I’ve spent years researching and warning about veterans being radicalized by foreign and domestic actors spreading viral, bogus, and hateful content. @VetAffairsDems investigated and recently a report. @HouseVetAffairs objected. One of those vets just died in the Capitol. https://twitter.com/nikkiwentling/status/1347023132587077637

When I finally got to testify about the 191-page report that I wrote about @VVAmerica’s troll investigation before House Vet Affairs, all the Republicans wasted their time and mine complaining about how Facebook and Twitter were mean to conservatives. This death is on their hands

To be more specific: this death is on the hands of the former committee Ranking Member, @DrPhilRoe, and that of his staff. It was under their direction and leadership that Republicans blocked any and all efforts by Dems to combat the targeting of vets for radicalization online.

Vietnam Veterans of America’s report is available at http://VVA.org/trollreport 

The @VetAffairsDems’ report, as well as links to the hearing that I described, are available here. Big thanks to @RepMarkTakano and staff for their leadership and persistence overcoming Republicans’ partisan roadblocks: https://veterans.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-committee-on-veterans-affairs-approves-official-report-on-spoofing-and-the-exploitation-of-veterans-online

The Air Force veteran who died in the Capitol last night was radicalized in part by the QAnon conspiracy theory. Here she refers to yesterday as “the storm,” which Q followers have anticipated as the event that would lead to a purge of anything and everything that is not Trump.

This QAnon shit has radicalized a ton of veterans, and been embraced, promoted, and perpetuated by veterans who wield massive online influence, like former Navy vet (and real piece of shit) Jack Prosobiec. The now-dead QAnon Air Force vet retweeted Jack yesterday.

One of QAnon’s central figures (who I’ve been Facebook friends with since 2016 and have watched him and family go increasingly batshit crazy since) is disgraced former Army General and Trump’s first NSA, Mike Flynn. Now-dead QAnon Air Force veteran was influenced by him as well.

A year ago today WaPo published a story about how the entire Trump Administration refused to respond to the findings in VVA’s report. @SecWilkie (who all major vets orgs have called for the resignation of, btw) still refuses to act to get VA to help educate vets in media literacy

. @CISAgov came across the WaPo piece (linked here) and reached out to VVA to start an education campaign to help vets fight against those targeting them online with disinformation. Thanks to @C_C_Krebs + staff, it was the first partnership of its kind. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/01/07/russian-trolls-are-targeting-american-veterans-trumps-government-isnt-helping-group-says/