One of Twitter 's most popular commentators , Douglass Mackey , better known as Ricky Vaughn , was arrested on Wednesday on charges of election interference and voter misinformation in 2016.
Mackey is accused of conspiring with others “to spread misinformation with the intent to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote,” according to the recent complaint.
The federal government is trying to enforce laws against election interference. False election-related claims on the Internet and social media are a big problem, with major platforms like Facebook and Twitter trying to limit their spread.
However, there are few examples of social media posts that have been used as the basis for such criminal charges.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before regarding information on social media accounts,” said Chip Stewart, a journalism professor at Texas Christian University who specializes in media law and technology .
After an initial appearance in federal court in West Palm Beach , Fla., Mackey was released on $50,000 bail. Mackey's attorney declined to comment.
In addition to his election misinformation, Mackey was a well-known figure in the right-wing movement. After Twitter deleted account for “targeted harassment” in 2016, Mackey opened several new accounts on the platform to avoid the ongoing bans. His real identity was revealed by HuffPost in 2018.
Mackey is among the top 150 influencers of the 2016 presidential election.
Now he is accused of using Twitter to mislead voters.
According to federal prosecutors, he participated in several group instant messages, including one called the “War Room,” where dozens of people shared ideas about how to influence the election. In the group chats, Mackey and others created and spread fake hashtags and memes to misinform voters.
In September 2016, Mackey’s groups turned to creating memes that misled potential voters about how they could vote. Some of the memes falsely claimed that supporters could vote by posting on Facebook or Twitter or via text message. According to the complaint, 4,900 unique phone numbers sent their votes to the number provided.
Mackey was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida, and will appear in court via video conference.
