Canvassers discovered they were working to drum up turnout for Trump after signing non-disclosure agreements
Elon Musk’s get-out-the-vote effort for Donald Trump has come under renewed scrutiny after paid canvassers reported not knowing beforehand that they were being hired to support the former president.
Workers recruited by Musk’s America Pac to canvass in the battleground state of Michigan only discovered they were working for the Space X and Tesla entrepreneur to drum up voter turnout for Trump after signing non-disclosure agreements, Wired reported.
“I knew nothing of the job, or much of the job description, other than going door to door and asking the voters who are they voting for,” a canvasser who was flown to Michigan from another state told the website. “Then, after I signed over an NDA, is when I found out we are for Republicans and with Trump.”
The canvassers also said they faced threats to their working conditions if they failed to meet stringent door-knocking targets.
Why fly people from one state to another to do this work? Anyone could do it. But they won’t lol
Also how would they not know. They had a 50% chance it would be trump since there are 2 candidates.
Why fly people from one state to another to do this work?
It’s usually done to disconnect workers from those they work with. They don’t know these people and not attached to this place. It makes them, probably, less aware of what their actions cause, here - helping Trump and Musk - and caring less for they don’t do that at their home.
I know it for it’s practiced in russian military and natguard, them being sent into entirely different region, so soldiers and riot cops won’t shy away from going physical on civilians knowing there’re no one they know in there.
You got it right. For the Tianenmen massacre the Chinese government brought in troops from rural areas that likely already had negative feelings about city dwellers and students.
so soldiers and riot cops won’t shy away from going physical on civilians
You were so close up to this point.
When you’re placed in an area far from home, the chances of you being pressured socially to violate ethics is lower.
But yeah, American cops are pygmalian bastards and unredeemable so why try, etc.
When you’re placed in an area far from home, the chances of you being pressured socially to violate ethics is lower.
Can you explain that one further?
Historically, there have been all sorts of non-partisan “get out the vote” campaigns, where the actual goal is getting more people to vote regardless of who they plan to vote for.
They probably assumed it was that.
I bet you some of the canvassers they hired were not in the country legally.
I mean, just because the people who hired you want you to help one campaign doesn’t mean you can’t instead tell people what you really think when you knock on their door.
Or just say you’ll do it but instead go off and look for a different job.
Or do what they want but lean into it way more than they want people to admit. “Now just be aware that soon there will be a night where you’re going to need a very long knife so we can purge the undesirables from our own ranks. You know, once we no longer need their disgusting support.”
Sooo… Modern slavery is the new thing in campaign work?
How else am I supposed to interpret the threat of leaving someone with a Huge bill to pay and no money in an unfamiliar place unless they meet a quota?
At the very least it’s indentured servitude.
hired by musks pac and not knowing? baloney
It’s hard for me to picture the kind of person that into the process enough to do this work, knows who Elon Musk is, but not how fucking vile he is.
Sounds like they didn’t hear he was involved until they’d already been trafficked
From the Wired article linked within,
One of the canvassers, who was flown in from outside the Midwest, tells WIRED they had no idea they would be knocking on doors in support of Trump or that the subcontractor they were working for was part of Elon Musk’s voter-turnout operation through America PAC.
“I knew nothing of the job, or much of the job description, other than going door to door and asking the voters who are they voting for,” says a door knocker who was one of the people in the back of the van and who is requesting anonymity because they signed a nondisclosure agreement. “Then, after I signed over an NDA, is when I found out we are for Republicans and with Trump.”
The door knocker adds that they had “overheard my supervisor and a few others mention Elon Musk” by name, marking the first time they had heard of the billionaire X owner’s involvement.
This has to be illegal. I feel like you can’t just ship people across state lines for a job you misled them about.
When you’re rich, they let you do it.
Oh, it’s absolutely illegal, but it’s a federal crime and he probably has an unofficial promise from Trump that he’ll be pardoned for it if the scheme works.
Trump is more likely to seize all his assets and deport him.
That’s why it’s an unofficial promise, he’s obviously not following through but Musk is dumb enough to trust him.
