A Mysterious Facebook Group Is Using Bernie Sanders' Image to Urge Democrats to Vote for Green Party

[pnwmom]

Source: Propublica

A Facebook page for a group called “America Progress Now” is running ads online urging progressives to vote for Green Party candidates in seven competitive races in the Midwest.

“People of Color NEED Marcia Squier in the Senate to represent them,” one of the ads says, promoting a Green Party candidate in Michigan. “Americans don’t have control over our government anymore. We’ve lost it to greedy, corporate capitalists,” says another, calling for voters to support Ohio Green Party candidate Joe Manchik.

The page features ads with images of prominent progressive politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Problem is, America Progress Now hasn’t registered with the Federal Election Commission, as all groups making independent political expenditures are required to do. Six of the Green Party candidates being promoted by America Progress Now say they have no affiliation with the Facebook page, and most say they’ve never heard of the group.

Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/a-mysterious-facebook-group-is-using-bernie-sanders-image-to-urge-democrats-to-vote-for-the-green-party

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If Facebook considers you "very liberal," you might be subjected to these fake ads, too.

[TomSlick]

1. Is this the just reported "foreign" Facebook postings?

Russia at it again?

[dalton99a]

2. Yep.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Does this ratfucking still work? nt

[rpannier]

4. Enough stupid people that are willing to be conned

[Hortensis]

11. :) The kind of people who'd support dysfunctional Green Party

candidates are born to be ratfucked and will always be with us.

Shouldn't be a surprise that Russia's targeting Sanders admirers who believe Democrats are conspiring with Monsanto to put mind control drugs in their kratom powder, or whatever the personal mania is.

[trueblue2007]

5. I REPORTED TO FACEBOOK

[orangecrush]

19. GOOD!

[jmowreader]

6. Karl Rove, is that you?

I swear...someone needs to draw a "two rodents mating" emoji for cases like this.

[SunSeeker]

7. I smell borscht. nt

[elmac]

8. GOP, government Of Putin's dirty work. nt

[LovingA2andMI]

9. Reported....

Living in Michigan, who is Marcia whatever-her-name-is? She has no chance to receive over 10,000 votes and Debbie Stabenow will be returned back to the U.S. Senate.

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Kicking. eom

[DownriverDem]

12. Seriously

What left leaner would not know that the two party system means you vote for the Dems?

[Honeycombe8]

14. Third parties fight the two-party system, more than anything.

That's why Sarandon and Nader & such don't care if their presence causes the Democratic candidate to lose. Their fight is against the two party system. Both major parties.

[Oak2004]

20. There are times when it makes sense to support a third party. This time is not one of them.

I consider myself a member of the Vermont Progressive Party, and I voted (nearly) straight Prog today. The thing is, that's also (nearly) straight Democratic. Progs and Dems have come to an understanding that it is not in their interest to turn state offices over to Republicans -- not that there is no difference between the two parties, but that the two parties are much nearer each other than they are to any Republican. So in recent elections, every significant Prog candidate has sought, and received, the Democratic endorsement as well. The exceptions have been the loonies and weirdos who have occasionally filed as Progs in the primary -- almost none of whom have gotten past the primary for obvious reasons -- and minor races with no real policy implications, such as today's race for Justice of the Peace.

We did have one oddity on the ballot -- a candidate for minor office who had a Prog/Republican dual endorsement. I don't know, but suspect, that's one of the disrupters who filed for the primary this year (we had an unusual number of them), who must have slipped past the primary voters. Regardless, I don't care if his endorsements started with "P". To my mind, a Republican endorsement is an automatic disqualifier. I voted instead for the Democrat.

Should the Progs and the Dems run against each other again? Sure, if this country ever reaches a point where splitting the vote ceases to be a dangerous act. Until then any third party, anywhere in America, needs to act to prevent vote splitting, either through dual endorsement in races with policy implications, or by knowing when *not* to run candidates. Any other policy is gravely immoral (yes, I'm speaking to you, Greens).

[BeneathTheMire]

13. I just reported them as well. nt

[SkyDaddy7]

15. The GREEN PARTY

...is nothing but a rotten egg used to by egomaniacs on “left”(maybe) don’t give a shit about nothing but themselves, the Republicans bank rollin said egomaniacs & of course whoever Vladimir Putin wants to run.

[Grasswire2]

16. report to FB

There's a "button" for doing so now. For election fakery.

[Reader Rabbit]

17. Russians?

That would be my guess. Putin's boys trying to manipulate again.

[blitzen]

18. "America (Америке) Progress Now" sounds a little off...Did they mean "American?"

These Russian hackers can never quite cover their tracks.

[Blue_Tires]

21. the ratfuckery never stops...