Have you heard? The Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., is apparently handing out a petition to all its guests:
https://twitter.com/ackrantz11/status/917926381547335680
Seems totally legit and not at all sketchy.
https://twitter.com/ivesoncj/status/918013517923606528
The photo has gone viral, provoking plenty of outrage.
WHAT in the actual fuck??? https://t.co/mr860MTQ3q
— Merrin Dungey (@RealMerrinD) October 12, 2017
Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government and Ethics, is trying to get to the bottom of this (with a little help):
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918458904203419649
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918459266708725760
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918460480770990080
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918461302321815552
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918462690397388800
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918463696933974018
Work conf is there. Sometimes U can't control where they put U w/A big co. They R prob there b/c it is cheap. He dropped prices. Bigly
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918464517465690112
Here is a closeup of her original post that shows her check-in and hotel name by geo tag. pic.twitter.com/cbLj7FvC2f
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918464788061196288
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918465026700259328
She isn't on Twitter. Simple. Not all people Tweet
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918465728646467584
I use several devices. My phone font is funky & screenshot her post
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918466977068437506
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918467220807868417
It was a FB post with geo tags.
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918467434981490688
https://twitter.com/casimmel/status/918468043096850432
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918468262345756672
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918468877356601344
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918473247297101824
Paul P. Murphy
— Andreas Kreissl #Stand Up! (@silverhead1964) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918475745768476672
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918476333096882176
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918476607978983425
https://twitter.com/melaniedeppen/status/918475343299858432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D618251%26action%3Dedit
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918476877995675658
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918480553447444480
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918485775104307200
I tracked down the original woman from Trump Hotel conference if you would like to talk to her. DM me for her info.
— Grandma’s High Again. ? (@rkfatheree) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918486915027996672
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918502717961768960
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918503762645446658
One claim that's going around is that the desk clerk / concierge gives it to you when you check in.
— Very Illegal, Very Uncool (@swiley1983) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918505054126116864
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918509085443706880
Just went to Trump Hotel in search of one of these fliers. Found nothing. Spox: “We have no knowledge of this and nothing to do with it.”
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918565931965669376
@ACLU is this legal @waltshaub can they do this, this seems inappropriate and seems like censorship and encouraging propaganda https://t.co/cwAKyqrWzk
— ❄️Serenity❄️ (@Caprica1026) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918566217723629568
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918566401966829568
Journalist Zach Everson did some digging of his own:
1/ Just emailed the Trump Hotel DC's managing director about this Tweet that start to go viral last night asking if it was true. pic.twitter.com/onTLG6RaEQ
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
2/ As The Internet seems to be jumping to conclusions, gonna do the same: it seems out of character.
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
3/ For starters, there's only 1 report of this paper being passed out (as my feed shows, I monitor Twitter & Instagram for hotel mentions).
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
4/ I stayed at the hotel in April: CNN was available in my room (and the "failing NYT" was even featured in the hotel's digital access).
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
5/ The production value of the flyer is far below what I saw when I stayed at the hotel.
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
6/ Original poster pointed out the friend's Facebook location as proof she was there. One doesn't have to be on site to check in on FB tho.
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
7/ So we have 1 account of this happening. One. And it's been RT'd more than 10,000 times (including by some people who should know better). pic.twitter.com/RjbzB9KdsZ
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
8/ I'll share any reply I get from the Trump Hotel DC (or if this story can be verified somewhere else one way or the other).
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
9/ Of course, any new info will have much less reach than the original post. ?
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
10/ BTW, I've seen it RT'd by an editor at the New York Times & a New Yorker journalist—people who should know to call or email first. ?
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
11/ Breaking: Trump Hotel DC dir on accusation it's passing out anti-CNN flyer:
"We have no knowledge of this and nothing to do with it." pic.twitter.com/hqZPWxfQj8
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
12/ Now to tell the tens of thousands who've RT'd it. (Of course, suspect his email wouldn't suffice for many.)
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918567169272709120
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918567372394557440
The meetings are this week. She will not give name of Co & I don't blame her. It was handed by suited indiv in lobby to several ppl
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918567983345217536
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918568631256125446
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918568694590181378
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918571127135395840
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918572026641747968
These R the ans as I was given them: she was handed it by a suited employee by the check-in. Several ppl rec'd it. Didn't question it…
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
Often get them when u come 4 mtgs. Went 2 sit down 4 drinks in lobby bar, read it & took pic (Why bad lighting & crooked) posted to FB…
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
Sent 2 atty friend who sent 2 Me as neither has Twitter.
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/918575576251883521
@waltshaub I have answered everything U have asked. Don't come @ me sideways if the answers aren't 2 ur liking. Go eat a snickers
— TheBionicWoman???? (@6millionwoman) October 12, 2017
Well, this has been fun, hasn’t it?
17/ All from one tweet.
That has not been verified by anyone else.
That has been disavowed by the hotel.
That just seems very unlikely.
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
18/ Executive summary:
Chaos and disarray pic.twitter.com/SRs26Gupsp
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
19/ Yes, but it hasn't been RT'd 7,000 times. pic.twitter.com/V51xIz8OBJ
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
20/ One person, Joy. One, And it wasn't hard to track down (rather than just send it out for a few hundred RTs). pic.twitter.com/5RlDiQ3O65
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
21/ @snopes weighs in:
Falsehttps://t.co/cygM4qkuap pic.twitter.com/UBSZ6BZAJB
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 12, 2017
Huh:
This rumor appears to have originated from a single Facebook post that has either been deleted or made private. On 10 October 2017, Twitter user @ackrantz11 posted a screenshot purportedly showing the original post and claimed that a “friend” had received the flyer when she checked in to the Trump Hotel:
We identified and interviewed the woman pictured in this Facebook post. She told us that she was never actually a guest at the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. She did, however, use Facebook’s “check in” feature when she stopped in for a few drinks at the lobby bar. While she was there, an anonymous person handed her the flyer.
…
The original Facebook poster also told us that she did not know Twitter user @ackrantz11, whose tweet pushing this rumor garnered more than 10,000 retweets:
No idea who this person is. My friend posted something similar. I think this person just copied it. I think they assumed when I “checked in” on fb I was checking in to the hotel. This person sure seems to answer a lot of questions about my stay though!
Welp.
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