Twitter Inc TWTR permanently suspended the account of far-right activist Jacob Wohl late Tuesday for attempting to manipulate the 2020 presidential election.
What Happened
Twitter confirmed that Wohl’s activities violated platform rules prohibiting users from using fake accounts to influence public discourse.
The 21 year old denied creating some of the accounts attributed to him but confessed to creating the likes of @women_4_schulz as a primarily “intellectual exercise” to measure political support among particular demographics. However, a Tuesday story in USA Today revealed Wohl’s intent to affect 2020 outcomes.
Why It’s Important
The political sphere isn't the first target of Wohl's deception. Before transitioning to politics, a teenage Wohl was accused of lying to hedge fund clients about his experience, assets and performance. The National Futures Association in 2017 banned Wohl for life.
Twitter has more stringently monitored deceptive activities since the discovery of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Still, it’s had trouble controlling the trolls.
In the last few months, Wohl started disinformation campaigns about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Rep. Kamala Harris, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller that gained some traction.
On Tuesday, he confessed he still had various schemes in the works and planned to created “enormous left-wing online properties and use those to steer the left-wing votes in the primaries to what we feel are weaker candidates compared with Trump.”
What’s Next
Wohl does not appear deterred by the ouster from his primary podium.
“It’s all fun, man,” he told the Washington Post. “You gotta have fun with this. I had fun with Twitter. They banned me? Oh well — it’s not the end of the world.”
The political sphere isn't the first target of Wohl's deception. Before transitioning to politics, a teenage Wohl lied to hedge fund clients about his experience, assets and performance.
Related Links:
FBI Investigated Claims Against Robert Muller With Connections To Jacob Wohl
Jacob Wohl, The Teenage Hedge Fund Manager Trump Loves To Retweet
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