Back during Twitter 1.0, a whole lot of conservative meme-makers were banned (e.g., Carpe Donktum). Douglas Mackey made up a graphic suggesting that you could vote for Hillary Clinton via text. He was sentenced Wednesday to seven months in prison. Seven months isn't long, but the time it's taken for this case to move through the justice system certainly has. The Justice Department sent out a press release Wednesday announcing the sentencing:
“One of the foundational rights we hold as Americans, a right that many fought so hard to obtain, is the right to vote. The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy,” stated United States Attorney [Breon] Peace. “This groundbreaking prosecution demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who commit crimes that threaten our democracy and seek to deprive people of their constitutional right to vote.”
As proven at trial, by 2016, Mackey had established an audience on Twitter with approximately 58,000 followers. A February 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab ranked Mackey as one of the most significant influencers of the then-upcoming presidential election. Between September 2016 and November 2016, Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter users and with members of private online groups to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages that encouraged supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to “vote” via text message or social media which was legally invalid.
