Search
Items tagged with: Wheeler
... of power."
#Wheeler explicitly states:
"The #Broligarchs who've been a key part of #Trump's power are one way to do that (**and that's before we've really gotten into #SteveBannon and #PeterThiel's ties to #Epstein**)."
She does not elaborate with primary evidence in that piece, but 👉she clearly signals that Thiel's Epstein relationship is documented and waiting to be weaponized strategically—suggesting she has access to evidence but is timing its deployment.👈
*#MarcyWheeler on Epstein-Thiel Connections? *
#Wheeler does NOT yet seem tohave a dedicated deep investigation of the #Thiel-#Epstein-#Weev triangle, but 👉she has flagged it strategically in her January 2026 strategic planning memo "Where We Go from Here":
"Treat Epstein as the base layer... and remember that there needs to be a direction beyond #Epstein as well, a direction which incorporates the #oligarchs who are still key players in #Trump's network 👈
... better known as #Weev, and then still posting under his handle @rabite, was a key early player in professionalizing that effort,👈even as he was serving as Webmaster for the rightwing #DailyStormer."
#Wheeler also has related articles in her #DouglassMackey archive on the trial exhibits and chatroom logs themselves. You can explore those here:
emptywheel.net/tag/douglass-ma…
Notable pieces in that series include trial-based documentation of the actual chatroom coordination.
...with #Trump campaign officials again privately coordinating with meme teams, giving them credentials, and making "specific requests for content."
#Wheeler does have documented access to the complete chatroom evidence. It's public record from the #Mackey trial, but the analytical work she did connecting them to #DonJr. and showing the 2016 coordination is in her recent archive.
emptywheel.net/2024/05/23/nata…
The key passage (May 23, @skykiss
Natalie Harp: Gatekeeper to the Reich - emptywheel
Marc Caputo describes the woman who posted the Reich meme to Trump's Truth Social account as his digital gatekeeper.emptywheel
"👉#ElonMusk's Machine for Fascism" article.👈
emptywheel.net/2023/10/04/elon…
Those chatrooms include:
Fed Free Hate Chat — where weev explicitly boasted: "i am absolutely sure we can get anyone to do or believe anything as long as we come up with the right rhetorical formula" emptywheel.net
Twitter listservs used by the troll network
Campaign Slack coordination references
*Why This Matters*
#Wheeler's May 2024 analysis shows the same network is now operating in 2024, @skykiss
Elon Musk's Machine for Fascism: A Tale of Three Elections - emptywheel
In 2016, far right trolls used Twitter's to hijack rational discussions about the election, contributing to Trump's win. In 2020, moderation and post-January 6 efforts thwarted a repeat performance, but only barely.emptywheel
#Mackey/#Microchip → #DonJr.'s Team**
The structure was:
👉**#AndrewAuernheimer (#weev)** — described by #Wheeler as **"a key early player in professionalizing that effort"** — trained #DouglassMackey and #Microchip starting in 2015.👈
**Mackey and Microchip** — who had been "groomed" by weev in hashtag hijacking, virality manipulation, and "psychological warfare" techniques — then **coordinated directly with Don Jr.** in a **#Trump HQ Slack** (per her citation of the campaign's own @skykiss
#USpol #EpsteinFiles #DonJr #Weev
(1/n)
I think I can point you in that direction:
#MarcyWheeler #EmptyWheel has documented this in her May 2024 article "#NatalieHarp: Gatekeeper to the Reich."
What #Wheeler Documents About #DonJr., #Weev, and 2016 Coordination
Wheeler explicitly states: "#DouglassMackey, #Microchip, and Don Jr collaborated to hijack mainstream news narratives together in 2016." emptywheel.net
The Chain of Operation
**#Weev →
