Far-Right Web Personalities Claim WH Invited Them To ‘Social Media Summit’
A bevy of far-right internet personalities has claimed in recent days to have received invitations to the White House’s “Social Media Summit” on Thursday, further blurring the line between the mainstream Republican Party and fringe figures that cater to its farthest edges.
One of the people who claims they’ve been invited to the event has published anti-Semitic cartoons. Another has promoted the bizarre and wide-ranging QAnon conspiracy theory. A third is a celebrated meme-r whose creations have been tweeted by President Trump.
The White House does not seem eager to confirm the invitees.
Declining to confirm an actual invite list, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in an email, “This event will bring together digital leaders for a robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today’s online environment.”
Yet so far, several people have claimed they received White House invites.
Perhaps most notably, the massively popular right-wing cartoonist Ben Garrison
claimed on Twitter Friday to have been invited to attend. While most of Garrison’s cartoons are
dense word clouds focused on the Democratic establishment, some have been described as anti-Semitic and xenophobic.
A few days earlier, pro-Trump internet personality and broadcaster Bill Mitchell
announced that he, too, would be going to the White House.
Though primarily known for his toothy grin and non-stop praise of the 45th president, Mitchell (pictured above) also frequently veers into the conspiratorial.
For example, he’s
promoted the labyrinthian “
QAnon” conspiracy theory, which obsesses over “deep state” machinations and the President’s secret supposed effort to round up pedophiles and other criminals, following the breadcrumbs of an anonymous insider (or insiders) posting on the internet. The full QAnon theory, having expanded over several months, functions more as
a network of believers and is practically incomprehensible to outsiders. (Mitchell would
hardly be the first QAnon believer to visit the White House.)
Another right-wing personality who’s said he’s been to the White House was there just a few days ago.
The operators of the “@
mad-liberals” and “@
CarpeDonktum” accounts both claimed they were invited to the summit, and CarpeDonktum recently posted pictures of their Oval Office visit with Trump.
Trump has shared
several of Donktum’s creations, most recently a video clip that showed Trump on a TIME magazine cover
as a deathless, eternal president. Trump also tweeted Donktum’s video showing
Joe Biden feeling himself up, and
another one mocking technical glitches during MSNBC’s recent Democratic presidential primary debate.
“Actually being there was really, really cool,” Donktum told former White House staffer Sebastian Gorka about his White House visit
on Gorka’s radio showFriday.
The list doesn’t end there.
According to the Washington Post, invitations have been extended to the Heritage Foundation, as well as the right-wing activist stalwarts PragerU, the Media Research Center and Turning Points USA. The founder of selective video editing outlet Project Veritas, James O’Keefe,
also says he’ll be there.
On Monday, Breakfast Media’s Andrew Feinberg
reported that Ali Alexander, the GOP operative who tweeted during Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) appearance on the debate stage last month that Harris was “*not* an American Black,” had also been invited to the White House.
Reportedly missing from the invite list? Facebook and Twitter.
www.mediaite.com
