What's behind the Harris-Walz campaign's social media manipulation - Document analysis

After a thorough study of three investigative articles published by the Reddit Lies account on X platform in late October 2024, one can discover a shocking picture of systematic manipulation activities conducted by the Harris-Walz campaign team.

How was the manipulation operation discovered?

The story began with a single Discord screenshot shared by user @jessiprincey on X platform.

This seemingly modest beginning led to the discovery of an extensive network of election manipulation in social media. Access to the Discord server allowed Reddit Lies journalists to thoroughly document the entire operation.

Command center on Discord

Analyzing the first article in the series, we can trace the campaign's precise operational structure:

Daily rhythm of activities:

• Every morning, Gabrielle Lynn, who has official campaign staff status (marked with a blue "D"), publishes "Daily Messaging Guidance"
• The document contains not only links to articles but also detailed narrative guidelines
• The team prepares ready-made responses to potential controversies
• Volunteers receive instructions about publication timing to avoid spam filters

Content management system:

• The central tool is the "Reddit Organizing" spreadsheet
• Each link goes through "Lead Posters" before publication
• Experienced team members evaluate content's viral potential
• Content is categorized by target groups, e.g., young women or swing state voters

Subreddit database:

• The campaign collected information about over 100 subreddits
• For each community, they determined:
  • Karma requirements
  • Preferred posting times
  • Effective content formats
  • Specific moderation rules
  • Success stories from previous posts

Scale of operations on Reddit

The numerical data shows an unprecedented scale of activities:

15-day campaign statistics:

• 2,551 published posts
• 5.7 million collected upvotes
• 418,000 comments
• Average of 120 unique links daily
• 67 active campaign volunteers
• Dedicated team for moderation and comment responses

Dominance in r/Politics:

• 126 posts in top 1000 (12.5% of all top content)
• October 17: 8 out of 30 "hot" posts (over 25%)
• October 20: 13 out of 100 newest posts
• Systematic displacement of non-campaign-related content

Activities in swing state subreddits:

• 39 out of 400 best posts in a week
• Special focus on smaller local communities
• Coordination with local party structures
• Creation of false impression of grassroots support

Manipulation methodology

Detailed analysis of documents shows the complexity of manipulation tactics:

Narrative control:

• Prepared scripts for responding to criticism
• Coordination between different accounts
• Rapid response system for negative comments
• Creating appearance of natural discussion

Detection avoidance:

• Distribution of activity over time
• Rotation of posting accounts
• Simulation of organic growth in popularity
• Exploitation of moderation system loopholes

Reach maximization:

• Analysis of optimal posting times
• Testing different titles
• Strategic use of tags
• Cross-posting between subreddits

Reddit terms of service violations

The campaign's activities violate several platform rules:

Vote manipulation:

• Group coordination of upvotes
• Use of multiple accounts by individual users
• Artificial increase of post visibility
• Suppression of unwanted content

False activity:

• Simulating organic discussions
• Creating artificial consensus
• Masking campaign affiliations
• Misleading about content sources

Manipulation of Community Notes system on X platform

According to the second article in the series, the Harris-Walz campaign didn't limit itself to Reddit. Particularly concerning are attempts to manipulate the fact-checking system on X platform:

Organization of fact-checking countermeasures:

• Creation of dedicated "twitter-community-notes" channel on Discord
• Timothy Durigan, DNC employee, actively instructs volunteers on how to vote against inconvenient notes
• Example of manipulation: mass voting against a note explaining the context of Trump's statement about "dangerous people"
• Systematic creation of alternative narratives through their own notes

Volunteer training:

• Special "Twitter (X) Community Notes Training" module
• Detailed instructions for increasing "Rating Impact"
• Techniques for quickly gaining note creation privileges
• Identification of "problematic" notes about Joe Biden

Frustration with failure:

• One Discord user detailed difficulties in manipulating the system
• X implemented effective mechanisms against biased voting
• Campaign didn't achieve the same success as on Reddit
• X system requires political diversity among voters

Reach system and content coordination

The campaign uses advanced tools for content management:

Reach app functionality:

• Central database of campaign "entertaining" content
• Capability for quick sharing across platforms
• Analytics of post effectiveness
• Content segmentation by target groups

Reach amplification tactics:

• Using popular non-political hashtags
• Publication timing coordinated with sports and entertainment events
• Example: promotion of "Man Enough to Vote for Harris" ad during games
• Artificial boost of reach through coordinated group actions

Controversies related to foreign volunteers

The third article revealed the most controversial aspect of the entire operation:

Active recruitment from outside USA:

• No verification of volunteer nationality
• Discord moderators actively encourage foreign users
• Canadians planning trips to Michigan for door-to-door actions
• Potential risk of infiltration by foreign intelligence services

Circumventing financial regulations:

• Distribution of information about "legal loopholes" in regulations
• Instructions for how foreign sympathizers can support the campaign
• Moderators share donation links across Discord channels
• Exploitation of gray areas between legal and illegal activities

Mass telemarketing organization:

• Goal: 5 million calls on Kamala Harris's birthday
• Active engagement of foreign volunteers in calling voters
• Addressing concerns about legality of such actions
• Lack of control over message content in phone calls

Broader implications for the democratic process

Analyzing documents revealed by "Reddit Lies" and the discussions they provoked, I see a much deeper problem than just violations of social media platform terms of service. We face a fundamental threat to democratic processes in the digital era.

These events demonstrate that with proper resources, a dedicated team, and systematic approach, it's possible to effectively shape public opinion online. This isn't just about the Harris-Walz campaign - I'm convinced that similar activities are conducted by all major political forces. In this analysis, I don't identify with any side of the political dispute, and my goal is to draw attention to the systemic problem.

I find three aspects particularly concerning:

Professionalization of manipulation

Firstly, we're dealing with a fully professional operation. These aren't chaotic actions by random supporters, but a precisely planned campaign with clear structure, role division, and measurable goals. This is evidenced by the system of daily instructions, detailed analytical spreadsheets, and methodical approach to targeting different communities.

Blurring boundaries of authenticity

Secondly, the line between authentic support and artificial manipulation is becoming increasingly blurred. When thousands of volunteers systematically implement prepared messages, it becomes difficult to distinguish real discussion from controlled narrative. Moreover, the fact that the campaign engages real people, not just bots, further complicates the assessment of message authenticity.

Helplessness of security systems

Thirdly, current moderation and fact-checking systems prove helpless against such organized actions. The campaign not only effectively bypasses spam filters but also actively counteracts fact-checking through mass voting.

Platform users' perspective

Analyzing internet users' comments in response to the revealed documents, I notice several recurring themes worth citing. Many users point out that they noticed signs of manipulation much earlier - they indicated sudden mood changes on forums, identical narratives appearing in different places, or disproportionately high engagement statistics on certain posts.

I find particularly interesting the observation about changes in discussions after important political events. One user described how after the Trump-Biden debate, they noticed a complete change in forum atmosphere - as if manipulation systems needed time to adjust their message to the new situation. This shows that even organized manipulation has its limitations and moments of weakness.

Systemic problem of manipulation in social media

From the perspective of social media platform terms of service, the Harris-Walz campaign's actions constitute clear violations. Reddit clearly states that the following are prohibited:

• Using multiple accounts for vote manipulation
• Encouraging specific voting behaviors
• Creating groups coordinating votes

However, the problem appears much deeper than just breaking terms of service. We face a fundamental question: can social media in its current form remain a space for authentic public debate?

On one hand, platforms declare commitment to fair discussion principles and introduce new safeguards. On the other - as the Harris-Walz campaign example shows - determination and proper resources allow effective circumvention of these safeguards.

Conclusions for the future

After analyzing these documents, I see an urgent need for several actions:

• Modernization of election law regarding social media activities
• Strengthening systems for detecting organized manipulation
• Increasing transparency of election campaign activities online
• Educating users about recognizing manipulation
• International cooperation in preventing foreign interference in electoral processes

However, I find the increase in user awareness most important. We must accept that in today's social media, nothing is what it seems at first glance. Any message could be part of a larger manipulation campaign - regardless of whether it comes from the right or left side of the political scene.