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Social Media and Political Influence

Whistleblower Alleges AI-Driven Election Interference

• A former X (formerly Twitter) employee anonymously shared allegations on Substack claiming the platform was intentionally manipulated during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• According to the whistleblower, X’s algorithms were adjusted under Elon Musk’s leadership to prioritize pro-Trump and right-wing content. Some left-wing posts critical of Democrats were also boosted, but allegedly only to create a façade of balance.
  • Backed Up by Research: These claims align with findings from a recent study that audited X’s algorithm. Key findings include:
    • Right-leaning users experienced the most significant exposure bias, with the algorithm amplifying content aligned with their views.
    • Both left- and right-leaning users saw reduced exposure to opposing viewpoints, reinforcing echo chambers.
    • New accounts were reportedly subject to a distinct right-wing bias in their default timelines.
  • While the whistleblower’s claims remain speculative, these independent findings suggest that X’s algorithm did, in fact, favor certain political narratives.
• AI-Generated Propaganda: The whistleblower alleges that thousands of fake accounts were created using advanced AI systems, Grok and Eliza, to disseminate political messaging. These accounts were designed to imitate real users and reportedly pushed targeted propaganda related to Trump’s economic claims, border policies, and cryptocurrency initiatives.
• To support these claims, the whistleblower pointed to a breadcrumb in the Eliza documentation, which describes how AI profiles could be pre-configured with specific narratives and responses. One example, allegedly labeled “Trump,” was programmed to amplify campaign messaging.

Marc Andreessen’s Connection to Eliza AI

• Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is closely connected to Eliza AI. His firm has backed Eliza Labs, the company behind the AI framework, which is also reportedly used internally at a16z (source).
• While it’s possible that the example in the Eliza public documentation in this context was coincidental or even intended as satire, the fact that Andreessen is backing technology capable of such manipulation raises serious concerns. It demonstrates how tools designed for decision-making and automation can easily be repurposed for political influence.

Andreessen’s Political Views

• Andreessen is an open supporter of MAGA politics and an advocate of Curtis Yarvin’s “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy, which proposes replacing democracy with a CEO-led “monarchy.”
  • Yarvin recently wrote an article suggesting that “American democracy should be replaced by what he calls a ‘monarchy’ run by a ‘C.E.O.’”
• As The Verge summarized:
  • “We are looking at a simple trade against personal liberty — abortion, the rights of gay and trans people, and possibly democracy itself — in favor of crypto, AI, and a tax policy they like better.”

Elon Musk’s Role

• The whistleblower also alleges that Musk was directly involved in these manipulations, reportedly overseeing algorithm changes and content moderation. Musk allegedly joked about being “Black Hat MAGA” while making these decisions.
• The claims further suggest that X allowed foreign influence campaigns from countries like Israel, Iran, and Russia to operate on the platform, as long as their goals aligned with the platform’s manipulated narrative.

Impact and Speculation

• The whistleblower describes the damage caused by these actions as catastrophic:
  • “The damage we’ve done is immeasurable, and I don’t know if it can ever be fixed. People don’t know what’s real anymore, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
• While the full extent of these claims has yet to be proven, the whistleblower’s account is bolstered by independent research and the connections of influential figures like Andreessen and Musk. Together, they paint a troubling picture of how powerful technology may have been used to undermine democratic processes.

Voting System Interference

Evidence of Election Hacking

• Stephen Spoonamore, a cybersecurity expert, issued a “Duty to Warn” letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, outlining evidence of vote manipulation in key swing states during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• Working with Smart Elections, Spoonamore revealed that voting tabulators were allegedly programmed to alter results after processing 400 ballots (up from 600 in 2020), a tactic designed to evade detection during recounts.
• This tampering reportedly influenced outcomes in critical states, supported by findings in an analysis of Clark County’s election results.
• Additional irregularities included the use of “bullet ballots,” where votes were cast only for the presidential race. These disproportionately favored Trump and deviated significantly from historical norms, suggesting deliberate interference.

Trump’s Statements on Manipulation

• Donald Trump’s public remarks have fueled speculation that he was aware of these activities:
  • “We don’t need the votes,” he said, implying confidence in securing victory through means outside traditional voter turnout.
  • At a rally, he remarked, “Elon was very effective. He knows those computers better than anybody. Those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide,” suggesting possible technological manipulation in vote counting.
  • His statement, “You won’t have to vote anymore,” further hinted at confidence in a pre-arranged outcome.

Social Media and Political Influence

Whistleblower Alleges AI-Driven Election Interference

• A former X (formerly Twitter) employee anonymously shared allegations on Substack claiming the platform was intentionally manipulated during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• According to the whistleblower, X’s algorithms were adjusted under Elon Musk’s leadership to prioritize pro-Trump and right-wing content. Some left-wing posts critical of Democrats were also boosted, but allegedly only to create a façade of balance.
  • Backed Up by Research: These claims align with findings from a recent study that audited X’s algorithm. Key findings include:
    • Right-leaning users experienced the most significant exposure bias, with the algorithm amplifying content aligned with their views.
    • Both left- and right-leaning users saw reduced exposure to opposing viewpoints, reinforcing echo chambers.
    • New accounts were reportedly subject to a distinct right-wing bias in their default timelines.
  • While the whistleblower’s claims remain speculative, these independent findings suggest that X’s algorithm did, in fact, favor certain political narratives.
• AI-Generated Propaganda: The whistleblower alleges that thousands of fake accounts were created using advanced AI systems, Grok and Eliza, to disseminate political messaging. These accounts were designed to imitate real users and reportedly pushed targeted propaganda related to Trump’s economic claims, border policies, and cryptocurrency initiatives.
• To support these claims, the whistleblower pointed to a breadcrumb in the Eliza documentation, which describes how AI profiles could be pre-configured with specific narratives and responses. One example, allegedly labeled “Trump,” was programmed to amplify campaign messaging.

Marc Andreessen’s Connection to Eliza AI

• Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is closely connected to Eliza AI. His firm has backed Eliza Labs, the company behind the AI framework, which is also reportedly used internally at a16z (source).
• While it’s possible that the example in the Eliza public documentation in this context was coincidental or even intended as satire, the fact that Andreessen is backing technology capable of such manipulation raises serious concerns. It demonstrates how tools designed for decision-making and automation can easily be repurposed for political influence.

Andreessen’s Political Views

• Andreessen is an open supporter of MAGA politics and an advocate of Curtis Yarvin’s “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy, which proposes replacing democracy with a CEO-led “monarchy.”
  • Yarvin recently wrote an article suggesting that “American democracy should be replaced by what he calls a ‘monarchy’ run by a ‘C.E.O.’”
• As The Verge summarized:
  • “We are looking at a simple trade against personal liberty — abortion, the rights of gay and trans people, and possibly democracy itself — in favor of crypto, AI, and a tax policy they like better.”

Elon Musk’s Role

• The whistleblower also alleges that Musk was directly involved in these manipulations, reportedly overseeing algorithm changes and content moderation. Musk allegedly joked about being “Black Hat MAGA” while making these decisions.
• The claims further suggest that X allowed foreign influence campaigns from countries like Israel, Iran, and Russia to operate on the platform, as long as their goals aligned with the platform’s manipulated narrative.

Impact and Speculation

• The whistleblower describes the damage caused by these actions as catastrophic:
  • “The damage we’ve done is immeasurable, and I don’t know if it can ever be fixed. People don’t know what’s real anymore, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
• While the full extent of these claims has yet to be proven, the whistleblower’s account is bolstered by independent research and the connections of influential figures like Andreessen and Musk. Together, they paint a troubling picture of how powerful technology may have been used to undermine democratic processes.

Voting System Interference

Evidence of Election Hacking

• Stephen Spoonamore, a cybersecurity expert, issued a “Duty to Warn” letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, outlining evidence of vote manipulation in key swing states during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• Working with Smart Elections, Spoonamore revealed that voting tabulators were allegedly programmed to alter results after processing 400 ballots (up from 600 in 2020), a tactic designed to evade detection during recounts.
• This tampering reportedly influenced outcomes in critical states, supported by findings in an analysis of Clark County’s election results.
• Additional irregularities included the use of “bullet ballots,” where votes were cast only for the presidential race. These disproportionately favored Trump and deviated significantly from historical norms, suggesting deliberate interference.

Trump’s Statements on Manipulation

• Donald Trump’s public remarks have fueled speculation that he was aware of these activities:
  • “We don’t need the votes,” he said, implying confidence in securing victory through means outside traditional voter turnout.
  • At a rally, he remarked, “Elon was very effective. He knows those computers better than anybody. Those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide,” suggesting possible technological manipulation in vote counting.
  • His statement, “You won’t have to vote anymore,” further hinted at confidence in a pre-arranged outcome.

Second one

It’s true

https://www.vcinfodocs.com/what-is-the-network-state

Look who is behind Eliza too. A crackpot who flipped to MAGA to accelerate us to 'network states'. More info here

As someone who works in the field I also believe there are several red flags in the way the article is written and a bunch of contradictions. For example, “hiding crumbs in the code” would generally imply something slightly more sophisticated than a public file that the author himself tells you how to find in the repository with even a screenshot of it.

Maybe there is, doesn't seem like anyone else is bothering to look.

The main issue for me though is that it is highly unlikely that the owner of X would need to use an external tool that establishes a finicky integration with X from the outside to generate fake content when he obviously has control over the internal private code and data of X itself. It’s beyond naive to think that if they wanted to create fake accounts, fake posts or manipulate the content users see, they would need this Eliza thing to do it effectively. This tool is clearly aimed at people who don’t own the platforms they intend to use it on.

Could still acces that through the API all the same? Sure there's plenty of other frameworks they use they didnt build themselves.

Social Media and Political Influence

Whistleblower Alleges AI-Driven Election Interference

• A former X (formerly Twitter) employee anonymously shared allegations on Substack claiming the platform was intentionally manipulated during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• According to the whistleblower, X’s algorithms were adjusted under Elon Musk’s leadership to prioritize pro-Trump and right-wing content. Some left-wing posts critical of Democrats were also boosted, but allegedly only to create a façade of balance.
  • Backed Up by Research: These claims align with findings from a recent study that audited X’s algorithm. Key findings include:
    • Right-leaning users experienced the most significant exposure bias, with the algorithm amplifying content aligned with their views.
    • Both left- and right-leaning users saw reduced exposure to opposing viewpoints, reinforcing echo chambers.
    • New accounts were reportedly subject to a distinct right-wing bias in their default timelines.
  • While the whistleblower’s claims remain speculative, these independent findings suggest that X’s algorithm did, in fact, favor certain political narratives.
• AI-Generated Propaganda: The whistleblower alleges that thousands of fake accounts were created using advanced AI systems, Grok and Eliza, to disseminate political messaging. These accounts were designed to imitate real users and reportedly pushed targeted propaganda related to Trump’s economic claims, border policies, and cryptocurrency initiatives.
• To support these claims, the whistleblower pointed to a breadcrumb in the Eliza documentation, which describes how AI profiles could be pre-configured with specific narratives and responses. One example, allegedly labeled “Trump,” was programmed to amplify campaign messaging.

Marc Andreessen’s Connection to Eliza AI

• Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is closely connected to Eliza AI. His firm has backed Eliza Labs, the company behind the AI framework, which is also reportedly used internally at a16z (source).
• While it’s possible that the example in the Eliza public documentation in this context was coincidental or even intended as satire, the fact that Andreessen is backing technology capable of such manipulation raises serious concerns. It demonstrates how tools designed for decision-making and automation can easily be repurposed for political influence.

Andreessen’s Political Views

• Andreessen is an open supporter of MAGA politics and an advocate of Curtis Yarvin’s “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy, which proposes replacing democracy with a CEO-led “monarchy.”
  • Yarvin recently wrote an article suggesting that “American democracy should be replaced by what he calls a ‘monarchy’ run by a ‘C.E.O.’”
• As The Verge summarized:
  • “We are looking at a simple trade against personal liberty — abortion, the rights of gay and trans people, and possibly democracy itself — in favor of crypto, AI, and a tax policy they like better.”

Elon Musk’s Role

• The whistleblower also alleges that Musk was directly involved in these manipulations, reportedly overseeing algorithm changes and content moderation. Musk allegedly joked about being “Black Hat MAGA” while making these decisions.
• The claims further suggest that X allowed foreign influence campaigns from countries like Israel, Iran, and Russia to operate on the platform, as long as their goals aligned with the platform’s manipulated narrative.

Impact and Speculation

• The whistleblower describes the damage caused by these actions as catastrophic:
  • “The damage we’ve done is immeasurable, and I don’t know if it can ever be fixed. People don’t know what’s real anymore, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
• While the full extent of these claims has yet to be proven, the whistleblower’s account is bolstered by independent research and the connections of influential figures like Andreessen and Musk. Together, they paint a troubling picture of how powerful technology may have been used to undermine democratic processes.

Voting System Interference

Evidence of Election Hacking

• Stephen Spoonamore, a cybersecurity expert, issued a “Duty to Warn” letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, outlining evidence of vote manipulation in key swing states during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
• Working with Smart Elections, Spoonamore revealed that voting tabulators were allegedly programmed to alter results after processing 400 ballots (up from 600 in 2020), a tactic designed to evade detection during recounts.
• This tampering reportedly influenced outcomes in critical states, supported by findings in an analysis of Clark County’s election results.
• Additional irregularities included the use of “bullet ballots,” where votes were cast only for the presidential race. These disproportionately favored Trump and deviated significantly from historical norms, suggesting deliberate interference.

Trump’s Statements on Manipulation

• Donald Trump’s public remarks have fueled speculation that he was aware of these activities:
  • “We don’t need the votes,” he said, implying confidence in securing victory through means outside traditional voter turnout.
  • At a rally, he remarked, “Elon was very effective. He knows those computers better than anybody. Those vote counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide,” suggesting possible technological manipulation in vote counting.
  • His statement, “You won’t have to vote anymore,” further hinted at confidence in a pre-arranged outcome.

Great thread with much more info the ""network state” movement led by Balaji Srinivasan, which aims 2 build crypto-based countries w/in existing states via the creation of “parallel institutions” like X."

https://bsky.app/profile/jennycohn.bsky.social/post/3levv4j35xk2b

I mean, the hat is black.

BlackHat doesn't mean 'bad guy' inherently, it means using bad means to achieve your goals. Like astroturfing to convince the people of something that is totally correct anyway and they're too dumb to understand. Or in this case, "we are looking at a simple trade against personal liberty — abortion, the rights of gay and trans people, and possibly democracy itself — in favor of crypto, AI, and a tax policy they like better."

The guy who owns the company that makes Eliza is directly working with Musk, on the board of Meta, and has written a has written a techno-optimist manifesto for effective accelerationism.

It's their MO. Effective accelerationists like Andreessen are ushering on the Dark Enlightenment envisioned by Curtis

"American democracy should be replaced by what he calls a “monarchy” run by what he has called a “C.E.O.”

And plenty of people seem to be onboard.

Tokenized, Inc: BlackRock's Plan To Own The Fractionalized World: “Markets don’t like uncertainty. Markets like, actually, totalitarian governments… Democracies are very messy.”

He literally has a black maga hat and calls himself DarkMAGA publicly

You can know that bit is true. Marc Andreessen is behind that company. He is on the board of META. He is currently hiring for DOGE for Elon. He wants to accelerate us into a monarchy run by a CEO so we can achieve ASI quicker and follows Curtis Yarvis' dark enlightenment. And he's backing a twitter disinfo bot? lol come on.

Studies on the twitter algorithm show its been manipulated, elon silencing his critics, aligning with autocrats, etc is all public. There is very little unconfirmed in this article it just ties it together.

It is sourced though? The very fact that Marc Andreessen has created a disinfo bot with a Trump bot as the public example is a story on it's own.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/24/24204706/marc-andreessen-ben-horowitz-a16z-trump-donations

Very odd though, no? Why would they use a Trump bot as the public example?

We already have hard proof for most of the other stuff, I guess someone could’ve seen the example and fabricated the article based on our shared knowledge. But I think that falls into the ‘nothing ever happens’ box

If you look at the second example you’ll see Marc andreessen mentioned. He’s a follower of Curtis yarvins dark enlightenment. Also works closely with Elon.

https://www.ft.com/content/1f14799f-69a1-41cb-bf7f-6f16f9ad4a8b

If you look at the second example you’ll see Marc andreessen mentioned. He’s a follower of Curtis yarvins dark enlightenment. Also works closely with Elon.

https://www.ft.com/content/1f14799f-69a1-41cb-bf7f-6f16f9ad4a8b

"It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured."

Is a bit odd the json example is of a Trump troll.

We know most of these things are true anyway, we seen him do it in real time. Push himself to the top of the feed, align with autocrats, censor his critics, etc. There’s nothing too surprising in here.

No musk is working on that with the wokeapedia effort next

No.

The only way his autism is related is if he overestimated how funny it would be. But he 100% meant to do a Nazi salute. Twice, and then repeated a dog whistle to the 14-words.

Tipping point could be very soon.

https://theconcernedbird.substack.com/p/elon-musks-and-xs-role-in-2024-election

Silk Road and the subsequent markets actually did reduce violent drug crime.

Have you ever seen Pineapple Express? You’re not gonna do that with the postie