As former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social social media platform teeters on the brink of financial collapse, a group of shitty cartoon dogs known for mocking Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine have infiltrated the platform. They are trying to bring him down from within before the 2024 US elections.
The North Atlantic Fella Organization (NAFO) is an online activist group founded last year to combat pro-Russian propaganda linked to the invasion of Ukraine. Last month, the group turned to Trump’s social network and launched a campaign to take over the news topics section of the website. The group says the operation, which included 50 “NAFO commandos,” as the members targeting Truth Social call themselves, was so successful that those leading the campaign now have a long-term goal: completely eliminate Truth Social.
“The goal we have in mind, which is noble, is to help bring down the program before the 2024 elections,” Rock Kenwell, the pseudonymous leader of the NAFO commandos, told WIRED. “We know that this is going to become a factor in aggregating extremism and probably violence, given the current situation.”
Describing the current environment of the Truth Social platform, Kenwell compared the challenge of combating the spread of pro-Trump messages on the platform to “dealing with your racist uncle who no one wants at the Thanksgiving table because he is simply obnoxious and seeks to pick fights with everyone. »
Truth Social was launched in early 2022 by Trump, who had been banned from mainstream platforms for inciting violence. Trump claimed the network would challenge “big tech platforms” like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a free speech platform open to all, but in the 18 months since its launch, the site has failed to succeed. to attract anyone outside of Trump and QAnon sycophants. conspiracy groups, and became the target of late-night comedy shows. Last week, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that the platform had lost $31 million since its launch.
“It’s a very simple platform to use. It’s a very primitive social media environment,” adds Kenwell.
Kenwell, along with other NAFO members, posts anonymously to avoid negative reactions from the individuals and groups they target. They also depict themselves online using various cartoons of the Shiba Inu, a Japanese dog breed that became a popular Internet meme in 2013.
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