Vote By Text Scam Sweeps Twitter -- Trump Supporters Blamed
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) It's a drag to wait in early morning or post-work lines on a chilly November day to do your civic duty, so wouldn't it be nice to just pick up your phone and vote by text?
Well, you can't.
Ads sweeping social media on Twitter tell people to cast their vote for Hillary Clinton with a simple text.
Anyone who falls for it, of course, will cast a "vote" that doesn't count.
"The ads seemed to gain traction after Twitter user @TheRickyVaughn tweeted them out along with the pro-Clinton hashtag #ImWithHer. The user, who had roughly 11,000 followers before his account was suspended, has previously tweeted conspiracy theories and racial and homophobic slurs, and regularly linked to stories and polls favorable to Republican nominee Donald Trump," according to sfgate.com.
Twitter initially ruled the ads didn't violate its terms of service, but later began removing the ads and suspending accounts that created them, according to whotv.com.
But there are users reportedly still re-posting the ads, which means they're floating out there in the Twittersphere.
Don't be fooled.
These ads have been called a "legitimate attempt to confuse and intimidate voters."
These are the only ways search engines and social media can participate in your vote, per Wired Magazine:
You can Google "voting in Arizona," or any state, for that matter, and Google will deliver an easy to follow list of instructions on how to vote, when to vote, and what's required in your state.
You can send a direct message to @Gov on Twitter and get your polling place location in a Google maps link, information on candidates and ballot initiatives, and absentee voting instructions.
Or you can check out Facebook's recently released voter guides, which inform people about the candidates that will be on the ballots in their districts and which candidates their friends like. Facebook also spearheaded a voter registration drive this year, that several state election officials say helped boost registration rates.
But none of these platforms—and we repeat none of them—allow you to actually vote on them. Sorry to say, but even in this world of virtual reality and digital communication, there are some things you just have to do IRL—that is, unless you want to vote by mail. Find out more about that here.
