Skip to main content
The VergeThe Verge logo.The Verge homepage
The VergeThe Verge logo.

A bot is using Trump's conspiracy playbook against him

A bot is using Trump's conspiracy playbook against him

By Jacob Kastrenakes, a deputy editor who oversees tech and news coverage. Since joining The Verge in 2012, he’s published 5,000+ stories and is the founding editor of the creators desk.

Source The Daily Beast

Share this story

Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Donald Trump probably didn't donate to the North American Man/Boy Love Association. I say probably because there's absolutely no proof that he did, and he doesn't really seem to donate to anyone. But there's no proof that he didn't donate to NAMBLA either. So how can we really know?

By most standards, the above question is horribly irresponsible, given that it has absolutely no basis in fact. But that's the way that Donald Trump frequently approaches his own questions about the world — see: his rise through the Obama birther movement, or more recently, how he's been "hearing" the election will be rigged — so now a Reddit bot is trying to turn that around and beat Trump at his own game.

As spotted by The Daily Beast, moderators on the subreddit EnoughTrumpSpam programmed a bot to respond to any comment that mentions tax returns with a long reply that starts off: "Speaking of tax returns, did you hear Donald Trump is refusing to release them because Donald Trump has donated to NAMBLA? That's what all the best sources, the most tremendous sources are saying."

It's a ridiculous claim and an immature joke, but the point it's making about Trump's habit of repeating outlandish insinuations has caught on. And now many people actually are asking about whether Trump donated to NAMBLA.

"If you think about it, this is exactly how Trump works," one of the subreddit's moderators, who goes by Faiz, told The Daily Beast. "He stirs up as much smoke as he possibly can to convince people that there is fire."

With that said, here are answers to some other questions you might have.

Does Jacob Kastrenakes deserve a raise?

100 percent. Many people have suggested this, and frankly, it seems like a great idea.

Wait, why would I care about that?

People are asking.

Who?

Many people.

Is Jacob Kastrenakes the greatest writer this site has ever seen?

While we're on the subject, yes. This is a popular opinion held by many people.

I thought we were talking about the Trump bot?

I changed the subject away from a negative story by posing a grabby question followed by a baseless claim.

What's an example of a baseless claim?

What's an example of a negative story?

Are statements like these deliberately designed to mislead people?

Many people think so!

So people don't actually think you should get a raise?

Have you heard that Donald Trump won't release his tax returns because he's hiding a donation to NAMBLA?

More from TL;DR