Former President Donald Trump may be getting the gang back together — on Twitter.
After Elon Musk reinstated Trump’s account over the weekendfollowing an online poll, Twitter’s new owner has welcomed a slew of extreme conservative figures back onto the social media platform — ranging from Project Veritas, the activist media outlet, to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia most famous for promoting QAnon conspiracy theories.
Together, they make up key parts of a newly reconstituted online cohort with a history of amplifying the former president’s falsehoods and that researchers warn plays an important role in spreading lies that could cause real-world harm.
“Elon has welcomed back parts of the ‘MAGA’ or hard-right political ecosystem, which had been banned for enforcement standards ranging from repeat offenses in spreading false information with real harm — for instance about COVID-19 — or outright online harassment,” Graham Brookie, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, said via email.
Greene and Project Veritas were among the influential online voices helping spread Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was beset by fraud. Twitter ultimately suspended Greene from the platform for circulating false election fraud claims.
Project Veritas, the conservative group that has played a prominent role in spreading a variety of conspiracy theories and whose sting operation against a Democratic consulting firm...
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