Is this complaint valid?

[LAS14]

I get why Correct the Record wants to mount a digital offensive against the Bernie Bros who have driven Hillary supporters away from the public parts of social media. And I heartily endorse it. I, myself, have been posting in GDP and have now joined Reddit and Discussionist to post Hillary positive messages.

But in the article below the author claims that CRT is using legal but questionable methods to coordinate with the Clinton campaign. My questions is, is this true? Because I don't see why they would need to coordinate in order to accomplish the goal.

tia
las

Due to FEC loopholes, the Sunlight Foundation’s Libby Watson found this year that Correct the Record can openly coordinate with Clinton’s campaign, despite rules that typically disallow political campaigns from working directly with PACs.


“SuperPACs aren’t supposed to coordinate with candidates. The whole reasoning behind (Supreme Court decision) Citizens United rests on (PACs) being independent, but Correct the Record claims it can coordinate,” Watson told The Daily Beast. “It’s not totally clear what their reasoning is, but it seems to be that material posted on the Internet for free—like, blogs—doesn’t count as an ‘independent expenditure.’”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/21/hillary-

[72DejaVu]

1. If t's free, it's not an expenditure

Seems pretty clearcut to me.

[LAS14]

4. What's free? What coordination? Who is coordinating? Example?

In other words, how do we know there's any coordination going on?

[Her Sister]

2. http://correctrecord.org/

http://correctrecord.org/the-points/

http://correctrecord.org/news/


http://correctrecord.org/barrier-breakers-2016-a-project-of-correct-the-record/

BARRIER BREAKERS 2016: A PROJECT OF CORRECT THE RECORD
175124
TASK FORCE WILL HELP CLINTON SUPPORTERS PUSH BACK ON ONLINE HARASSMENT AND THANK
SUPERDELEGATES

Anonymous online attacks, from both sides of the political spectrum, have sought to spread lies and misleading narratives about Secretary Hillary Clinton. Hillary’s supporters are more enthusiastic than Sen. Bernie Sanders’ supporters, yet oftentimes are discouraged from engaging online and are “often afraid to voice their thoughts” because of the fear of online harassment. Many of Hillary Clinton’s female supporters in particular have been subject to intense cyber-bullying and sexist attacks from swarms of anonymous attackers.

Among the many Hillary Clinton supporters attacked online, superdelegates have been subject to vicious attacks for supporting her. Even the director of MoveOn, which has endorsed Sen. Sanders, denounced this harassment.

In response to these attacks on supporters and superdelegates, Correct The Record is launching the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force. While Hillary Clinton fights to break down barriers and bring America together, the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force will serve as a resource for supporters looking for positive content and push-back to share with their online progressive communities, as well as thanking prominent supporters and committed superdelegates on social media.

Correct The Record will invest more than $1 million into Barrier Breakers 2016 activities, including the more than tripling of its digital operation to engage in online messaging both for Secretary Clinton and to push back against attackers on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram. Barrier Breakers 2016 is a project of Correct The Record and the brainchild of David Brock, and the task force will be overseen by President of Correct The Record Brad Woodhouse and Digital Director Benjamin Fischbein. The task force staff’s backgrounds are as diverse as the community they will be engaging with and include former reporters, bloggers, public affairs specialists, designers, Ready for Hillary alumni, and Hillary super fans who have led groups similar to those with which the task force will organize.

Lessons learned from online engagement with “Bernie Bros” during the Democratic Primary will be applied to the rest of the primary season and general election–responding quickly and forcefully to negative attacks and false narratives. Additionally, as the general election approaches, the task force will begin to push out information to Sanders supporters online, encouraging them to support Hillary Clinton.

The task force currently combats online political harassment, having already addressed more than 5,000 individuals who have personally attacked Secretary Clinton on Twitter. The task force will provide a presence and space online where Clinton supporters can organize and engage with one another and are able to obtain graphics, videos, gifs, and messaging to use in their own social spaces. Additionally, the Barrier Breakers 2016 task force hopes to embrace the creativity of Hillary Clinton’s supporters by sharing their efforts and content with other groups

[LAS14]

5. I think I'll have to give up.

Dear Her Sister,

I like everything you post, but what you've posted here simply shows what Correct the Record has done and will do on behalf of Hillary. It doesn't show any coordination with the Hillary campaign. The stuff they post is publicly available. Their proposed $1,000,000 project doesn't require coordination. Coordination is what's not supposed to happen between campaigns and Super PACs. They've been accused of finding a loophole. I don't think they need a loophole, because I don't see a need for coordination for what they've done and will do.

Thanks,
las

[Her Sister]

6. I think that HRC campaign has been very smart

so not thinking that they would do something if it was illegal or unethical. It sounds like this website and effort wants to stop online harassment and smears as a support to HRC supporters but also interested in uniting all Democrats eventually.

Am sure more information will come in the following days.

Remember that BS Campaign is paying Revolution Messaging more than 3 million monthly as per last FEC quarterly filing! http://docquery.fec.gov/pres/2016/Q1/C00577130/B_PAYEE_C00577130.html

[DemonGoddess]

7. Something else to remember

is that Brock is doing this unilaterally. He doesn't focus on just one thing or person at a time. This is his making up for the smear he ran against Anita Hill when he was a Republican.

[BlueCaliDem]

9. Yep. He's been suffering a crisis of conscience since.

He's been a staunch Democratic Party supporter and launched Media Matters for America, which I follow when I can.

[leftofcool]

8. I can explain this LAS

As a volunteer, if I find a site or blog or some links to where Hillary is being attacked in a malicious manner, I am free to send those links to Hill's campaign staff who is turn is free to notify CTR. I can also send them directly to CTR myself but they are more likely to read something from her staff first. That is the extent of any co-ordination. There is no money or expense involved. This is a free service by CTR similar to a campaign war room.

[LAS14]

13. Yay!!! That's the answer!!! THANKS!! nt

[fleabiscuit]

12. Perhaps you should consider the messenger of your post.

Are THEY valid.

[creon]

3. I doubt

I doubt that either party - Clinton or Sanders - pays people to post on line.
Whether directly or through surrogates.

[BlueCaliDem]

10. Well, Clinton doesn't but Sanders has and is, using Barack Obama's method and the company he

used to promote his candidacy. I guess theft of those files back in December are paying off, aren't they?

Sanders has paid $16 million up to March 2016 to Revolution Messaging who are currently still hiring. Where Obama and Sanders part ways is that Obama used Revolution Messaging in a positive manner and Sanders uses the RM interns to bully and attack Hillary supporters and surrogates. It's also how he fundraises, that's why he's raising record numbers compared to Hillary Clinton, according to the site.

Clinton supporter Kim Frederick, who created the hashtag #HillarySoQualified in support of Clinton, spoke to reporter Justin Wm. Moyer after the hashtag had been coopted by Bernie Sanders supporters.

"Referencing Revolution Messaging, the company behind Sanders' digital fundraising, she added, 'Revolution media pays interns $15 an hour to troll people on the Internet. Hillary Clinton does not pay people to sit and troll the Internet. We are real people with real lives, full-time jobs, and we don't have time to sit there,’” the story originally said.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/23/bernie-sanders-campaign-we-don-t-pay-for-comments-thank-you.html

Sanders camp denies this is the case, and the Daily Beast is clearly on Sanders' side, saying those are unfounded rumors. Um. Right. The Daily Beast's article is based entirely on unfounded rumors claiming that Sanders' campaign is not funding those cyber-bullies when it's the core service that RM provides - and Sanders is featured on their pages!

If we're wondering where all those cyber-attacks that we've never seen before Sanders' (doomed) campaign are coming from, wonder no more! As we've been saying all along, these are paid trolls.

[creon]

11. I will have to look further into this

Thanks for the information.