The Black Insurrectionist (is a white guy)
https://www.democratandchronicle.co...-black-insurrectionist-who-is-he/75846308007/
Upstate NY man linked to election conspiracy social media account speaks out
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The question of who is the Black Insurrectionist — an X account that peddled election conspiracy theories — is, like many dives into the underlying universe of social media, a Lewis Carroll-like rabbit hole.
A current conundrum: Is the Black Insurrectionist actually Jason G. Palmer, a western New Yorker who lives in Webster?
Last week, the Associated Press linked the now-inactive account to 51-year-old Palmer. That allegation and the AP story blew up on X, formerly Twitter, and in other media outlets because, if so, the man responsible for the account would be, actually, white.
The Black Insurrectionist has maintained to be a site run by a Black veteran and was behind some of the most pernicious and widespread allegations targeting Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
Some of the posts included claims that Harris was given questions in advance of an ABC News debate with Trump — ABC has disputed this and no evidence has shown it to be true — as well as baseless accusations that Walz engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student decades ago.
As common with X, a daily political wildfire and a platform where misinformation often outpaces critical thinking, the dubious posts were widely shared. Several of the posts were amplified by former President Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
The account attracted more than 300,000 followers before it was deleted last week. The AP said it was deactivated several hours after reporters first contacted Palmer.
What does Jason Palmer say?
In several telephone interviews with the Democrat and Chronicle since the AP story was released, Palmer denied that he was behind the account or the tweets. (X, before its purchase by billionaire Elon Musk, was known as Twitter, hence, its posts are still called "tweets.")
"I do not own the account," he said. "I'm not getting any money from the account. I am not the verified owner of the account."
He said he has known the man behind the Black Insurrectionist for years.
The AP reported that Palmer said the same thing to its reporter, saying the Black Insurrectionist is in fact Black, after first providing contradictory explanations about his ties to the account.
Where the stories converge is here: Palmer's email did show up on the Black Insurrectionist account in a way that would make it appear he was a content creator. He said the man behind the account asked to use popular YouTube videos that Palmer created that raised questions about election integrity as well as other issues that shoehorned into the X account's Trump-supporting leanings.
That's where the email, which AP used to track Palmer, originated, Palmer said. As evidence that he is not connected, Palmer noted that a separate X account is tied to the email and X does not allow multiple accounts to be created under the same email address.
The Associated Press also said it used other open-source data, including a screen name used by Palmer, as well as Tweets that mentioned that the Black Insurrectionist appeared to live in upstate New York. Palmer said the real Black Insurrectionist does sometimes visit western New York but lives elsewhere and the screen name was attached to videos he shared.
He declined to identify the person, saying that he could be unfairly targeted. Palmer said he has done research for the site and said the allegations of Walz's inappropriate relationship did come to him, from what he now assumes to be Russian disinformation sources based on news stories tracking the origin.
He did not post the information on his YouTube site but forwarded to the Black Insurrectionist, Palmer said.
The account, under the handle @DocNetyoutube, briefly reemerged as a private account this week but was deactivated again Tuesday.
Who is Jason G. Palmer?
The AP story also revisited Palmer's star-crossed ventures into real estate.
Palmer has been entangled in numerous court dealings over the last two decades related to his failed bid as a real estate investor in Rochester.
He is linked to several LLCs that purchased significant commercial properties in downtown Rochester in the mid-2000s, only to default on mortgage payments and let the buildings fall into disrepair. City officials went after some of the buildings, concerned about losing valuable housing to steady deterioration.
By the time courts moved to foreclose on the properties, they had amassed a collected $70 million in debt, according to a 2012 news article by the Rochester Business Journal. It was among the largest groups of commercial foreclosures in the region’s history.
In interviews, Palmer said he had been the victim of fraudulent dealings with his real estate investments.
Now, years after his real estate woes made local news, Palmer again finds himself the focus of media coverage — oddly not about real estate but instead about the use and misuse of social media.
Asked about X, Palmer said, "The only time I was there I found it so toxic I couldn't deal with it."
— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist."
*A lot of black folks on BGOL are falling for this bullshit too. Fake museum scams included
https://www.democratandchronicle.co...-black-insurrectionist-who-is-he/75846308007/
Upstate NY man linked to election conspiracy social media account speaks out
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The question of who is the Black Insurrectionist — an X account that peddled election conspiracy theories — is, like many dives into the underlying universe of social media, a Lewis Carroll-like rabbit hole.
A current conundrum: Is the Black Insurrectionist actually Jason G. Palmer, a western New Yorker who lives in Webster?
Last week, the Associated Press linked the now-inactive account to 51-year-old Palmer. That allegation and the AP story blew up on X, formerly Twitter, and in other media outlets because, if so, the man responsible for the account would be, actually, white.
The Black Insurrectionist has maintained to be a site run by a Black veteran and was behind some of the most pernicious and widespread allegations targeting Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
Some of the posts included claims that Harris was given questions in advance of an ABC News debate with Trump — ABC has disputed this and no evidence has shown it to be true — as well as baseless accusations that Walz engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student decades ago.
As common with X, a daily political wildfire and a platform where misinformation often outpaces critical thinking, the dubious posts were widely shared. Several of the posts were amplified by former President Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
The account attracted more than 300,000 followers before it was deleted last week. The AP said it was deactivated several hours after reporters first contacted Palmer.
What does Jason Palmer say?
In several telephone interviews with the Democrat and Chronicle since the AP story was released, Palmer denied that he was behind the account or the tweets. (X, before its purchase by billionaire Elon Musk, was known as Twitter, hence, its posts are still called "tweets.")
"I do not own the account," he said. "I'm not getting any money from the account. I am not the verified owner of the account."
He said he has known the man behind the Black Insurrectionist for years.
The AP reported that Palmer said the same thing to its reporter, saying the Black Insurrectionist is in fact Black, after first providing contradictory explanations about his ties to the account.
Where the stories converge is here: Palmer's email did show up on the Black Insurrectionist account in a way that would make it appear he was a content creator. He said the man behind the account asked to use popular YouTube videos that Palmer created that raised questions about election integrity as well as other issues that shoehorned into the X account's Trump-supporting leanings.
That's where the email, which AP used to track Palmer, originated, Palmer said. As evidence that he is not connected, Palmer noted that a separate X account is tied to the email and X does not allow multiple accounts to be created under the same email address.
The Associated Press also said it used other open-source data, including a screen name used by Palmer, as well as Tweets that mentioned that the Black Insurrectionist appeared to live in upstate New York. Palmer said the real Black Insurrectionist does sometimes visit western New York but lives elsewhere and the screen name was attached to videos he shared.
He declined to identify the person, saying that he could be unfairly targeted. Palmer said he has done research for the site and said the allegations of Walz's inappropriate relationship did come to him, from what he now assumes to be Russian disinformation sources based on news stories tracking the origin.
He did not post the information on his YouTube site but forwarded to the Black Insurrectionist, Palmer said.
The account, under the handle @DocNetyoutube, briefly reemerged as a private account this week but was deactivated again Tuesday.
Who is Jason G. Palmer?
The AP story also revisited Palmer's star-crossed ventures into real estate.
Palmer has been entangled in numerous court dealings over the last two decades related to his failed bid as a real estate investor in Rochester.
He is linked to several LLCs that purchased significant commercial properties in downtown Rochester in the mid-2000s, only to default on mortgage payments and let the buildings fall into disrepair. City officials went after some of the buildings, concerned about losing valuable housing to steady deterioration.
By the time courts moved to foreclose on the properties, they had amassed a collected $70 million in debt, according to a 2012 news article by the Rochester Business Journal. It was among the largest groups of commercial foreclosures in the region’s history.
In interviews, Palmer said he had been the victim of fraudulent dealings with his real estate investments.
Now, years after his real estate woes made local news, Palmer again finds himself the focus of media coverage — oddly not about real estate but instead about the use and misuse of social media.
Asked about X, Palmer said, "The only time I was there I found it so toxic I couldn't deal with it."
— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist."
*A lot of black folks on BGOL are falling for this bullshit too. Fake museum scams included
