A social media influencer was sentenced for his role in conspiring to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Douglass Mackey, 33, also known as “Ricky Vaughn,” was convicted in Brooklyn for conspiracy against rights by a federal jury back in March.
“One of the foundational rights we hold as Americans, a right that many fought so hard to obtain, is the right to vote. The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This groundbreaking prosecution demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who commit crimes that threaten our democracy and seek to deprive people of their constitutional right to vote.”
By 2016, Mackey had built a Twitter (now known as X) following of approximately 58,000 followers, with a February 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab ranked Mackey as one of the most significant influencers of the then-upcoming presidential election. As proven in trial, between September and November 2016, Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter users, as well as members of private online groups, to use social media platforms to send fraudulent messages that encouraged Hillary Clinton supporters to “vote” via text message or social media which was legally invalid.
For example, on Nov. 1, 2016, Mackey tweeted an image showing an African American woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign. The ad included text that read “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925,” and “Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.” The fine print at the bottom of the deceptive image stated: “Must be 18 or older to vote. One vote per person. Must be a legal citizen of the United States. Voting by text not available in Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid for by Hillary For President 2016.” The tweet included the typed hashtag “#ImWithHer,” a slogan frequently used by Hillary Clinton. Around this time, Mackey was also tweeting messages suggesting the importance of limiting “black turnout.”
At around Election Day 2016, thousands of unique telephone numbers texted “Hillary” or some derivative to the 59925 text number, which had been used in multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by Mackey and his co-conspirators.
After sending that initial tweet, several hours later Mackey tweeted another photo, this time of a woman seated in a conference room typing a message on her cell phone, with text written in Spanish mimicking the font used by the Clinton campaign ads. The image also included a copy of the Clinton campaign’s logo and the “ImWithHer” hashtag.
Mackey was sentenced to serve 7 months in prison.
