EagleAI, a prominent organization focused on spreading election conspiracies, has gained support from Cleta Mitchell, a former adviser to Donald Trump. Mitchell has played a key role in the well-funded Election Integrity Network, which aims to propagate election conspiracies on a national level. The group has organized in-person training seminars in recent years, covering topics such as protecting vulnerable voters from leftist activists and monitoring voting equipment and systems.
Recently, the group has made its training sessions available online and is intensifying its efforts ahead of the 2024 election through an initiative called Soles to the Rolls. This initiative aims to bolster challenges to voter registration. Despite being contacted by WIRED for comment, Mitchell, EagleAI, and the Election Integrity Network did not respond.
In addition to EagleAI, the America Project and its offshoot, Vote Your Vision, hosted a training webinar called “We the People” last month. The webinar attracted hundreds of attendees and featured a line-up of election conspiracists, Republican lawmakers, a commentator on fifth-generation warfare, and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The America Project claims that the webinar provides participants with the secrets to reclaiming power and reshaping history by utilizing state-of-the-art election tools, including those involving artificial intelligence technology. However, the specifics of these tools and their application are unclear. The America Project has scheduled more training sessions to provide further information, but they did not respond to requests for comment.
The America Project was co-founded by Michael Flynn, a disgraced former national security adviser, and Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com and a well-known conspiracist who financially supports the organization. Flynn and Byrne reportedly attended a White House meeting in late 2020 where they urged Trump to declare martial law and seize voting machines. While Flynn did not speak during the recent webinar, he has been a significant figure in promulgating the belief that America’s elections are fundamentally fraudulent, appearing regularly at conferences, podcasts, and right-wing news shows. Trump has even hinted at reappointing Flynn should he win the election.
These efforts have received the endorsement of the Republican National Committee (RNC), which Trump has recently restructured to include election deniers and family members in top positions while decreasing minority outreach efforts. Christina Bobb, a former Trump lawyer and TV presenter on the far-right channel One America News, is one of the election deniers who will be leading the RNC’s election integrity unit. Bobb has been a major proponent of the myth that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. According to an internal memo obtained by NPR, the RNC plans to legally challenge voter identification and signature verification rules that were put in place for the 2020 election as part of its election-related priorities.
During the America Project webinar, the hosts expressed their regret for not having Bobb on the call, but they promised that she would participate in a future session. This demonstrates the close ties between conspiracy-focused groups and the mainstream GOP apparatus.
In conclusion, EagleAI, the America Project, and the Republican National Committee are all participating in efforts to spread election conspiracies and undermine confidence in the electoral process. The support and involvement of figures like Cleta Mitchell, Michael Flynn, and Christina Bobb indicate a concerted effort to perpetuate the notion that America’s elections are fundamentally fraudulent. The implications of these actions are far-reaching, as they can erode trust in democracy and potentially hinder fair and free elections in the future. It is essential to critically examine and challenge these claims to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and maintain democratic institutions.
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