Report: Harris Campaign's Astroturf Machine Pushes Ethical Boundaries

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An ongoing investigation of the Harris campaign’s astroturf machine has exposed her team actively recruiting foreign volunteers, according to a report by the Federalist.

The Federalist reports that a recent investigation has uncovered troubling practices within the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, raising questions about the involvement of foreign nationals in the 2024 election. The probe, conducted by the popular Twitter account @reddit_lies, alleges that the Harris campaign is actively recruiting foreign volunteers and providing them with guidance on how to circumvent campaign finance laws.

The investigation centers around a Discord server where Harris campaign employees coordinate with a vast network of volunteers to inundate social media platforms with pro-Harris content. The server, which boasts over 35,000 members, is also allegedly used to manipulate online discussions by artificially boosting pro-Harris posts and downvoting content critical of the campaign. Previous installments of the investigation focused on the astroturf machine’s manipulation of Reddit and the “community notes” feature on Elon Musk’s X/Twitter.

The latest installment focuses on the apparent involvement of foreign nationals in the campaign’s efforts. The investigation found multiple instances of non-U.S. citizens expressing their eagerness to volunteer for the Harris campaign, with some even discussing plans to travel to the United States to engage in door-to-door canvassing.

While the Federal Election Commission (FEC) permits foreign nationals to volunteer for U.S. political campaigns on an uncompensated basis, the Harris campaign’s actions appear to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. Moderators on the Discord server, who wield significant power within the community, were seen openly encouraging foreign volunteers and providing them with information on how to exploit legal loopholes to make financial contributions to American political causes.

In one example, the campaign urged foreign volunteers to participate in a phone banking effort aimed at reaching 5 million Wisconsin voters on Kamala Harris’s birthday. When a foreign user expressed concerns about “meddling in US elections,” a moderator quickly dismissed their worries, assuring them that their involvement was legal and encouraging them to participate.

The revelations have sparked outrage among those who believe that American elections should be decided by Americans alone. While the Harris campaign’s actions may not directly violate election laws, they raise serious ethical questions about the extent to which foreign influences should be allowed to shape the outcome of U.S. elections.

The investigation’s findings are particularly ironic given the Democratic Party’s long-standing accusations of foreign interference in the 2016 election and their repeated warnings about the threat posed by foreign actors to American democracy. The fact that a prominent Democratic campaign is now actively courting foreign volunteers is sure to raise eyebrows among voters across the political spectrum.