The Obama group Organizing for Action responded Tuesday to accusations that it created a slew of fake Twitter accounts in order to push the president’s gun control initiative.
Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockmanand conservative bloggers reviewed tweets Monday sporting the hashtag #WeDemandAVote, and they claim that many of the accounts sent no other tweets, had no followers and weren’t following anyone else.
“Obama’s anti-gun campaign is a fraud,” Mr. Stockman said in a statement. “The White Househas some explaining to do. To what extent is the White House involved in this attempt to defraud Congress?”
OFA decided to address the issue by claiming its initiative alone was the push some people needed to finally get involved with social media.
“With tens of thousands of supporters engaging via social media during our day of action last week we are thrilled with the number of whom took to new mediums to get involved,” OFA spokeswoman Katie Hogan told Politico. “Just because a supporter does not spend all their time on Twitter does not mean they are not a real person with real concerns about the direction many members of Congress are trying to take this country.”
Mr. Stockman’s review also found that most of the accounts were only created within 48 hours of contacting the congressman. Mr. Stockman called the spamming a “scam” and even compared it to pedaling “male enhancement pills” online.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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