This is how easy it is to manufacture a narrative about mean people on the internet.

[DanTex]

Go to twitter. Pick some hashtag that's derogatory to a candidate. And search it. I tried #FuckBernie. And what did I find?

The very first hit was talking about "Bernie cultists." Scroll down a bit and there's a person whose twitter name is "Bernie Gonna Die or Lose. Either way we win." Oh, and there's also someone named "#BernieWantsPeopleToDie."

Ohhhhh myyyyy gooood!!! These people are so meeeeeeaaan!!! Why doesn't some other candidate take responsibility for all those horrible things! Where's the civility! Obviously this hatefulness comes from the top!

Seriously, give me a break. What I found in 30 seconds is one one thousandth of a percent of the hateful shit that gets posted on twitter every day against Bernie, or any other candidate. It's embarrassing that there are actual news stories where "journalists" do what I just did and try to weave it into a narrative smearing the online supporters of one candidate as uniquely uncivil.

[W_HAMILTON]

1. Oh lord.

[squirecam]

2. It was my understanding that there would be no math.

Nt

[CalFione]

3. It's not the "mean people on the internet" that are the problem.

It is the people who actually WORK for the campaign - the David Sirotas and Nina Turners and so forth - that are the problem.


These aren't random people on twitter hiding behind a fake username and a "rose" emoji. These are Bernie's employees.


David Sirota is one of the biggest social media trolls in the world. And his behavior is a reflection of the candidate he represents.


You keep trying to make this about random people that may or may not be trolls or bots.


It is about his SURROGATES.

[DanTex]

4. No it's not. The Bernie Bro smear is about supporters not surrogates.

That Bloomberg ad was a bunch of tweets by supposed Bernie supporters. Not by anyone associated with the campaign. As are the media stories about it.

The surrogates don’t post offensive things. They might post things you disagree with, but not the kind of offensive or bigoted posts that anonymous so-called “Bernie Bros” do.

[CalFione]

5. Every other tweet Sirota posts is a troll tweet

And Nina has certainly been very offensive at times.


Though I wouldn't call either one bigoted. At least they haven't done THAT yet.

[DanTex]

7. You consider it trolling because you disagree with him.

And other people think that say Neera Tanden is trolling. That’s just politics though. But the “Bernie Bro” smear isn’t about Sirota, it’s about supporters, not surrogates. Really. Look it up.

Speaking of Sirota, this is apropos.

Link to tweet

[George II]

10. Sirota doesn't mention all the trolling tweets he sent out for years. Remember....

....the day he was hired at the beginning of last year he deleted more than 20,000 tweets. Apparently he was ashamed of them or was afraid they'd come back to haunt him.

[mr_lebowski]

6. You argue cogently and well on behalf of your candidate, DanTex ...

You do him credit.

It's too bad you're put in a position (and feel compelled) to the point where you need to defend others out there that consistently fail to accomplish what you do.

For reals ... cheers man.

[Quixote1818]

8. It has always seemed manufactured to me. It's like the battle of 5 armies on the net,

arrows and battles going on all over the place and they are all fringe foks from every campaign. Who cares? Before the net they were there we just didn't see them.

[TwilightZone]

9. Nah, part of the problem, perhaps the most signicant part, is his campaign staff.

Like this, for example: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=537769

Deflection and flat-out lies.

[DanTex]

11. His campaign staff aren't the ones that the media and Bloomberg's ad are attacking

as "Bernie Bros". His campaign staff aren't the ones (allegedly) doxxing people and sending hate mail. The "Bernie Bro" narrative is about supporters, not staff. And the double standard is that nobody tries to hold other candidates accountable for what their alleged supporters do online.

You might consider that link "deflection and flat-out lies," and I can disagree with you. But nothing said there is offensive or harassing. At worst, it's spin, and all campaigns spin.