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.

  • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
    25·
    23 days ago

    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.

    • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      21·
      22 days ago

      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.

      • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
        4·
        22 days ago

        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.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
        13·
        22 days ago

        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.

        • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          22 days ago

          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?

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      16·
      22 days ago

      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.