The trending Twitter hashtag #MaidenGate has been coopted and promoted by the same right-wing operatives behind the #StoptheSteal protests, a massive misinformation and pressure campaign to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 elections.
Last night, a woman known online as “Lauren,” who also goes by “L,” tweeted that her mother’s vote was “stolen” in her previous home of Michigan when her maiden name was used to vote by someone other than her. Lauren claims to have proof voter fraud occurred, but has not released anything beyond writing that her mother got a “random text” inquiring if “she was planning to vote.”
Following this, Lauren coined the hashtag #MaidenGate, which is now trending on Twitter.
DEAD NAMES.
MAIDEN NAMES.
DIVORCED NAMES.
ADOPTED NAMES.
MARRIED NAMES.
CHECK THEM ALL.#MaidenGate
— L 🤺 (@SomeBitchIKnow) November 10, 2020
Maidengate.com was registered and launched anonymously early this morning. The site redirects to a Google Doc and was created by Ali Alexander AKA Ali Akbar. Alexander launched the StoptheSteal.us site late last week with a video and a tweet, “Proud to be working with these patriots to Save the Election,” and listed 15 Twitter handles for right-wing influencers, as the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reported.
The Google Doc states that, “We are looking for individuals who voted in this election (or chose not to) but also had another vote cast in a previous legal name of theirs at an address they previously occupied.” It then lists where people can check if a “political predator” used their former name to vote.
The Google Doc credits Lauren and states that, “This page was crafted by the team at StopTheSteal.US.” It also mentions that U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-04) is “on the case.” Gosar is now listed as the Arizona organizer of the StoptheSteal protest on Saturday in Phoenix.
Alexander and the other operatives at StoptheSteal.us are organizing a “March for Trump,” or “Million Maga March” protest scheduled for 12:00 pm Saturday at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC., as well as rallies in state capitols around the country.
Eventbrite appears to be removing some of the March for Trump event pages for violating its community guidelines, but others remain up.
CMD has connected operatives working with Alexander on the StoptheSteal effort to the Council for National Policy (CNP), an influential Christian Right network with deep ties to Trump and his administration. Leaders of Tea Party Patriots, Turning Points USA, Women for Trump, and FreedomWorks have been fueling viral online voter fraud theories and protests. Politico also found ties between StoptheSteal and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who is a former member of CNP.
Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour
I went on the website. …https://www.somebitchtoldme.com/…. and asked “L” why her Twitter account was suspended.
Her response was that “I made a joke about being suicided, and they said I was glorifying suicide.”
Nothing to do with being censored..
I find it odd that not everyone would want to know that the election was fair and legal. All Americans deserve a free, fair, and legal election. It’s the bedrock of our Republic. Exposing any fraud on either side should be welcomed. Why would anyone oppose this unless they may be trying to hide something. No State has certified their votes yet. We have a legal process that every election follows, so those calling for our President to concede, now, when there’s a 1% difference in at least 5 states, and tell 71 million voters to just “suck it up” and accept the election, why demand this when we’ve never done this before?
There is clear evidence of fraud. Unfortunately, Zuckerburg and heads at Google have both clearly stated they’ve chosen a side. What these so-called reporters and “investigators” have absolutely FAILED to do, is look at exactly how much power these two companies actually have over the public and what the word GASLIGHT means. If they had any sense at all, they would be able to see that society has been gas lit. Also, none of them bothered to check exactly what Biden, Zuckerburg, and Google have in common. Real investigators look at both sides of the story… They NEVER allow feelings to bend their view of the TRUTH.
So Dave you’re saying you never gave any credence to the whole Rusiagate thing? You knew from the very beginning that Russia did not effect our 2016 election? Did you write a column explaining your view on it? If not why didn’t you? Also, I’m a smart man who can see that there was some shenanigans on election night. Do you think I’m wrong?
Hey John, I didn’t write or engage “Russiagate” because foreign policy is generally not an issue I research or report on. CMD investigates and exposes misinformation campaigns regularly and when I was able to tie this astroturf effort to the Council for National Policy, a Christian Right group we pay close attention to, I jumped in. If by “shenanigans” you mean voter fraud, research consistently shows that it is very rare. Brennan Center for Justice has done some great digging on this. See this report for example: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud
How do you suggest that Russia has been influencing and affecting and rigging our elections (esp. in 2016), but that now, magically, elections are “impossible” to rig??
I don’t have words for this level of cognitive dissonance.
CJ, I did not suggest or write that Russia “has been influencing and affecting and rigging our elections.” Perhaps you have me mistaken with someone else?
Thanks for reading!
How do I check if any of my names were used for voter fraud?
Depends on the state, but you should be able to check with the Secretary of State or another office in your state.