The conspiracy-theorist-in-chief is at it again

This piece was originally published in the September 1, 2020 edition of CAP Action’s daily newsletter, the Progress Report. Subscribe to the Progress Report here.

Photo by Srikanta H. U on Unsplash

“Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a 3-foot putt.”

Trump, speaking to Laura Ingraham, who then promptly interjected to make it seem like he hadn’t just compared police shooting a Black man seven times in the back to golfing

Trump still has NO PLAN to reopen schools safely.

He’s given up on fighting this virus — and he’s leaving teachers and students to fend for themselves.

Share this video on Twitter and Facebook to get the facts out:

IN THE NEWS

  • Ahead of his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin today, Trump stopped by Laura Ingraham’s show last night to spout lies and stoke unwarranted fear of “riots” and “thugs.” He also notably defended the white supremacist who allegedly killed two protesters and injured another last week. In yet another disturbing moment, Trump echoed a months-old false conspiracy theory made popular in right-wing Facebook circles that involves people in dark clothing, airplanes, and Joe Biden. Completely normal behavior from the person with the nuclear codes.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • Despite his company’s long and questionable record of handling political misinformation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife announced today that they would donate $300 million to election protection efforts. As some have pointed out, this is approximately 0.31% of the Zuckerbergs’ net worth and could be difficult to distribute and use with just 63 days left before November’s election.
  • On a completely unrelated note, Russia is reportedly using Facebook to interfere with our elections again. Facebook announced today that they’d received a tip from the FBI indicating the Russian-based Internet Research Agency was once again trying to target American users of the social media platform ahead of the upcoming 2020 presidential election. According to CNN, this attempt involved fake personas with realistic computer-generated photos of people, a handful of low-engagement Facebook accounts and pages, and a website that was set up to look and operate like a left-wing news outlet.
  • Today is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day! States are calling for younger generations to fill the poll worker deficit leading up to the November election. With the majority of poll workers over age 60, many are having to sit this election out due to the dangers COVID-19 poses to older Americans. But poll workers remain essential in ensuring that more polling locations can open, allowing for shorter lines and overall higher access to voting. Learn how to become a poll worker in your state.

WHAT WE’RE READING

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