations of misconduct , whether those allegations stem from today or a decade ago , '' the company told ICIJ and BuzzFeed News .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Bufalo Management did not respond to BuzzFeed News ’ inquiries .
What the Government Doesn ’ t Know Last year , banks and other financial institutions filed more than 2 million SARs .
Government investigators who combat money laundering told BuzzFeed News that the sheer volume of SARs made it impossible to pay close attention to them all .
`` I do n't think that we have enough resources in the government to meaningfully go through them all , '' said Richard Elias , a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SARs filed grows every year , FinCEN ’ s staff has shrunk by more than 10 % over the past decade , according to official Treasury reports .
( In addition to full-time staff , FinCEN also employs contractors to analyze SARs . )
In 2017 , FinCEN ’ s acting director testified before Congress that the agency faced hiring issues , in part because of how long it takes to get security clearances .
FinCEN did not respond to BuzzFeed News ’ requests for comment about its investigative findings .
It did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ the unauthorized disclosure of SARs is a crime , ” and it announced that it was referring the matter to the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department ’ s Office of Inspector General .
FinCEN makes its database of SARs available to more than 450 law enforcement and regulatory agencies around the country , with more than 13,000 users who query the system millions of times a year .
FinCEN does not require banks to file spreadsheets detailing each individual transaction , although some do so voluntarily .
Yet it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say are most important .
“ There 's nothing of greater value than being able to take a look at a series of wire transfers or a series of deposits or a series of withdrawals , ” said Peter Djinis , a former FinCEN analyst who helped to set up the original SAR system .
“ All of that information is so useful.
” When banks don ’ t attach transaction files , analysts have to comb through each report individually or request those records directly .
The database produced by BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the individual filings themselves , and has already helped our international network of reporters examine failures by governments and banks to stem the flow of dirty money across the globe .
●

More than a year ago, BuzzFeed News received a remarkable collection of secret government documents. This huge trove had been assembled at the request of law enforcement agencies and congressional committees investigating the 2016 presidential election and other matters. The documents contained private banking information about public figures and senior government officials around the world — along with suspected criminals and organizations tied to terrorism.
Among the documents were more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, or SARs, which banks and other financial institutions submit to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, when they observe transactions that suggest money laundering or other illegal activity. Such reports can support investigations and intelligence gathering — but by themselves they are not evidence of a crime.
These documents are so closely protected that they are never supposed to be available to the public. You can’t get them through Freedom of Information requests and you can’t subpoena them in legal proceedings. Banks are not supposed to admit the existence of a SAR — even to other banks. Prior to this reporting, very few SARs are known ever to have been revealed. BuzzFeed News has thousands.


buzzfeed--2020-09-22--Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Increases The Likelihood That Obamacare Is Repealed Next Year

WASHINGTON — The fight to replace the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court could determine whether Obamacare is repealed next year , potentially stripping tens of millions of people of their health insurance during a global pandemic .
After Republicans in Congress failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017 , 20 red-state attorneys general led by Texas launched a lawsuit to have the law overturned by the courts .
The case is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court for oral arguments on Nov. 10 , one week after the election .
A decision could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Obamacare defenders had hoped that the four Democrat-appointed Supreme Court justices along with Chief Justice John Roberts would quash the Republican suit .
Roberts previously voted with the liberal wing to uphold the ACA in 2012 .
But Ginsburg ’ s death Friday changes that calculus dramatically .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said he will put forward a Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg on the court .
If Republicans are successful , the ACA ’ s fate could be decided by a majority made up of three Trump appointees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gorsuch already on the bench — plus Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas , who make up the rightmost flank of the court .
Progressive activists are now gearing up to try to make healthcare the centerpiece of the election , similar to the 2018 midterms when Democrats took back the House running prominently on the argument that Republicans would take away protections for people with preexisting conditions .
“ Healthcare is on the ballot .
Period , ” said Brad Woodhouse , executive director of health advocacy organization Protect Our Care .
Woodhouse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ACA is for Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to run hard on healthcare and win .
“ If after that [ Republicans ] still go down this repeal path , then they ’ re signing their political death certificate for years to come , ” he said .
“ So we ’ ve got to make this a healthcare election.
” '' Voters understand : The next justice who goes on the court will decide whether or not they will still have protections for preexisting conditions , '' a Biden campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a fight that ’ s good for Democrats .
It carried them to the House majority in 2018 and it is motivating voters in communities all over the country .
It will further motivate voters to turn out for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris . ''
Typically presidential administrations defend federal laws in court , but the Trump administration sided with the Republican governors in the Obamacare case .
In June , the White House filed a brief arguing the entire 900-page Affordable Care Act should be tossed out .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obamacare replacement plan that would provide better coverage to more people for less cost .
He has never released a plan .
A range of outcomes are on the table .
The court justices could send the suit back to a lower court , which has already happened once at the federal level .
If a new justice is not appointed by Nov. 10 the case could result in a 4–4 tie .
But historically in high-profile cases where a tie is a possibility , the justices have held off on a decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new justice has been confirmed , Stephen Vladeck , a professor at the University of Texas School of Law and Supreme Court litigator , told BuzzFeed News .
That would significantly delay an Obamacare ruling , potentially well into 2021 .
A conservative-majority court could also uphold the ACA ’ s constitutionality .
Repealing Obamacare would remove the ban on denying or jacking up prices for health insurance to people with preexisting health conditions .
It would repeal the Medicaid expansion , which provides health insurance to millions of low-income Americans .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ letting children stay on their parents ’ insurance plans until the age of 26 , caps on out-of-pocket cost sharings , a ban on annual or lifetime limits on what an insurance plan can pay out , and a list of benefits that all regulated plans must cover .
This would also take place during a global health pandemic .
Republicans have insisted that these provisions would not go away because Congress would step in to pass a new law .
Democrats have mostly dismissed this as a fantasy .
“ They controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they couldn ’ t do anything on healthcare .
Why on earth would we be able to restore the full protections in the Affordable Care Act with a divided government ?
” Sen. Chris Murphy told BuzzFeed News .
In the current Congress , the parties are pursuing totally opposite healthcare visions .
Democrats want to expand the Obamacare markets to bring in more people , which could in turn drive down prices .
Republicans want to allow healthy people to move to cheaper — but skimpier — unregulated plans , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit rests on a novel and widely derided two-part argument that Congress unintentionally made the ACA unconstitutional when it repealed the individual mandate — the penalty that people had to pay if they did not purchase health insurance — in 2017 .
The first part of the argument is that the mandate rested on Congress ’ s taxation powers so removing the tax made it unconstitutional .
The second part is that if that one section of the ACA is unconstitutional then the entire law , containing hundreds of pages of unrelated policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @

WASHINGTON — The fight to replace the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court could determine whether Obamacare is repealed next year, potentially stripping tens of millions of people of their health insurance during a global pandemic.
After Republicans in Congress failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, 20 red-state attorneys general led by Texas launched a lawsuit to have the law overturned by the courts. The case is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court for oral arguments on Nov. 10, one week after the election. A decision could come in the first half of 2021.
Obamacare defenders had hoped that the four Democrat-appointed Supreme Court justices along with Chief Justice John Roberts would quash the Republican suit. Roberts previously voted with the liberal wing to uphold the ACA in 2012. But Ginsburg’s death Friday changes that calculus dramatically.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said he will put forward a Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg on the court. If Republicans are successful, the ACA’s fate could be decided by a majority made up of three Trump appointees — with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch already on the bench — plus Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who make up the rightmost flank of the court.
Progressive activists are now gearing up to try to make healthcare the centerpiece of the election, similar to the 2018 midterms when Democrats took back the House running prominently on the argument that Republicans would take away protections for people with preexisting conditions.
“Healthcare is on the ballot. Period,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of health advocacy organization Protect Our Care.
Woodhouse said the best way to preserve the ACA is for Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to run hard on healthcare and win. “If after that [Republicans] still go down this repeal path, then they’re signing their political death certificate for years to come,” he said. “So we’ve got to make this a healthcare election.”
"Voters understand: The next justice who goes on the court will decide whether or not they will still have protections for preexisting conditions," a Biden campaign official told BuzzFeed News. "That’s a fight that’s good for Democrats. It carried them to the House majority in 2018 and it is motivating voters in communities all over the country. It will further motivate voters to turn out for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
Typically presidential administrations defend federal laws in court, but the Trump administration sided with the Republican governors in the Obamacare case. In June, the White House filed a brief arguing the entire 900-page Affordable Care Act should be tossed out.
Trump has for years promised to release an Obamacare replacement plan that would provide better coverage to more people for less cost. He has never released a plan.
A range of outcomes are on the table. The court justices could send the suit back to a lower court, which has already happened once at the federal level. If a new justice is not appointed by Nov. 10 the case could result in a 4–4 tie. But historically in high-profile cases where a tie is a possibility, the justices have held off on a decision and reschedule another round of arguments once the new justice has been confirmed, Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law and Supreme Court litigator, told BuzzFeed News. That would significantly delay an Obamacare ruling, potentially well into 2021. A conservative-majority court could also uphold the ACA’s constitutionality.
Repealing Obamacare would remove the ban on denying or jacking up prices for health insurance to people with preexisting health conditions. It would repeal the Medicaid expansion, which provides health insurance to millions of low-income Americans. Other provisions that would be eliminated include letting children stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26, caps on out-of-pocket cost sharings, a ban on annual or lifetime limits on what an insurance plan can pay out, and a list of benefits that all regulated plans must cover. This would also take place during a global health pandemic.
Republicans have insisted that these provisions would not go away because Congress would step in to pass a new law. Democrats have mostly dismissed this as a fantasy. “They controlled every branch of government for two years and they couldn’t do anything on healthcare. Why on earth would we be able to restore the full protections in the Affordable Care Act with a divided government?” Sen. Chris Murphy told BuzzFeed News.
In the current Congress, the parties are pursuing totally opposite healthcare visions. Democrats want to expand the Obamacare markets to bring in more people, which could in turn drive down prices. Republicans want to allow healthy people to move to cheaper — but skimpier — unregulated plans, which weakens the Obamacare markets.
The red-state lawsuit rests on a novel and widely derided two-part argument that Congress unintentionally made the ACA unconstitutional when it repealed the individual mandate — the penalty that people had to pay if they did not purchase health insurance — in 2017. The first part of the argument is that the mandate rested on Congress’s taxation powers so removing the tax made it unconstitutional. The second part is that if that one section of the ACA is unconstitutional then the entire law, containing hundreds of pages of unrelated policy, needs to be thrown out.


buzzfeed--2020-09-22--Friends And Family Members Of QAnon Believers Are Going Through A “Surreal Goddamn Nightmare”

Almost 200 people told us what it ’ s been like to lose a loved one to the mass delusion .
Here ’ s what they said .
“ We literally watched as she became radicalized.
” “ It feels like we are losing her to an addiction.
” This is how friends and family of QAnon supporters describe what they ’ re going through .
Most don ’ t understand how their loved ones could fall for something so unbelievable .
At its core , the QAnon collective delusion is a belief system that began in the innards of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mainstream .
Believers sign up for a slew of untruths .
Most support Trump , oppose the “ deep state , ” deny vaccination science , say many instances of gun violence were faked , and set off on quixotic crusades for supposedly trafficked children that hinder the real fight against the issue .
Much of their wrath is centered on purported elites who either faked the coronavirus pandemic or spread the virus through 5G technology , a scientific impossibility .
Satanism and drinking the blood of children are common points of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests and anti-fascist activists is widespread .
Taken together , the mass delusion seems outlandish , but a recent Pew Research Center survey showed that roughly half of US adults were aware of QAnon .
Four in ten Republicans who had heard of it said it was good for the country .
But those numbers are only part of the story .
They don ’ t show the impact the delusion has had on people and their relationships .
So , we asked our readers to tell us about the QAnon believers in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Respondents , who mostly said they lived in the United States , ranged in age from 16 to 82 .
Here ’ s what you said .
QAnon has ruined lifelong friendships and alienated family members .
Those who still speak to one another say their relationships have changed , often beyond repair .
Nobody said any of their loved ones had returned to reality .
“ My mom has fallen into the conspiracy beliefs of QAnon , ” Samantha , 30 , who lives in Texas , told BuzzFeed News .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring her back to reality , and I ’ ve really tried it all.
” Samantha wrote that after her level-headed and college-educated mother became a believer , she could not save her .
“ Occasionally , I become emotional because we can ’ t have any normal conversations anymore , ” Samantha wrote .
“ It helps talking about it with my younger sister , and her solution is always the same — pray about it , so now that ’ s what I do .
I can ’ t change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope that things will get better.
” For many , trouble started in March .
“ Once [ my mom ] lost her job in March due to the pandemic , she started spending most of her time watching YouTube videos and reading tweets about and from QAnon believers , ” wrote Katie , 29 , who lives in Alaska .
“ It 's disturbing the things she now believes.
” Another respondent , a 38-year-old from Washington who chose not to provide a name , said their friend of 24 years has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and marijuana ” kind of guy .
The respondent described their friend as someone who didn ’ t complete high school and was always prone to going down conspiracy rabbit holes .
This time was different .
“ This all started in March , ” they wrote .
“ I kept telling him that his beliefs are fine with me but his truth was not my truth .
He eventually took that as an ultimatum and posted that he ‘ lost a friend of 24 years ’ on Facebook.
” “ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We were best friends , and now he and his family are people that I used to know.
” “ My close friend in Northern California , a father of three , a friendly and well-liked small business owner who hardly posted on Facebook , other than just photos of family , suddenly got crazy active 30 days into corona lockdown , ” wrote another respondent .
“ I feel like I have no idea who he is.
” Over and over , respondents mourned the ends of friendships .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been someone I could depend on .
In our early adulthood , we both experienced abusive partners and leaned on each other for support , ” wrote a person living in California who ’ s 31 and didn ’ t provide a name .
“ We 've gotten through life/death situations .
Together .
She 's the only one who has never wavered from my side in 10-plus years.
” The author said their friend ’ s partner is a QAnon believer who makes his own YouTube videos , which is how she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friend has cut herself off from the outside world .
“ She does n't even know what day it is more than half the time.
” “ I 've lost my best friend , ” she said .
“ My only friend .
Her .
I do n't think she 's ever going to come back.
” Susan , 73 , who lives in Hawaii , has also seen “ a very good friend ” become a QAnon supporter .
“ We went around and around for a few days with me providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote .
“ Finally , she cut me off , and that 's fine .
We ca n't continue our friendship with her denying reality.
” Marriages and romantic relationships have been tested .
QAnon has driven some couples apart , and those who have stuck around describe having to stay on their toes constantly .
“ I lost my partner of eight years to Q , ” one person wrote .
Their partner stumbled onto QAnon through actor Roseanne Barr , who was following a prominent QAnon account .
“ I looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researching Q and became emotionally upset over what my partner was reading and believing , ” the person said .
Their relationship ended , but they recently discovered that their former partner was telling people the coronavirus is a hoax .
Another person , who didn ’ t give their name but said they lived in Atlanta , watched a relationship crumble because of QAnon .
“ My cousin is divorcing her husband over his obsession with QAnon .
It ruined their relationship and became a huge wedge between them , ” they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a digital cult and it 's very dangerous .
I ’ m worried about what it will lead to , not only for our own family , but for our society as a whole .
It ’ s really scary.
” Other people said they ’ re trying to hang on to relationships .
Sandra , who lives in North Carolina , said she ’ s been struggling with her partner ’ s way of thinking , in particular his belief that Black Lives Matter protests were part of a conspiracy .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with an admitted QAnon believer , ” she wrote .
“ There seems to be no way out for a QAnon believer , at least for this particular man .
No one else can be right , no one else can be trusted , anyone else who does n't believe is a sheep and the Great Awakening is coming .
It seems to hit on all the resentment he 's ever felt about being rejected or left behind or misunderstood or not as powerful/successful as he 'd like.
” “ I do worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ single day.
” Frédéric , 55 , who lives in Belgium , was struggling with a similar situation .
“ My partner is spending hours every day in front of her laptop .
Coming to bed late in the night with all kinds of wild theories .
Using rather bizarre terms to describe what awful [ things ] she discovered on the net , ” he wrote .
He describes his partner reciting false theories about vaccines and microchips , talking about the Clintons drinking children ’ s blood , and blaming global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or the Rockefellers .
Attempts to speak with her have been fruitless , he said .
“ This poison is troubling our relationship , so we avoid the subject .
But this is not the right thing to do , I would like her to wake up from this bad dream and face the world like it is , ” Frédéric wrote .
“ I hope that we in Europe will not turn like the Americans .
And I sincerely hope for the US that the country will take another path.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with their children , and children are struggling with their parents .
One respondent described their son joining a militia group and wanting to aid the police as a result of believing in QAnon .
“ He believes that the police welcome the assistance that their militia group offers and that his training will prepare him for the coming civil wars , ” they said .
Another woman describes being ostracized from her Mexican American family who supports both Trump and QAnon .
“ Since I refuse to stay quiet any longer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ highly disrespectful and ungrateful daughter that ’ s on the brink of being disowned , ” she wrote .
Many people describe their parents watching YouTube videos and spending time on Facebook for hours on end .
One person said their dad has bought into almost every conspiracy theory he ’ s come across in the last four years , including QAnon .
“ He always sends me links to videos that were ‘ recommended to him ’ by YouTube ’ s own algorithm , ” they said .
“ He used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flaws , trials , tribulations and putting yourself in others ' shoes .
Now I see him using terms like ‘ cuck , ’ ‘ commie , ’ and ‘ lefty queer.
’ ” “ It ’ s been a nightmare , honestly , ” said another person , whose mom is a QAnon supporter .
“ She has changed her voicemail to say that COVID is a hoax , Hollywood is filled with pedophiles , and to vote early for Trump .
I was so scared after returning home from the summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , and told her if I ever go missing to start with my mom and her boyfriend.
” A divorced couple 's previously successful co-parenting has broken down because of QAnon .
“ My son is refusing to go to his dad 's house , ” a woman who declined to be named wrote .
“ He is always telling me he wants his old dad back , and it has caused my son so much anxiety .
It makes me so sad.
” In a twist , one hairdresser wrote in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because they became a QAnon believer — while another person wrote in to say they had to stop going to their hairdresser for the same reason .
“ For the past nine years , I never strayed from our monthly hangouts and 5-hour-long discussions while he was dying my hair , ” they wrote .
“ Then the great quarantine came and I did n't see him for a few months , and when I came skipping into the salon in late May , everything was different.
” Even those who don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve come across posts made by acquaintances on social media or seen believers in real life .
Kelly , 33 , who lives in Oklahoma City , has dealt with both .
She wrote that her hometown has been “ taken over ” by supporters .
She used to mess with believers online by pretending to “ take the bait ” and then making up increasingly implausible theories .
“ Best way to sum it up , ” she wrote , `` surreal goddamn nightmare . ''

“Once [my mom] lost her job in March due to the pandemic, she started spending most of her time watching YouTube videos and reading tweets about and from QAnon believers,” wrote Katie, 29, who lives in Alaska. “It's disturbing the things she now believes.”
Another respondent, a 38-year-old from Washington who chose not to provide a name, said their friend of 24 years has always been a “peace, love, and marijuana” kind of guy. The respondent described their friend as someone who didn’t complete high school and was always prone to going down conspiracy rabbit holes. This time was different.
“This all started in March,” they wrote. “I kept telling him that his beliefs are fine with me but his truth was not my truth. He eventually took that as an ultimatum and posted that he ‘lost a friend of 24 years’ on Facebook.”
By April, they stopped speaking.
“It happened so fast,” they wrote. “We were best friends, and now he and his family are people that I used to know.”
“My close friend in Northern California, a father of three, a friendly and well-liked small business owner who hardly posted on Facebook, other than just photos of family, suddenly got crazy active 30 days into corona lockdown,” wrote another respondent. “I feel like I have no idea who he is.”
Over and over, respondents mourned the ends of friendships.
“My (ex) BFF has always been someone I could depend on. In our early adulthood, we both experienced abusive partners and leaned on each other for support,” wrote a person living in California who’s 31 and didn’t provide a name. “We've gotten through life/death situations. Together. She's the only one who has never wavered from my side in 10-plus years.”
The author said their friend’s partner is a QAnon believer who makes his own YouTube videos, which is how she was introduced to it. Now her friend has cut herself off from the outside world. “She doesn't even know what day it is more than half the time.”
“I've lost my best friend,” she said. “My only friend. Her. I don't think she's ever going to come back.”
Susan, 73, who lives in Hawaii, has also seen “a very good friend” become a QAnon supporter.
“We went around and around for a few days with me providing links disproving her beliefs,” Susan wrote. “Finally, she cut me off, and that's fine. We can't continue our friendship with her denying reality.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-22--“I Have Blood On My Hands”: A Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation

A 6,600-word internal memo from a fired Facebook data scientist details how the social network knew about specific examples of global political manipulation — and failed to act .
Facebook ignored or was slow to act on evidence that fake accounts on its platform have been undermining elections and political affairs around the world , according to an explosive memo sent by a recently fired Facebook employee and obtained by BuzzFeed News .
The 6,600-word memo , written by former Facebook data scientist Sophie Zhang , is filled with concrete examples of heads of government and political parties in Azerbaijan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves to sway public opinion .
In countries including India , Ukraine , Spain , Brazil , Bolivia , and Ecuador , she found evidence of coordinated campaigns of varying sizes to boost or hinder political candidates or outcomes , though she did not always conclude who was behind them .
“ In the three years I ’ ve spent at Facebook , I ’ ve found multiple blatant attempts by foreign national governments to abuse our platform on vast scales to mislead their own citizenry , and caused international news on multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declined to talk to BuzzFeed News .
Her LinkedIn profile said she “ worked as the data scientist for the Facebook Site Integrity fake engagement team ” and dealt with “ bots influencing elections and the like.
” “ I have personally made decisions that affected national presidents without oversight , and taken action to enforce against so many prominent politicians globally that I ’ ve lost count , ” she wrote .
The memo is a damning account of Facebook ’ s failures .
It ’ s the story of Facebook abdicating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that could affect the political fate of nations outside the United States or Western Europe .
It 's also the story of a junior employee wielding extraordinary moderation powers that affected millions of people without any real institutional support , and the personal torment that followed .
“ I know that I have blood on my hands by now , ” Zhang wrote .
These are some of the biggest revelations in Zhang ’ s memo : • It took Facebook ’ s leaders nine months to act on a coordinated campaign “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boost President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras on a massive scale to mislead the Honduran people.
” Two weeks after Facebook took action against the perpetrators in July , they returned , leading to a game of “ whack-a-mole ” between Zhang and the operatives behind the fake accounts , which are still active .
• In Azerbaijan , Zhang discovered the ruling political party “ utilized thousands of inauthentic assets ... to harass the opposition en masse.
” Facebook began looking into the issue a year after Zhang reported it .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her colleagues removed “ 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the US in the 2018 elections.
” • In February 2019 , a NATO researcher informed Facebook that `` he ’ d obtained Russian inauthentic activity on a high-profile U.S. political figure that we didn ’ t catch . ''
Zhang removed the activity , “ dousing the immediate fire , ” she wrote .
• In Ukraine , Zhang “ found inauthentic scripted activity ” supporting both former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko , a pro–European Union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as Volodymyr Groysman , a former prime minister and ally of former president Petro Poroshenko .
“ Volodymyr Zelensky and his faction was the only major group not affected , ” Zhang said of the current Ukrainian president .
• Zhang discovered inauthentic activity — a Facebook term for engagement from bot accounts and coordinated manual accounts— in Bolivia and Ecuador but chose “ not to prioritize it , ” due to her workload .
The amount of power she had as a mid-level employee to make decisions about a country ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her health .
• After becoming aware of coordinated manipulation on the Spanish Health Ministry ’ s Facebook page during the COVID-19 pandemic , Zhang helped find and remove 672,000 fake accounts “ acting on similar targets globally ” including in the US .
• In India , she worked to remove “ a politically-sophisticated network of more than a thousand actors working to influence '' the local elections taking place in Delhi in February .
Facebook never publicly disclosed this network or that it had taken it down .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading experts , to stop bad actors from abusing our systems , resulting in the removal of more than 100 networks for coordinated inauthentic behavior , '' Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement .
`` It ’ s highly involved work that these teams do as their full-time remit .
Working against coordinated inauthentic behavior is our priority , but we ’ re also addressing the problems of spam and fake engagement .
We investigate each issue carefully , including those that Ms. Zhang raises , before we take action or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a company . ''
BuzzFeed News is not publishing Zhang ’ s full memo because it contains personal information .
This story includes full excerpts when possible to provide appropriate context .
In her post , Zhang said she did not want it to go public for fear of disrupting Facebook ’ s efforts to prevent problems around the upcoming 2020 US presidential election , and due to concerns about her own safety .
BuzzFeed News is publishing parts of her memo that are clearly in the public interest .
Do you work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 'd love to hear from you .
Reach out at ryan.mac @ buzzfeed.com , craig.silverman @ buzzfeed.com , pranav.dixit @ buzzfeed.com , or via one of our tip line channels .
“ I consider myself to have been put in an impossible spot – caught between my loyalties to the company and my loyalties to the world as a whole , ” she said .
“ The last thing I want to do is distract from our efforts for the upcoming U.S. elections , yet I know this post will likely do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down a $ 64,000 severance package from the company to avoid signing a nondisparagement agreement .
Doing so allowed her to speak out internally , and she used that freedom to reckon with the power that she had to police political speech .
“ There was so much violating behavior worldwide that it was left to my personal assessment of which cases to further investigate , to file tasks , and escalate for prioritization afterwards , ” she wrote .
That power contrasted with what she said seemed to be a lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processes in smaller countries .
Facebook , Zhang said , prioritized regions including the US and Western Europe , and often only acted when she repeatedly pressed the issue publicly in comments on Workplace , the company ’ s internal , employee-only message board .
“ With no oversight whatsoever , I was left in a situation where I was trusted with immense influence in my spare time , ” she wrote .
“ A manager on Strategic Response mused to myself that most of the world outside the West was effectively the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dictator – he meant the statement as a compliment , but it illustrated the immense pressures upon me.
” A former Facebook engineer who knew her told BuzzFeed News that Zhang was skilled at discovering fake account networks on the platform .
“ She 's the only person in this entire field at Facebook that I ever trusted to be earnest about this work , '' said the engineer , who had seen a copy of Zhang ’ s post and asked not to be named because they no longer work at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I learned from that post was shocking even to me as someone who 's often been disappointed at how the company treats its best people , '' they said .
Zhang ’ s memo said the lack of institutional support and heavy stakes left her unable to sleep .
She often felt responsible when civil unrest took hold in places she didn ’ t prioritize for investigation and action .
“ I have made countless decisions in this vein – from Iraq to Indonesia , from Italy to El Salvador , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was likely small in each case , but the world is a vast place.
” Still , she did not believe that the failures she observed during her two and a half years at the company were the result of bad intent by Facebook ’ s employees or leadership .
It was a lack of resources , Zhang wrote , and the company ’ s tendency to focus on global activity that posed public relations risks , as opposed to electoral or civic harm .
“ Facebook projects an image of strength and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lend itself to such theories , but the reality is that many of our actions are slapdash and haphazard accidents , ” she wrote .
Zhang wrote that she was just six months into the job when she found coordinated inauthentic behavior — Facebook ’ s internal term for the use of multiple fake accounts to boost engagement or spread content — benefiting Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández .
The connection to the Honduran leader was made , Zhang said , because an administrator for the president ’ s Facebook page had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in a show of extreme chutzpah.
” The data scientist said she reported the operation , which involved thousands of fake accounts , to Facebook ’ s threat intelligence and policy review teams , both of which took months to act .
“ Local policy teams confirmed that President JOH ’ s marketing team had openly admitted to organizing the activity on his behalf , ” she wrote .
“ Yet despite the blatantly violating nature of this activity , it took me almost a year to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced by Facebook in July 2019 , but proved futile .
Soon , the operation was soon back up and running , a fact Facebook has never disclosed .
“ They had returned within two weeks of our takedown and were back in a similar volume of users , ” Zhang wrote , adding that she did a final sweep for the fake accounts on her last day at Facebook .
“ A year after our takedown , the activity is still live and well.
” In Azerbaijan , she found a large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponents of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and his ruling New Azerbaijan Party , which uses the acronym YAP .
Facebook still has not disclosed the influence campaign , according to Zhang .
The operation detailed in the memo is reminiscent of those of Russia ’ s Internet Research Agency , a private troll farm that tried to influence the 2016 US elections , because it involved “ dedicated employees who worked 9-6 Monday-Friday work weeks to create millions of comments ” targeting members of the opposition and media reports seen as negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for district-level divisions of the ruling YAP political party directly controlled numerous of these fake assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in another display of arrogance , ” she wrote .
“ Perhaps they thought they were clever ; the truth was , we simply didn ’ t care enough to stop them.
” Katy Pearce , an associate professor at the University of Washington who studies social media and communication technology in Azerbaijan , told BuzzFeed News that fake Facebook accounts have been used to undermine the opposition and independent media in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the big tools of authoritarian regimes is to humiliate the opposition in the mind of the public so that they 're not viewed as a credible or legitimate alternative , ” she told BuzzFeed News .
“ There 's a chilling effect .
Why would I post something if I know that I 'm going to deal with thousands or hundreds of these comments , that I 'm going to be targeted ?
” Pearce said Zhang ’ s comment in the memo that Facebook “ didn ’ t care enough to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with her experience .
“ They have bigger fish to fry , ” she said .
A person who managed social media accounts for news organizations in Azerbaijan told BuzzFeed News that their pages were inundated with inauthentic Facebook comments .
“ We used to delete and ban them because we didn ’ t want people who came to our page to be discouraged and not react or comment , ” said the person , who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak for their employer .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees , it ’ s easy for them to open new accounts.
” They said Facebook has at times made things worse by removing the accounts or pages of human rights activists and other people after trolls report them .
“ We tried to tell Facebook that this is a real person who does important work , ” but it took weeks for the page to be restored .
Zhang wrote that a Facebook investigation into fake accounts and trolling in Azerbaijan is now underway , more than a year after she first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her departure , she called it her “ greatest unfinished business ” to stop the fake behavior in the country .
“ Many others would think nothing of myself devoting this attention to the United States , but are shocked to see myself fighting for these small countries , ” she wrote .
“ To put it simply , my methodologies were systematic globally , and I fought for Honduras and Azerbaijan because that was where I saw the most ongoing harm.
” “ I have blood on my hands ” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about a large-scale fake account network used to amplify and manipulate information about COVID-19 , as well as a political influence operation that used fake accounts to influence 2018 elections in the US and Brazil .
Some of these details were not previously disclosed by Facebook , suggesting the company ’ s regular takedown announcements remain selective and incomplete .
Zhang said Facebook removed 672,000 “ low-quality fake accounts ” after press reports in April that some of the accounts had been engaging with COVID-19 content on the Spanish Health Ministry ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ network also engaged with content on US pages .
Facebook did not disclose how many accounts it removed , or that those accounts engaged with content in other countries , including the US .
Zhang also shared new details about the scale of inauthentic activity during the 2018 midterm elections in the US , and from Brazilian politicians that same year .
“ We ended up removing 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the U.S. in the 2018 elections – major politicians of all persuasions in Brazil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States , ” she wrote .
A September 2018 briefing about Facebook ’ s election work in the US and Brazil disclosed that it had acted against a network in Brazil that used “ fake accounts to sow division and share disinformation , ” as well as a set of groups , pages , and accounts that were “ falsely amplifying engagement for financial gain.
” It did not fully mention Zhang 's findings .
The scale of this activity — 672,000 fake accounts in one network , 10.5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicates active fake accounts are a global problem , and are used to manipulate elections and public debate around the world .
As one of the few people looking for and identifying fake accounts impacting civic activity outside of “ priority ” regions , Zhang struggled with the power she had been handed .
“ We focus upon harm and priority regions like the United States and Western Europe , ” Zhang wrote , adding that “ it became impossible to read the news and monitor world events without feeling the weight of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zhang said she found “ inauthentic activity supporting the opposition presidential candidate in 2019 ” and chose not to prioritize it .
Months later , Bolivian politics fell into turmoil , leading to the resignation of President Evo Morales and “ mass protests leading to dozens of deaths.
” The same happened in Ecuador , according to Zhang , who “ found inauthentic activity supporting the ruling government… and made the decision not to prioritize it.
” The former Facebook employee then wondered how her decision led to downstream effects on how Ecuador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — which has devastated the country — and if that would have been different if she 'd acted .
“ I have made countless decisions in this vein – from Iraq to Indonesia , from Italy to El Salvador .
Individually , the impact was likely small in each case , but the world is a vast place .
Although I made the best decision I could based on the knowledge available at the time , ultimately I was the one who made the decision not to push more or prioritize further in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have blood on my hands by now.
” Zhang also uncovered issues in India , Facebook ’ s largest market , in the lead up to the local Delhi elections in February 2020 .
“ I worked through sickness to take down a politically-sophisticated network of more than a thousand actors working to influence the election , ” she wrote .
Last month , Facebook ’ s Indian operation came under scrutiny after reports in the Wall Street Journal revealed a top policy executive in the country had stopped local staffers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies to ruling party politicians who posted anti-Muslim hate speech .
In her “ spare time ” in 2019 , Zhang took on tasks usually reserved for product managers and investigators , searching out countries including Ukraine , Turkey , India , Indonesia , the Philippines , Australia , the United Kingdom , Taiwan , “ and many many more.
” Zhang said she found and took down “ inauthentic scripted activity ” in Ukraine that supported Yulia Tymoshenko , a complicated political figure who has been involved in controversial gas deals with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in her later career , as well as for former prime minister Volodymyr Groysman , an ally of former president Petro Poroshenko .
“ Volodymyr Zelensky and his faction was the only major group not affected , ” she wrote .
In another part of her memo , Zhang said she wanted to push back on the idea that Facebook was run by malicious people hoping to achieve a particular outcome .
That was not the case , she wrote , attributing actions to “ slapdash and haphazard accidents.
” “ Last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine whistleblower , we forgot to cover hashtags until I stepped in , ” she wrote .
But she also remarked on Facebook ’ s habit of prioritizing public relations over real-world problems .
“ It ’ s an open secret within the civic integrity space that Facebook ’ s short-term decisions are largely motivated by PR and the potential for negative attention , ” she wrote , noting that she was told directly at a 2020 summit that anything published in the New York Times or Washington Post would obtain elevated priority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve seen priorities of escalations shoot up when others start threatening to go to the press , and why I was informed by a leader in my organization that my civic work was not impactful under the rationale that if the problems were meaningful they would have attracted attention , became a press fire , and convinced the company to devote more attention to the space.
” Zhang mentioned one example in February 2019 , when a NATO strategic communications researcher reached out to Facebook , alerting the company that he 'd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a high-profile U.S. political figure that we didn ’ t catch.
” That researcher said they were planning on briefing Congress the next day .
“ I quickly investigated the case , determined what was going on , and removed the activity , dousing the immediate fire , ” Zhang wrote .
“ Perhaps motivated by the experience , the same researcher tried the same experiment within a month or two , waiting half a year afterwards before sending the report to the press and finally causing the PR fire.
” Beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zhang provided insight into the inner workings at Facebook .
She criticized her team ’ s focus on issues related to “ 99 % of activity that ’ s essentially spam.
” “ Overall , the focus of my organization – and most of Facebook – was on large-scale problems , an approach which fixated us on spam , ” she said .
“ The civic aspect was discounted because of its small volume , its disproportionate impact ignored.
” Zhang outlined the political processes within Facebook itself .
She said the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her work was not to go through the proper reporting channels , but to post about the issues on Facebook ’ s internal employee message board to build pressure .
“ In the office , I realized that my viewpoints weren ’ t respected unless I acted like an arrogant asshole , ” Zhang said .
When she asked the company to do more in terms of finding and stopping malicious activity related to elections and political activity , she said she was told that “ human resources are limited.
” And when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civic work , “ I was told that Facebook would no longer have further need for my services if I refused.
” Zhang was fired this month and posted her memo on her last day , even after offering to stay on through the election as an unpaid volunteer .
In her goodbye , she encouraged her colleagues to remain at Facebook and to fix the company from within .
“ But you don ’ t – and shouldn ’ t – need to do it alone , ” she wrote .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ values to work on it together .
Facebook is too big of a project for any one person to fix.
” ●

“Multiple official accounts for district-level divisions of the ruling YAP political party directly controlled numerous of these fake assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in another display of arrogance,” she wrote. “Perhaps they thought they were clever; the truth was, we simply didn’t care enough to stop them.”
Katy Pearce, an associate professor at the University of Washington who studies social media and communication technology in Azerbaijan, told BuzzFeed News that fake Facebook accounts have been used to undermine the opposition and independent media in the country for years.
“One of the big tools of authoritarian regimes is to humiliate the opposition in the mind of the public so that they're not viewed as a credible or legitimate alternative,” she told BuzzFeed News. “There's a chilling effect. Why would I post something if I know that I'm going to deal with thousands or hundreds of these comments, that I'm going to be targeted?”
Pearce said Zhang’s comment in the memo that Facebook “didn’t care enough to stop” the fake accounts and trolling aligns with her experience. “They have bigger fish to fry,” she said.
A person who managed social media accounts for news organizations in Azerbaijan told BuzzFeed News that their pages were inundated with inauthentic Facebook comments.
“We used to delete and ban them because we didn’t want people who came to our page to be discouraged and not react or comment,” said the person, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak for their employer. “But since [the trolls] are employees, it’s easy for them to open new accounts.”
They said Facebook has at times made things worse by removing the accounts or pages of human rights activists and other people after trolls report them. “We tried to tell Facebook that this is a real person who does important work,” but it took weeks for the page to be restored.
Zhang wrote that a Facebook investigation into fake accounts and trolling in Azerbaijan is now underway, more than a year after she first reported the issue. On the day of her departure, she called it her “greatest unfinished business” to stop the fake behavior in the country.
“Many others would think nothing of myself devoting this attention to the United States, but are shocked to see myself fighting for these small countries,” she wrote. “To put it simply, my methodologies were systematic globally, and I fought for Honduras and Azerbaijan because that was where I saw the most ongoing harm.”
“I have blood on my hands”
In other examples, Zhang revealed new information about a large-scale fake account network used to amplify and manipulate information about COVID-19, as well as a political influence operation that used fake accounts to influence 2018 elections in the US and Brazil. Some of these details were not previously disclosed by Facebook, suggesting the company’s regular takedown announcements remain selective and incomplete.
Zhang said Facebook removed 672,000 “low-quality fake accounts” after press reports in April that some of the accounts had been engaging with COVID-19 content on the Spanish Health Ministry’s page. She said accounts in that network also engaged with content on US pages. Facebook did not disclose how many accounts it removed, or that those accounts engaged with content in other countries, including the US.
Zhang also shared new details about the scale of inauthentic activity during the 2018 midterm elections in the US, and from Brazilian politicians that same year. “We ended up removing 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the U.S. in the 2018 elections – major politicians of all persuasions in Brazil, and a number of lower-level politicians in the United States,” she wrote.
A September 2018 briefing about Facebook’s election work in the US and Brazil disclosed that it had acted against a network in Brazil that used “fake accounts to sow division and share disinformation,” as well as a set of groups, pages, and accounts that were “falsely amplifying engagement for financial gain.” It did not fully mention Zhang's findings.
The scale of this activity — 672,000 fake accounts in one network, 10.5 million fake engagement and fans in others — indicates active fake accounts are a global problem, and are used to manipulate elections and public debate around the world.
As one of the few people looking for and identifying fake accounts impacting civic activity outside of “priority” regions, Zhang struggled with the power she had been handed.
“We focus upon harm and priority regions like the United States and Western Europe,” Zhang wrote, adding that “it became impossible to read the news and monitor world events without feeling the weight of my own responsibility.”
In Bolivia, Zhang said she found “inauthentic activity supporting the opposition presidential candidate in 2019” and chose not to prioritize it. Months later, Bolivian politics fell into turmoil, leading to the resignation of President Evo Morales and “mass protests leading to dozens of deaths.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--Looking For A Big American Ideal At The End Of The Pandemic Summer

They tell you , normally , to buy your Statue of Liberty tickets months in advance .
But on an afternoon in July — what would be peak tourist season in dead center summer — I walked across the mostly empty Brooklyn Bridge , past the mostly ignored Wall Street bull , through the security tent , and right onto one of the boats ( Miss New York ) that takes you across the harbor .
You can mentally order up the sounds you should hear on a ferry to an educational tourist location ( errant teenage shrieks , parental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand closer together or quit it ) , but in the middle of the endless pandemic , there was nothing .
The only passengers on this three-deck boat were three twentysomething guys talking quietly and me .
I disembarked and collected my audio guide from a masked woman .
“ Can you believe it ?
You ’ re here at one of the world ’ s most cherished landmarks , ” the audio guide brightly informed me as I stood alone at a flagpole .
The place was so quiet you could hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around to the very front , to stand under the statue 's vaguely displeased gaze , I overheard a park employee tell two tourists , “ There ’ s nobody here , as you can see . ''
If you ’ re one of only about 30 people on that island , out in the breezy quiet , you will end up realizing the Statue of Liberty ’ s sheer randomness .
To memorialize our shared love for human freedom , France gave us a giant copper woman .
Up close , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 280 tons , 150 feet , an index finger alone measuring 8 feet , per the audio tour ) practically forces you to consider how it even got there .
Requiring two decades from conception to dedication , the statue 's history is filled with the kinds of small gimmicky details that might make something contemporary feel forced : Americans were corralled into a small-donor fundraiser to finish the statue ’ s base .
Frédéric Bartholdi , the sculptor , displayed the Statue of Liberty ’ s hand and torch in Philadelphia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fee , you could climb a ladder up into “ the Colossal Arm.
” In Paris , they put the statue ’ s head and shoulders on display at the Universal Exposition of 1878 .
It ’ s weird , actually , to think of the Statue of Liberty ’ s 30-foot disembodied head being carted around France , and its severed arm sitting in a Manhattan park for years .
It ’ s even weirder to imagine when they finally assembled the whole thing and the Statue of Liberty towered over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , out of this mix of physical comedy and somewhat misunderstood intentions about its purpose , this statue became something totally different , a stand-in for America itself , benevolent and solemn , welcoming strangers .
It ’ s cheesy and sentimental and everything else , but it might be the most successful monument in the whole world .
In the audio tour , which I listened to on that hot but clear afternoon , two older immigrants remember people on the boat to the United States crying and kissing each other in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s a wonderful thing , a human being right in the middle of the ocean with her hand up .
It ’ s the freedom of the world , ” a woman named Martha Dolinko , for instance , says in a great oral history about early 20th-century New York .
In the United States , Dolinko had to drop out of school in her early teens so she could work across the street from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory , which she watched burn ( she became a lifelong socialist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life that you might think would disabuse someone of any fondness for this kind of symbol .
Still , when she grew up , she told that book ’ s interviewer , she and her husband visited this very island again so they could go up into this statue and look out .
“ It ’ s the most marvelous thing to see.
” I 'd gone to the Statue of Liberty in July , really , because I heard nobody was going .
Amid the baroque weirdness of the pandemic , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locales — like baseball games inside empty stadiums .
Life continues but without a vital component , in a way that mirrors everyday existence , or mine anyway .
I 've spent endless days inside my apartment in Brooklyn , such that last winter still feels recent , like I just stepped through the cabinet into a parallel universe and might somehow reemerge into my uninterrupted real life .
In place of routine and the normal exchanges of humanity , everything past and future begins to bend a little along with the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic : A year or more might just be erased from the existing trajectory of people ’ s lives , and time might be the least of what ’ s lost .
How could anyone make plans when they all fall apart ?
What ’ s the point of a monument if no one ’ s there to see it ?
Besides the extreme stresses of this time , these empty-baseball-stadium experiences seem to be the basis for what ’ s so disorienting about this year .
When there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when you can ’ t make plans about normal activities , but life continues , you end up reconsidering the fundamentals of life before the pandemic , and the problems of before that were left unresolved .
It ’ s like there ’ s been an unraveling , where each piece lands in a big pile : It ’ s hard to understand how the virus works , or how things work in another state or town ; there ’ s an interlocking crisis of money , unemployment , and business ; there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old and new , that corrodes other aspects of life ; there are the fires and flooding , with terrible losses and strange scenes ; there ’ s the affirmed knowledge of how important the normal things ( school , work , a Friday night dinner in a familiar restaurant ) that we do are , and how interconnected one normal thing is with all the others , the way one broken link breaks the rest .
About a thousand people have died every day — while the logistics of returning to schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87 this month , outside of the remembrances of her life , the secondary reaction was about the dark periods now associated with Supreme Court vacancies and the opaque question : What happens next ?
As for the central question of this year , there still is n't a total sense of how and when this pandemic ends .
In this environment , the fundamentals of American life can look strange , illogical , or surprisingly vital — the absence of something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was .
Here ’ s everybody , standing waiting , holding all these pieces of people ’ s lives , unclear on how to fix and reassemble them .
Outside of the more immediate considerations of the pandemic , the thing I can ’ t shake is that this whole situation seems un-American .
I am not , for instance , one of these people who feels secretly validated when Germany or South Korea does something better than the United States , as though geo-located contact tracing exposes the inherent immorality or capriciousness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and strip malls , and I like the Olympics exclusively because I like watching Team USA win , and I love that this country always has something original , big , angry , friendly , informal , or regional to offer .
If you travel alone among strangers in this country , you will see such things all the time : spoons gently clinking against coffee mugs in little diners as people catch up waiting for an event , firework stands in saturated North Carolina light , old acquaintances in a drafty East @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Biden crowd in the archaic , weird Iowa caucus system that produced no results .
A place can be profoundly messed up and great and beloved at the same time ; that 's America , baby .
Still , it feels un-American to end up like this , people whom events have befallen .
You might rightly hypothesize that the un-American-ness of 2020 rests with the current lack of industrial might or something to do with scientific innovation ( which is surely spinning away and will deliver , ultimately ) or the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you feel these are actually signs about American-ness .
But , I think , the nature of that un-American sensation is the fundamental restriction on movement during the pandemic — the deserted places , the time spent isolated and frozen in place , the complications in or recklessness of doing routine activities .
This is , after all , a big country , built around the individual driver , with a foundational right to free association .
Take , for instance , a simple set of basketball courts in Brooklyn .
For months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the city 's bigger parks : no teens , no basketball , no kids running much of anywhere , metal barriers around picnic tables .
In this particular park , you 'd see people alone , leaning on the railings , just looking out over New York Harbor .
One night in April , while I walked in silence , I watched four different ambulances light up on nearby highways .
After the grim spring , in which thousands and thousands died , particularly in working-class communities , New York is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In July , the city began reopening for real , and with it , these basketball courts .
Under stadium lighting and a high aluminum roof , this particular basketball court can take on that just-before-close theme park feel , or at go-karts at the beach , or evening at the local pool — a kind of peak American summer feeling , filled with people in a way that felt normal .
It 's the kind of place where people stay longer than they planned .
But that kind of unscheduled vibe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for long .
Even in that exact moment , I wondered if the basketball courts would close again , officially .
Or even unofficially when the weather turned cold again .
At the time , outside , off the courts , many places that might feel or look normal remained closed .
In a pandemic , movement requires planning and contingencies , or at least , it probably should .
You can blunder through it , or isolate from it , but there 's the virus .
At least for some indefinite period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within this country to some mythical new life , free from these complications .
And that cuts against part of the idea of America , right , is that you can go somewhere else and you can reinvent .
If that ’ s probably tied up in some Manifest Destiny hangover , it must also flow from a country so heavily populated by immigrants over the last 150 years , who literally left and continue to leave their homes for reinvention , desired or otherwise , in this one .
Hollywood and country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big , one invention changes everything out West or in the big city or back home .
Even if you never drive outside town limits , you theoretically could drive almost anywhere you want in America .
The moral in movies and books with ideas like this usually is : Actually you can not escape the past , nor can you reinvent yourself .
The choices are often the current familiar thing or returning to the other , also familiar thing .
And the hard reality of America — enlightenment ideals and racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that often people can ’ t leave or reinvent because of the factors beyond their control .
It does n't matter much how you feel about America or where exactly you 're hoping to go , if the cops burst into your home in the middle of the night and shoot you .
One of the most famous Hollywood shots is the open door to the West in 1956 ’ s The Searchers .
From the pitch-black interior , the vivid , open , beautiful exterior can be seen .
The Searchers itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ex-Confederate soldier ( John Wayne ) whose hatred for the Comanches after a fatal attack on his family so curdles his soul that he massacres Native Americans and is even willing to kill the niece for whom he ’ s been titularly searching because she ’ s assimilated into the tribe .
The expanse on the other side of the open door , here , is actually cold and harsh .
But in a pandemic like this , the metal grate drops to the concrete on even the romantic , illusory idea that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other life .
Even if I can ’ t be there , I like the idea that the places I ’ ve been far away are still bustling and healthy , available to pass freely in and out of without guilt or fear .
Before things really shut down , one of the very last things I did was eat hand-pulled noodles near the Las Vegas Strip .
The entire time , two middle-aged women laughed in Chinese as I read next to them at the counter ; they were clearly having a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work , which in turn , actually kind of made me have a great time .
When they got up , they both smiled and wished me well before heading out into the dark .
It ’ s nice to imagine us all still sitting there in close proximity , instead of whatever worries them now , the pair laughing and joking , about to bid a stranger goodnight .
Just about the nicest afternoon I spent this year was in July at the Statue of Liberty .
I could have stayed all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listening to the audio guide regale me with statistics and the tale of Lee Iacocca raising money to refurbish the statue in the now distant 1980s .
There , the only big question was about the way a statue that nobody asked for can be built in grief for one symbolic reason , then become something else wonderful that people weep over in the rain when they see , and then who knows ?
Maybe this cycle just repeats , and in a hundred years , the Statue of Liberty will mean something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer has ended with a clap .
We ’ re further from how things were ( even if they were bad ) but not meaningfully closer ( knowingly , at least ) to post-pandemic life .
Inside my own walls , for good or ill , this is what I keep looping back on : time evaporating .
How many summers do you get ?
How many years ?
I don ’ t know about you , but no event in my life has been more isolating and made me more aware of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with what society provides than the pandemic .
This feels like a half-life .
The actual change in seasons has prompted some answer-free questions : What happens when the weather turns cold again for real ?
How will this fall work , in the most literal sense ?
The election could require the trust of voters in election mechanisms unfamiliar to them , on a foundation made soft by the pandemic and the economy .
The actual provenance of the Statue of Liberty , as argued in Yasmin Sabina Khan ’ s great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : French liberals devised gifts and monuments after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln , whom they loved ; one of them was Bartholdi ’ s statue , for which Ulysses S. Grant approved the allocated land .
Édouard de Laboulaye , who championed the project and taught American history in Europe when almost nobody did , never even visited the United States .
Keenly interested in the democratic republic succeeding , and abhorring slavery , he and other French liberals viewed Lincoln as the successor to George Washington in dignity and restraint — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the undemocratic repression and chaos then taking place in France .
Mourning French instability , they spent a literal decade raising money for and building a colossal neoclassical statue for another country .
The United States and France faced not completely dissimilar animating questions in the late 18th and first half of the 19th centuries : Could a steady , stable , nontyrannical , slavery-free , rights-centered , democratically elected republic be created , and endure ?
The Founding Fathers were likewise steeped in the ups and downs of Greece and Rome @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the present day .
Reading the Federalist Papers now , outside civics class , whatever else may be said about them or the founding , James Madison and Alexander Hamilton write with some real generosity .
Hamilton basically states outright he does not believe most critics of the new Constitution act in bad faith , while reminding supportive readers that men can be correct for vain , selfish reasons .
“ Are republics less addicted to war than monarchies ?
” he asks in a piece arguing for a republic .
“ Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and enterprising as a passion as that of power or glory ?
” They broach problems that really have no right answer and deal with them as the kind of central dilemmas the country will always face .
The problem with a right answer — slavery — that they elided unraveled the country less than a century later .
An overarching undercurrent in the Federalist Papers is that , really , brilliant as it all may be , they are kind of making it up .
It really does read like an experiment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and then-contemporary theory .
There ’ s already been one ill-fated government , and here they are proposing another .
Hamilton writes , “ Hearken not to the unnatural voice which tells you that the people of America , knit together as they are by so many chords of affection , can no longer live together as members of the same family.
” Beyond the direct relationship to the US system of government , though , the writing still resonates because of Hamilton and Madison 's insight into the ways people behave and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an exercise in mutual trust with the reader .
There are many volumes of material of what could be said about Donald Trump , but in this specific regard : He ’ s not concerned with mutual agreements and the social contract .
This is not a president who will pantomime grief or restraint , for instance , to honor American traditions .
Instead , Trump offers a never-ending loop of events and reframing of events , heightened beyond anything in recent memory .
His ever-expanding nature creates constant reconsiderations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than you ever thought or that the norm was never any good to begin with — complacency or viciousness always lurked underneath a veneer of someone ’ s Washington civility .
The condition of the Trump era , though , is constant motion without closure ; what ’ s gained or lost can be tough to see , and there is rarely any sense of an ending .
His opponent has built an entire candidacy around the restoration of general order .
Over the last two years , I 've seen Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in Iowa in summer and winter , in Delaware this summer inside quiet rec center gyms , talking about vaccines and cotton-swab manufacture and K-shaped economic recovery .
But his candidacy has always carried an elegiac quality , of trying to reverse something that probably can not be done : that if we could go back just slightly , and perhaps ignore a good deal , then good things will spring from a promise and performance of moral leadership .
Attending Biden 's events during the pandemic has , paradoxically , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaks ; the cameras watch ; questions take place .
But there is a central difference , and it is when the candidate arrives : Rather than the woozy , explosive roar of a crowd , Biden appears soundlessly , like an apparition .
Over the hum of the fan in a gym , whether he shouts or takes a pause , the central pitch of Biden 's candidacy is this : Stop .
The difference between an American year and an un-American year might seem inane and stupid to you , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How can you capture in a few words what applies to hundreds of millions of people , perhaps only bounded by geography ?
But nebulous concepts matter within the expanding crises of 2020 .
Election results , the authority of courts , public health in an airborne pandemic , recognizing and unwinding racism , and restoring economic demand are exercises where belief meets action , and shared assumptions can make or break the endeavor .
A central difficult of the next year will be : No one brilliant slice of the knife exists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perfect vaccine would take time to distribute after completion , nor would it restore what ’ s been lost in the interim .
Returning to more risk-mitigated activity — schools , offices , church , and everything else — in any kind of mass , sustainable way requires mutual trust .
A few people can relent and the abrogation of the rules might not matter , unless it does .
And we are not owed stability in America .
My warm , expansive , casual view of what constitutes America doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way this year keeps surfacing the corroded frames underneath pre-pandemic life , or all this disappearing time .
Except in this one regard : If you feel as I do that we are all kind of out here on our own during this time , then we aren ’ t .
We are merely waiting to meet again .
●

They tell you, normally, to buy your Statue of Liberty tickets months in advance. But on an afternoon in July — what would be peak tourist season in dead center summer — I walked across the mostly empty Brooklyn Bridge, past the mostly ignored Wall Street bull, through the security tent, and right onto one of the boats (Miss New York) that takes you across the harbor.
You can mentally order up the sounds you should hear on a ferry to an educational tourist location (errant teenage shrieks, parental directions to get off a bench or stand closer together or quit it), but in the middle of the endless pandemic, there was nothing. The only passengers on this three-deck boat were three twentysomething guys talking quietly and me. I disembarked and collected my audio guide from a masked woman.
“Can you believe it? You’re here at one of the world’s most cherished landmarks,” the audio guide brightly informed me as I stood alone at a flagpole. The place was so quiet you could hear your own footsteps.
When I walked around to the very front, to stand under the statue's vaguely displeased gaze, I overheard a park employee tell two tourists, “There’s nobody here, as you can see."
If you’re one of only about 30 people on that island, out in the breezy quiet, you will end up realizing the Statue of Liberty’s sheer randomness. To memorialize our shared love for human freedom, France gave us a giant copper woman.
Up close, the statue is massive. Its size (280 tons, 150 feet, an index finger alone measuring 8 feet, per the audio tour) practically forces you to consider how it even got there. Requiring two decades from conception to dedication, the statue's history is filled with the kinds of small gimmicky details that might make something contemporary feel forced: Americans were corralled into a small-donor fundraiser to finish the statue’s base. Frédéric Bartholdi, the sculptor, displayed the Statue of Liberty’s hand and torch in Philadelphia and New York beginning in 1876. For a fee, you could climb a ladder up into “the Colossal Arm.” In Paris, they put the statue’s head and shoulders on display at the Universal Exposition of 1878.
It’s weird, actually, to think of the Statue of Liberty’s 30-foot disembodied head being carted around France, and its severed arm sitting in a Manhattan park for years. It’s even weirder to imagine when they finally assembled the whole thing and the Statue of Liberty towered over 1884 Paris like Godzilla.
And yet, out of this mix of physical comedy and somewhat misunderstood intentions about its purpose, this statue became something totally different, a stand-in for America itself, benevolent and solemn, welcoming strangers. It’s cheesy and sentimental and everything else, but it might be the most successful monument in the whole world. In the audio tour, which I listened to on that hot but clear afternoon, two older immigrants remember people on the boat to the United States crying and kissing each other in the rain at the very sight.
“It’s a wonderful thing, a human being right in the middle of the ocean with her hand up. It’s the freedom of the world,” a woman named Martha Dolinko, for instance, says in a great oral history about early 20th-century New York. In the United States, Dolinko had to drop out of school in her early teens so she could work across the street from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which she watched burn (she became a lifelong socialist) — the kind of brutal early life that you might think would disabuse someone of any fondness for this kind of symbol. Still, when she grew up, she told that book’s interviewer, she and her husband visited this very island again so they could go up into this statue and look out.
“It’s the most marvelous thing to see.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-22--Volunteers Are Coming Out In Droves To Support Planned Parenthood After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’

Volunteers Are Coming Out In Droves To Support Planned Parenthood After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death

On Friday evening , just after the news of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s death hit headlines , reproductive rights activists were already on Zoom calls and group chats across the country , springing into action .
`` It was an all-hands-on-deck response within minutes of the news breaking , ” a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Votes , Planned Parenthood ’ s super PAC , told BuzzFeed News Monday .
“ We took time to — and continue to — pay our respects to her legacy , but now we need to turn and fight any attempts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the inauguration . ''
Ginsburg was a champion of reproductive and abortion rights during her time on the court , repeatedly ruling in support of expanding access to abortion and contraception and voicing opposition to efforts to curb that right .
Throughout President Donald Trump ’ s campaign and presidency , he has vowed to appoint anti-abortion rights justices to the Supreme Court .
When he filled two seats , creating a 5–4 conservative majority , many began to see Ginsburg as the last hope for the survival of Roe v. Wade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legalized abortion nationwide .
Even before Ginsburg 's death , it was already crunch time for staff at Planned Parenthood Votes , UltraViolet , and Supermajority — three political organizations that fight for abortion rights and access through electoral politics ; one of the most significant elections in the history of their movement is just six weeks away , on Nov. 3 .
But Ginsburg ’ s death added fuel to the fire .
In the days following the news , Planned Parenthood Votes organized a new six-figure ad campaign , which launched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Michigan , featuring a montage of black-and-white pictures of Ginsburg looking regal , contrasted against videos of Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh screaming angrily , telling viewers that Trump “ wants to replace [ Ginsburg ] against her dying wish.
” Supermajority started organizing a celebrity-studded “ massive woman-to-woman voter mobilization event ” focused on Ginsburg 's legacy , featuring Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris , former secretary of state Hillary Clinton , Sens .
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren , writer Gloria Steinem , and actors Jane Fonda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Planned Parenthood Votes and UltraViolet wrote new scripts for their phone and text banking ( volunteer drives in which supporters call and text friends and strangers , encouraging them to vote or get involved in organizing efforts ) centered around Ginsburg and the vacancy she left on the Supreme Court .
Their volunteers are now prepared to tell their millions of supporters to “ hold their senators ’ feet to the fire ” to make sure senators who are vulnerable this election know that their decision on whether to vote for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cost them their jobs .
Following Ginsburg ’ s death , Planned Parenthood saw a massive spike in donations and volunteers to help get out the vote across the country .
“ Planned Parenthood ” and “ Roe v Wade ” began trending on Twitter , as people turned to social media to encourage others to do the same .
The website for Planned Parenthood ’ s political arm saw a 500 % increase in week-to-week traffic from the previous Saturday , the organization ’ s spokesperson told BuzzFeed News .
Supermajority and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ briefing in reaction to the news about Ginsburg saw 60,000 people tune in , a shockingly high turnout for a Sunday night .
“ We 've seen an incredible increase in enthusiasm from our organizers and through our outreach to voters , ” the Planned Parenthood Votes spokesperson said .
“ We 're seeing a dramatic increase in new volunteers , an increase in response rates to our phone banks , and just an overwhelming sense of people wanting to get involved . ''
Carina Coestad , a 20-year-old college student at Syracuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Planned Parenthood , told BuzzFeed News Saturday that she started hearing from friends “ immediately , ” asking her how they could help .
“ I posted about RBG to my Instagram story , and I got like 20 messages immediately , some from friends who have never done anything political before , asking to phone bank and volunteer , ” she said .
Coestad has been volunteering for Joe Biden ’ s presidential campaign , and over the weekend participated in a phone bank in which she texted hundreds of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Biden ’ s campaign in the wake of Ginsburg ’ s death .
In Maine , where Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces a serious challenge from Democrat Sara Gideon this year , Planned Parenthood Votes has also seen a large increase in interest .
Normally Maine ’ s volunteers are only signed up for one or two shifts a week for phone banking and other efforts , the spokesperson said .
This week , every hour is booked .
“ It makes sense .
It ’ s natural that people would immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health care like IUDs and birth control , and that would motivate them to act , ” Sonja Spoo , director of reproductive rights campaigns at UltraViolet , told BuzzFeed News Sunday .
“ This is the fever dream of the anti-choice movement , to have the pick at the Supreme Court that Trump promised to deliver for them.
” Efforts to block a vote on a Supreme Court nomination before the election , however , are seeming more and more futile .
In order to prevent a majority of the Senate voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to join the Democrats in dissent .
Republican Sens .
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine said that they would vote against the nomination , and advocates were hoping that Sen. Mitt Romney , who voted to impeach Trump on one count earlier this year , would join them .
On Tuesday morning , however , Romney released a statement saying he would support voting to replace Ginsburg on the court .
Nearly every other Republican senator , including those who face difficult reelections this year , have agreed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announce his nominee as soon as Saturday .
Even if Planned Parenthood and the Democrats lose the battle to block the nomination , the spokesperson said , the fight won ’ t be over .
The group signed up nearly a thousand people nationally to phone bank on Thursday , triple the amount of volunteers they normally recruit .
And their focus , beyond Ginsburg ’ s seat , is making sure that Democrats win the Senate and the White House in November .
`` Whatever happens with this appointment , it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and elect a president that is n't going to continue to appoint justices at the appellate level and district courts with justices who are against abortion access , ” the spokesperson said .
“ No matter what happens , the fight remains . ''

On Friday evening, just after the news of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death hit headlines, reproductive rights activists were already on Zoom calls and group chats across the country, springing into action.
"It was an all-hands-on-deck response within minutes of the news breaking,” a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Votes, Planned Parenthood’s super PAC, told BuzzFeed News Monday. “We took time to — and continue to — pay our respects to her legacy, but now we need to turn and fight any attempts by the Senate to fill the seat before the inauguration."
Ginsburg was a champion of reproductive and abortion rights during her time on the court, repeatedly ruling in support of expanding access to abortion and contraception and voicing opposition to efforts to curb that right.
Throughout President Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency, he has vowed to appoint anti-abortion rights justices to the Supreme Court. When he filled two seats, creating a 5–4 conservative majority, many began to see Ginsburg as the last hope for the survival of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Even before Ginsburg's death, it was already crunch time for staff at Planned Parenthood Votes, UltraViolet, and Supermajority — three political organizations that fight for abortion rights and access through electoral politics; one of the most significant elections in the history of their movement is just six weeks away, on Nov. 3.
But Ginsburg’s death added fuel to the fire.
In the days following the news, Planned Parenthood Votes organized a new six-figure ad campaign, which launched Tuesday afternoon in Arizona, Florida, and Michigan, featuring a montage of black-and-white pictures of Ginsburg looking regal, contrasted against videos of Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh screaming angrily, telling viewers that Trump “wants to replace [Ginsburg] against her dying wish.” Supermajority started organizing a celebrity-studded “massive woman-to-woman voter mobilization event” focused on Ginsburg's legacy, featuring Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, writer Gloria Steinem, and actors Jane Fonda and Eva Longoria, among many others.
Planned Parenthood Votes and UltraViolet wrote new scripts for their phone and text banking (volunteer drives in which supporters call and text friends and strangers, encouraging them to vote or get involved in organizing efforts) centered around Ginsburg and the vacancy she left on the Supreme Court. Their volunteers are now prepared to tell their millions of supporters to “hold their senators’ feet to the fire” to make sure senators who are vulnerable this election know that their decision on whether to vote for a Supreme Court nominee before Nov. 3 could cost them their jobs.
Following Ginsburg’s death, Planned Parenthood saw a massive spike in donations and volunteers to help get out the vote across the country. “Planned Parenthood” and “Roe v Wade” began trending on Twitter, as people turned to social media to encourage others to do the same. The website for Planned Parenthood’s political arm saw a 500% increase in week-to-week traffic from the previous Saturday, the organization’s spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. Supermajority and Planned Parenthood Vote’s online supporter briefing in reaction to the news about Ginsburg saw 60,000 people tune in, a shockingly high turnout for a Sunday night.
“We've seen an incredible increase in enthusiasm from our organizers and through our outreach to voters,” the Planned Parenthood Votes spokesperson said. “We're seeing a dramatic increase in new volunteers, an increase in response rates to our phone banks, and just an overwhelming sense of people wanting to get involved."
Carina Coestad, a 20-year-old college student at Syracuse University in New York who regularly donates to Planned Parenthood, told BuzzFeed News Saturday that she started hearing from friends “immediately,” asking her how they could help. “I posted about RBG to my Instagram story, and I got like 20 messages immediately, some from friends who have never done anything political before, asking to phone bank and volunteer,” she said.
Coestad has been volunteering for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and over the weekend participated in a phone bank in which she texted hundreds of people to discuss her support of Planned Parenthood and Biden’s campaign in the wake of Ginsburg’s death.
In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces a serious challenge from Democrat Sara Gideon this year, Planned Parenthood Votes has also seen a large increase in interest. Normally Maine’s volunteers are only signed up for one or two shifts a week for phone banking and other efforts, the spokesperson said. This week, every hour is booked.
“It makes sense. It’s natural that people would immediately be concerned about their access to basic health care like IUDs and birth control, and that would motivate them to act,” Sonja Spoo, director of reproductive rights campaigns at UltraViolet, told BuzzFeed News Sunday. “This is the fever dream of the anti-choice movement, to have the pick at the Supreme Court that Trump promised to deliver for them.”
Efforts to block a vote on a Supreme Court nomination before the election, however, are seeming more and more futile. In order to prevent a majority of the Senate voting on the nominee, four Republicans would have to join the Democrats in dissent. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine said that they would vote against the nomination, and advocates were hoping that Sen. Mitt Romney, who voted to impeach Trump on one count earlier this year, would join them.
On Tuesday morning, however, Romney released a statement saying he would support voting to replace Ginsburg on the court. Nearly every other Republican senator, including those who face difficult reelections this year, have agreed. Trump said Tuesday that he would announce his nominee as soon as Saturday.
Even if Planned Parenthood and the Democrats lose the battle to block the nomination, the spokesperson said, the fight won’t be over. The group signed up nearly a thousand people nationally to phone bank on Thursday, triple the amount of volunteers they normally recruit. And their focus, beyond Ginsburg’s seat, is making sure that Democrats win the Senate and the White House in November.
"Whatever happens with this appointment, it's critical that we flip the Senate majority and elect a president that isn't going to continue to appoint justices at the appellate level and district courts with justices who are against abortion access,” the spokesperson said. “No matter what happens, the fight remains."