The globalization of US elections

U.S. domestic politics and elections have become dangerously globalized.

The internet and its social media platforms are the primary means of communication and political conversation.  The internet and social media are global; however, U.S. users account for only 6% of global participants (Statista 1, 2).

The world is motivated to interfere in our elections and domestic politics.  English is the international language of choice, but Google Translate lets in even people who do not speak English.  Anybody in the world can participate in U.S. political life by liking, reposting, and linking to posts and articles he prefers.  This helps his ranking and circulation.  Anyone from any location can deploy bots.

When foreign actors are involved, distinguishing between private and government entities is impossible, and there is no practical difference.  Other countries have significant incentives to intervene because of the United States’ unique position on the international stage.

Furthermore, U.S. domestic politics is now an open book to the rest of the world.  Everything from mandated public disclosure of federal donations over $200 to details of legal procedures, including witness names and exhibits, is available to everybody. 

In May 2018, under Democrat demand, Facebook began maintaining and publishing a registry of political advertising that appeared on Facebook in the United States.  This enables even inexperienced foreign actors to engage in propaganda that precisely imitates Americans.  It allows criminal and terrorist organizations worldwide to search for individuals who have mentioned them.  They can then study those individuals.  Facebook refers to this registry as a library, although a library used to be a place where people come voluntarily to read books.

On most social media networks, Americans are not simply the minority, but also a persecuted minority.  According to the Twitter Archives, the DHS targeted almost only American speech, even though most posts were from abroad.  The DHS and allied entities did nothing to stop the WHO’s deadly COVID-19 propaganda. 

On the internet and social media, foreign operatives have a significant advantage against Americans on American soil.  They have the same access, including the ability to host websites in the United States and log in using American I.P. addresses, but they are not practically subject to American laws.

The internet is not the only place where it happens.  The 2003 Campaign Finance Reform Act severely curtailed political contributions by Americans but had little practical effect on foreign entities outside of the investigative and judicial reach of the U.S.

The internet and social media allow foreign governments to conduct operations on the ground in the U.S.  The sudden eruption of the internal offensive on October 8, immediately following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, is reminiscent of the instant mobilization following the assassination of General Soleimani.  The rapid adoption of novel public messaging (“from the river to the sea” and so on) shows the presence of a foreign puppet master, probably in Tehran.

Furthermore, the Big Tech social media sites are not on our side.  Foreign governments and political parties are not shy about publicly pressuring U.S. platforms to de-rank, deplatform, and even alter messages between their users.  Big Tech’s ethics are so low that they violate the United States for the most insignificant perks from foreign governments, such as a visa for an employee to attend a conference.

The internet began with no boundaries.  For some time, it was a Western institution.  Other countries’ internet users tended to be Westernized.  That gradually changed.  Individuals and groups from around the world utilized the internet to meddle in the domestic politics of the United States under the Bush administration.  Because this benefited the Democrat party, the media ignored the matter.

Then there was the Russia farce.  Suddenly, everyone pretended that a St. Petersburg–based troll factory IRA, allegedly spending a few thousand dollars on ads during the 2016 elections and employing a few dozen trolls, was a huge threat, but thousands of government and non-government organizations, capable of deploying millions of times larger budgets and manpower, are not even a consideration.  (The 2016 IRA activities seem unrelated to the elections, but Hillary Clinton was a net beneficiary.)

The internet structure, in which the U.S. loses sovereignty, but Big Tech gets money and power, is a design of the Obama administration, from Obamanet to ensuring a monopoly for social media platforms friendly to its agenda.  This was the reason why Big Tech has rejected President Trump.  Internet-enabled globalization is a process that we cannot stop, but to which we must adapt.  The current government is surrendering the U.S.’s sovereignty.

Image via Pexels.

If you experience technical problems, please write to helpdesk@americanthinker.com