Lincoln Project Accused Of Plagiarizing, Improperly Attributing Viral Content

oh NO! say it ain't so! the Lincoln Project .. that "powerful" entity that will bring down Evil Lord Trump, accused of plagiarism?

hey ecky9.5k .. this ain't FOX News, boy. it's the RADICAL ALT-LEFT HuffyPoo! don't they hate Evil Lord Trump too?

BAHHAAAA

Lincoln Project Accused Of Plagiarizing, Improperly Attributing Viral Content

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/linco...193622759.html

The Lincoln Project, the Republican group that has gained popularity among some liberals for its snarky anti-Trump tweets and videos, has been accused by some content creators of plagiarism and improper attribution.

Several Twitter users, including video editor and comedian Vic Berger, alleged in recent weeks that The Lincoln Project copied their tweets or used their photos and videos without permission or proper attribution. The group — whose content earned it nearly 2 million followers and millions in cash from political donors in just a few months — was benefiting from smaller creators’ content for free, they said.

In one instance, the group shared without credit an edited image Berger had created that made it look as though Trump had framed photos of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on his desk in the Oval Office.

The accusations garnered widespread attention on Sunday when NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny shared several of the claims with her 48,000 Twitter followers.

“Stealing from creators is a nonpartisan crime,” Zadrozny wrote in her tweet, which had been retweeted more than 4,000 times as of Tuesday.

Stealing from creators is a nonpartisan crime @ProjectLincoln. pic.twitter.com/7ps0mHvuhh

— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 16, 2020

In a statement to HuffPost, The Lincoln Project said Tuesday that it would “make every effort to attribute content” in the future.

“The Lincoln Project works every day to defeat Donald Trump and his enablers in November,” the group said in its statement. “Along the way, we’ve scaled quickly, and have been fortunate to build a larger social following than we ever could’ve hoped for.”

The statement continued: “We recognize that with our reach comes a responsibility to always recognize the talent and hard work of creators. Moving forward, we will make every effort to attribute content, and we are evolving our policies to ensure that happens.”

The Lincoln Project was formed in late 2019 by several Republicans ― including attorney George Conway, the husband of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway ― with the stated purpose of preventing Trump’s reelection.

Many so-called Resistance Democrats latched on to the group’s Trump-trolling ads, creating a surge of enthusiasm for the group that reflected in both its social media presence and its piggy bank.

The Lincoln Project’s Twitter account, created in December 2019, has more than 1.9 million followers, and the group said it raised more than $16 million in donations between April and June. The Lincoln Project’s latest filings show the vast majority of its spending during this time period went to firms run by the group’s board members, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In their allegations of plagiarism, some Twitter users noted The Lincoln Project’s connection to Meme2020, a company founded by Jerry Media CEO Mick Purzycki. The New York Times reported last month on Meme2020’s partnership with The Lincoln Project in a campaign focused on voter mobilization.

Jerry Media, an advertising company with a major social media reach, operates the mega-popular @fuckjerry Instagram account. The company was subject to backlash last year after content creators, including Berger, accused the group of stealing their content. It was also behind the failed Fyre Festival’s notorious promotional campaign.

A spokesperson for Meme2020 told HuffPost that the company partnered with The Lincoln Project prior to these accusations coming to light. All content created by Meme2020 is either original, licensed or created in-house, the spokesperson said.

Berger, however, is skeptical of that claim.

“They’re liars,” Berger told HuffPost on Tuesday. He added: “It’s not fair use. It’s stealing other people’s ideas and passing them off as their own. And that’s the @fuckjerry business model. Profit is always the number one. That’s the motive.”

Berger accused The Lincoln Project of being a “big grift” in which Republican strategists rake in millions of dollars from liberals.

“It’s just disgusting,” he said. “When money’s involved, especially tens of millions of dollars that they’re raising by bilking these ‘Resistance’ people, then definitely there’s a higher standard.”

The Lincoln Project should be paying the content creators they’re scraping from or properly promoting and attributing the work, Berger said. And simply embedding a video into a tweet (like the example below) isn’t good enough, he added.

“Sharing that way is bullshit from an account like that,” Berger said. “They could easily retweet my actual tweet and tag me. ... Doing it that way gives them all the likes and followers.”

This is art. pic.twitter.com/RBtXKMawWg

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 4, 2020

A spokesperson for The Lincoln Project did not immediately respond when asked if they would retweet instead of embed other accounts’ videos in the future.

Kelly Hui, an 18-year-old college student, said she was shocked when she noticed a couple of days ago that The Lincoln Project posted a tweet on Aug. 1 that was almost identical to a tweet she sent out a week earlier.

Hui, who has just over 800 Twitter followers, tweeted eight animal emojis next to envelopes on July 23 with the caption: “They’re voting by mail for ed markey,” in reference to this year’s Senate race in Massachusetts.

The tweet received an abnormally high amount of engagement for Hui, nabbing thousands of likes and retweets.

A week later, The Lincoln Project sent a tweet with the exact same emojis and the caption: “They’re voting by mail for Biden.”

i hate it here pic.twitter.com/Vbl3IkK6wM

— kxh (@kellyxhui) August 16, 2020

Though the “emoji party” meme had been popular on Twitter for several months, the specific construction used by Hui was not the typical template. It’s pretty clear The Lincoln Project team simply copied her tweet, she said.

“The whole thing was a bit absurd,” Hui told HuffPost on Tuesday. “I understand the life of a meme: it gets reposted, repurposed. But I think my main reaction is sort of just negative because you know I’m not a fan of The Lincoln Project and especially their founders’ views ― I think are just diametrically opposed to mine.”

“I don’t like that my content is being used to further their agenda,” she added, “which I’m sure post-November will be used to prop up their own party.”

The Lincoln Project made headlines last month when it parted ways with video editor Ben Howe after a series of misogynistic tweets he sent in 2017 resurfaced.

Holy shit truck stop kid. Do really think anybody is gonna read all that shit?

I think that maybes more reading in one post on ECCIE’s than Trump has done in a year.

I read the important parts. Just goes to show what lengths even Republicans will go to to stop Evil Lardass Dump.

So the Huffington Post is a legitimate source from you. Check.

I read the important parts. Just goes to show what lengths even Republicans will go to to stop Evil Lardass Dump.

So the Huffington Post is a legitimate source from you. Check. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

if yous say so

I read the important parts. Just goes to show what lengths even Republicans will go to to stop Evil Lardass Dump. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

If you have to lie and fake shit to show how evil someone is ... something tells me that you're full of shit.

I don't think the Lincoln Project is real, but I also don't really care, either.

If you have to lie and fake shit to show how evil someone is ... something tells me that you're full of shit. Originally Posted by Strokey_McDingDong

They took a girl's tweet and changed a word to use it for themselves. Wow? Lie and fake. From Republicans. There was no need to deceive how evil he is.

Your post tells me the GOP, and your family tree, is full of shit.

They took a girl's tweet and changed a word to use it for themselves. Wow? Lie and fake. From Republicans. There was no need to deceive how evil he is.

Your post tells me the GOP, and your family tree, is full of shit. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

if Trump had done that you'd be calling for a congressional investigation and impeachment. oh wait .. yous tried that.

BAHHAHAHAAAAAA

They took a girl's tweet and changed a word to use it for themselves. Wow? Lie and fake. From Republicans. There was no need to deceive how evil he is.

Your post tells me the GOP, and your family tree, is full of shit. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

It says they shared an edited image that wasn't real.

It says they shared an edited image that wasn't real. Originally Posted by Strokey_McDingDong

That's how desperate, negligent or careless even Republicans are about getting him out of office. What's the big deal? It's Twitter. Fuck!

Oh, wait. I want his head. Now!

Still trying Wacky. Still trying.

That's how desperate, negligent or careless even Republicans are about getting him out of office. What's the big deal? It's Twitter. Fuck!

Oh, wait. I want his head. Now!

Still trying Wacky. Still trying. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

try harder. and the revolution always eats its own

9500- Remember the fate of Robespierre.

TWK is correct - the Marxist revolution will eat its' own.

And when they came for me- there wa no one to speak for me.

You gotta love the twit head huggers. Still trying to defend the clown in chief from all the respectable GOP that knows trump is a fukn idiot. Wonder how many Dems will turn against Biden/Harris and will fight for the pos of the US?

Master 'Baiter" troll baiting.
Still trying to enrage reasonable conservatives with marxist nonsense.

Biden is senile and K Harris is a Marxist revolutionary.

When they come for the master Baiter's house - who will speak for him/her/it???

try harder. and the revolution always eats its own Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid

9500- Remember the fate of Robespierre.

TWK is correct - the Marxist revolution will eat its' own.

And when they came for me- there wa no one to speak for me. Originally Posted by oeb11

Remember the fate of Robespierre. this is what happened to him.