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A new Snopes investigation by @alexkasprak sheds light on the Public Interest Legal Foundation — a conservative legal group with myriad ties to both the Trump Administration and right-wing media, but a questionable commitment to accuracy. Thread: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
PILF has had success generating viral headlines sowing doubt about the integrity of mail-in balloting in the lead up to the 2020 general election. This is not the group’s first rodeo: In 2016, it pushed Trump-friendly claims of widespread noncitizen voting https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
In this investigation, Snopes provides a candid look at PILF’s process — from conception to media promotion — by drawing on hundreds of discovery documents produced in a 2018 defamation lawsuit against PILF. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
That case stemmed from PILF’s 2016 and 2017 effort to identify — and publicly name — people the group falsely claimed were noncitizens participating in U.S. elections in a series of reports called "Alien Invasion in Virginia." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
That lawsuit showed a group as eager to discard evidence that did not fit its narrative as it was to accept evidence that does.
PILF President J. Christian Adams said it was a "great lesson [in] how to generate, create, organize and weaponize narrative." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
![That lawsuit showed a group as eager to discard evidence that did not fit its narrative as it was to accept evidence that does. PILF President J. Christian Adams said it was a "great lesson [in] how to generate, create, organize and weaponize narrative." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkekkBMWMAMkflL.png "That lawsuit showed a group as eager to discard evidence that did not fit its narrative as it was to accept evidence that does. PILF President J. Christian Adams said it was a \"great lesson [in] how to generate, create, organize and weaponize narrative.\" https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...")
PILF President J. Christian Adams said it was a "great lesson [in] how to generate, create, organize and weaponize narrative." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Generating and creating that narrative, however, relied on interpreting Virginia voter roll data in a way PILF was explicitly told by election officials was incorrect. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Internally, PILF acknowledged the possibility that its methods were flawed. But the group& #39;s communications director suggested errors could generate "official confusion" and allow the group to push its policies. "The fog of war favors the aggressor." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
The foggy narrative made it into Trump circles. After the 2016 election, aide Stephen Miller reached out to Adams for evidence of noncitizen votes. A day after Adams sent his report, Trump tweeted about noncitizens and the popular vote for the first time. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
In preparation for a segment on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Adams told his staff to collect voter registration forms "with outlandish foreign names."
"I assume I don& #39;t have to explain this in further detail." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
"I assume I don& #39;t have to explain this in further detail." https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Despite media promotion and White House attention, the reports were incorrect.
As part of a settlement, PILF inserted a disclaimer on "Alien Invasion" and its sequel stating that individuals they publicly alleged to be felonious noncitizens were not. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
As part of a settlement, PILF inserted a disclaimer on "Alien Invasion" and its sequel stating that individuals they publicly alleged to be felonious noncitizens were not. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Yet in August 2020, PILF President Adams was appointed by Trump to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Soon after his appointment, the body shelved a report "analyzing threats to minority voting rights during the coronavirus pandemic." From @USATODAY: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/17/trump-appointees-torpedo-report-voting-rights-during-covid/5818788002/?utm_source=snopes&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.usatoday.com/story/new...
PILF& #39;s work in advance of the 2020 election does not always suggest a newfound commitment to accuracy. In a May news release the group doubled the number of ballots "sent to the wrong address" before @propublica called it out. https://www.propublica.org/article/a-conservative-legal-group-significantly-miscalculated-data-in-a-report-on-mail-in-voting?utm_source=snopes&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.propublica.org/article/a...
Asked if and how the American public could trust PILF& #39;s work in 2020, PILF President J. Christian Adams responded with this statement. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Read more about the PILF playbook and its powerful connections in the full investigation: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/the-fog-of-war?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/news/2020...
Investigations like this take a lot of time and resources. Support our work and join us in the fight against disinformation by becoming a Snopes Member. https://www.snopes.com/projects/founding-members/?utm_source=thread&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pilfthread">https://www.snopes.com/projects/...
