Screenshot via The Lincoln Project
The Lincoln Project, a Republican political action organization fighting to stop Donald Trump from being reelected as president, is famed for its viral and over-the-top meme campaigns against POTUS which have even been lauded by the left-leaning supporters. Unfortunately, it turns out that some of this savagery might not be its own.
Over the weekend, Twitter users came forward to reveal instances of the committee’s Twitter account possibly stealing their posts almost word for word.
In one account, a user even lamented that The Lincoln Project had ripped off their ideas so quickly, “my own followers accuse ME of stealing from THEM.”
“Stealing from creators is a nonpartisan crime, @ProjectLincoln,” NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny wrote in a post that has since amassed over 3,400 retweets and 15,600 likes.
This apparent lack of originality was brought even further to the light after national security and political warfare expert David Reaboi ridiculed the political action organization for being “comprised of adult males who tweet like 13-year-old girls,” to which someone commented, “Maybe because they’re plagiarizing from teenage girls,” sharing a screenshot of a similar tweet from 18-year-old user @kellyxhui.
Others also expressed being appalled at how The Lincoln Project appeared to blatantly sponge off ideas from creators with large followings, such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, political satirist Vic Berger IV, BuzzFeed associate creative producer Grace Spelman, and CNN political reporter Andrew Kaczynski.
Meanwhile, The Lincoln Project has been actively updating its Twitter account without any acknowledgment of the receipts.
This whole gang is comprised of adult males who tweet like 13 year-old girls. pic.twitter.com/yc2FA5zNV9
— David Reaboi (@davereaboi) August 16, 2020Maybe because they're plagiarizing from teenage girlshttps://t.co/iNsNKddGI3
— Judgmental Shoelace 🇺🇸 🇮🇪 🇭🇰 🇹🇼 (@DocKilmer) August 16, 202018 year-old** https://t.co/dURWzDyB78
— kxh (@kellyxhui) August 16, 2020Stealing from creators is a nonpartisan crime @ProjectLincoln. pic.twitter.com/7ps0mHvuhh
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 16, 2020Here’s another! What a weird thing to do, especially taking content from people who have their own large followings. https://t.co/rOaO319gK5
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 16, 2020Give me a break, please. They have a bajillion dollars. Pay someone to make things for you or pay people who make things that you want.
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 16, 2020My favorite is when they steal my tweets so fast my own followers accuse ME of stealing from THEM pic.twitter.com/dVkm1VbHCb
— ElElegante101 (@skolanach) August 16, 2020Lincoln Project did the same when they boosted the Dora video created by the Fallon people. Eventually attributed to Fallon, but social media gave them the credit. It’s habitual and deliberate with them. They should have taken it down with proper credit to original creators. pic.twitter.com/vULDkN8YAL
— Nadine van der Velde 🕊(she/her) (@nadinevdVelde) August 16, 2020[via Brandy Zadrozny, cover image via The Lincoln Project]