If the selector enters Michigan searches for Googlead may appear somewhat shocking.
The ad shows a young man lying in bed late at night when someone else texts him, “Hey, you should vote,” and then sends a message back to the man. video the assassination attempt on the former president Donald Trump. The man hears gunshots and people screaming in the background.
As Trump is thrown from the stage with blood streaming down his face, an onlooker says in response: “This is out of control. How do I begin?’
The ad then shows the website for the named band American PAC.
The site says this will help the viewer register to vote. But once a user clicks the “Register to Vote” button, the experience they’ll have can be very different depending on where they live.
If the user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in presidential elections, such as California or Wyoming, they will be prompted to enter their email address and zip code and then quickly redirected to their state’s voter registration page, or back to the original registration section.
But for users who enter a zip code that indicates they live in a battleground state like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.
Instead of being redirected to their state’s voter registration page, they are directed to a highly detailed personal information form where they are asked to enter their address, mobile phone number and age.
If they agree to provide all of these, the system still does not direct them to the voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a “thank you” page.
That is, the same person who wants help registering to vote? In the end they were no help to register. But they handed over priceless personal information to a political operation.
Specifically, it was created by a political action committee Tesla CEO Elon Muskone of which was aimed at giving Republican presidential candidate Trump an edge in his campaign against the vice president Kamala Harristhe de facto Democratic nominee.
“I created a PAC or a super PAC…the American PAC,” Musk said recently interview.
Musk also owns social media platform X and is worth more than $235 billion Forbes.
The combination of owning a social media company that gave him a huge platform to push his political views and creating a PAC with unlimited resources made Musk a major force in the American presidential election for the first time.
Musk’s PAC uses “register to vote” data
America PAC has spent more than $800,000 on digital ads targeting voters in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since the beginning of July, according to AdImpact.
The ads appeared on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Google, all encouraging people to register to vote on America PAC’s website.
PAK’s effort to gather information from people using the idea of ”voter registration” is an important part of its plan to personally connect with these voters.
“America PAC focuses on door-to-door canvassing for support for Trump,” said Brendan Fisher, deputy executive director of Documented, which monitors campaign finance.
“I think it’s safe to assume that the voter data collected through these digital appeals will inform America PAC’s research and other political activities,” he said.
Fisher pointed to the group’s privacy policy, which states that they may use the information they collect for “other activities and/or fundraising campaigns.”
Since June, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on information, digital media, text message services and phone calls, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The PAC’s website does not indicate one way or the other what the group’s political leanings are. But in federal filings, the group says all of its work is designed to help Trump or hurt his opponent.
Fischer said he’s seen some other PACs try to use the “register to vote” message to collect people’s information.
But the uniqueness of the American PAC project is who supports it and the timing of its creation.
In most cases, super PACs are not allowed to directly link the ads they pay for to the campaign. But this spring, regulators ruled that door-to-door sales fell outside the scope of the ban because, unlike advertising, it’s a person-to-person exchange.
“What makes America PAC even more unique: It’s a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing that it can do in coordination with a presidential campaign,” Fisher said. “Thank you a recent FEC advisory opinionAmerica PAC can legally coordinate its campaign activities with the Trump campaign — meaning the Trump campaign can provide America PAC with literature and scripts to make sure its efforts are consistent.
“Coordination is extremely important: it ensures that the activities of the LTMQIC are of maximum benefit to the campaign and frees up the campaign’s own funds for other purposes,” he said. “I suspect that the PAC’s ability to link its data-driven investigative activities to the Trump campaign made it very attractive to donors.”
Longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Generra Peck and Dave Rexrode are among those leading the PAC after the mid-July shakeup, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. This person has been granted anonymity to speak freely about a personal matter.
The change suggests there may be a change in tactics by the PAC in November. The New York Times gave the first information about his actions.
Musk isn’t the only tech executive backing the effort.
America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, according to FEC records. According to FEC filings, he received donations from a company run by veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale.
Lonsdale, who co-founded the software company Palantir, is also the leader of the PAC and “serves as a political confidante” according to Musk. The New York Times.
Records do not yet list Musk as a donor. He recently said at X that he had “made some donations to America’s PAC,” but didn’t say how much. The PAC doesn’t have to file its third-quarter report until Oct. 15, when Musk’s name can be listed as a donor for the first time.
A spokeswoman for America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The musk in the X represents the Musk PAC
The PAC’s ads on its social media platforms also echo the larger message that Musk delivers to his 191 million followers on X several times a day: that America is in chaos and voting for Trump over Harris is the only way out.
″These PACs have often functioned as alter egos for whatever billionaire is behind them,” said Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program.
Experts say the lack of real safeguards for Musk’s ownership and use of the X is a sign that the platform could be used by the Tesla chief as a political weapon against Harris and Democrats with less than 100 days left. Election day.
“I would say it’s a bit concerning that the owner of one of the most important social media platforms is openly partisan (rooting for one of the candidates) and using his platform … as a vehicle to further his overtly partisan goals. “, said Matthew Baum, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School whose research includes the study of disinformation.
Baum notes that such ownership by a social media company like X leaves open the possibility that “a major platform could be taken over by a partisan actor, who would be largely free to use the platform as they see fit, regardless of the potential negative social or political potential. results”.
“There is concern that Musk is weaponizing this platform to help his preferred candidate in Trump,” Weiner said.