Here’s how it works: In areas of Michigan with large numbers of Arab and Muslim voters, Future Coalition PAC is running digital ads about how Vice President Kamala Harris is a staunch and unyielding supporter of Israel.
“Kamala and Doug, America’s pro-Israel power couple,” the narrator of one of the group’s ads declares after discussing Israel’s “noble fight against the radical terrorists in Gaza.” One mail item from the group says Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, “leans on Jewish husband Doug Emhoff to advise on high-level pro-Israel policies.”
Many Jewish Democrats have argued that, among other qualities, the ads’ focus on second gentleman Doug Emhoff is antisemitic.
That component of the advertising blitz reprises a well-known, though not exactly common, bit of campaign dark arts: Highlight a quality you claim to see as positive or negative, knowing the intended audience will have the opposite takeaway.
But it’s the second component of Future Coalition PAC’s advertising that really raises its cynicism to new heights. The group is simultaneously targeting Pennsylvania’s Jewish voters with advertisements claiming Harris has been “pandering” to Palestinians.
For those interested: A report by the Voting Rights Lab (April 2024) has tracked new laws across the U.S. containing election interference provisions that have been enacted in 29 states since 2021. Key takeaways:
- As a new area of election law, election manipulation legislation is constantly changing.
- 79 new U.S. election interference laws will be put to the test for the first time in a presidential election this November.
- Georgia and North Carolina – two of the states likely to determine the results of the presidential election this November – have been at the forefront of new election manipulation laws.
Isn’t that foreign interference in the election, what with him being born in South Africa?
It’s a safe bet that South Africa has nothing to do with it I would say.
He is an American citizen wether you like it or not
I didn’t know he had US citizenship.
election interference should never be a crime in and of itself, IMO
So you think it should be legal for any foreign entity (state or otherwise) to attempt to influence an election?
yes, federal employees who are caught accepting bribes should obviously be punished, however freedom of speech is important and shouldn’t be denied when it comes to politics.
If I say, “Candidate A is a liar [although they are not]”, then this is unlawful and must be punished. Every journalist and media house can be held accountable for what they are publishing, and this is for good reason.
And private actors like Elon Musk or states like China and Russia are not exactly famous defenders of free speech as we know. This seems a bit hypocritical to say the least.
Candidate A is a liar [although they are not]
iirc this is mostly just libel or slander, and would apply just the same to a talkshow host or influencer as the “victim”.
