WalkAway campaign
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The WalkAway campaign'and it's companion '#Walkwith Campaign, also styled #WalkAway'& '#Walkwith", is a social media campaign that launched ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections by former liberal Brandon Straka, a hairstylist and actor from New York City, in a video released June 29, 2018, entitled #WalkAway - Brandon Straka, "Why I Left The Democrat Party".[1][2] The campaign's stated goal was to "encourage others to walk away from the "divisive" left, but also take back the narrative from the "liberal" media about what it means to be a conservative in America". As of November 2018, the video had over 400,000 views on YouTube and 1 million on Facebook.[3] On October 27, 2018, Straka led a march of "a few hundred" supporters of WalkAway along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.[4]
The New York Post and Fox News websites both posted favorable coverage of WalkAway in the wake of the Washington rally.[5][6] President Donald Trump and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, both Republicans, have tweeted messages of support for Straka.[7][8] Other sources claiming "viral" popularity for the campaign include Breitbart News.[citation needed]
In an effort to minimize #Walkaway's impact, Leftist opinion sources have claimed WalkAway is an example of Astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement. David A. Love, a Left leaning opinion writer for CNN, condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda, a psychological operation" and "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots", however he has been unable to state how these Russian bots are making and posting videos connected to real people or provide any proof these videos came from Russian bots.[9] Abby Ohlheiser in The Washington Post claimed "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions — or even thousands — of Democrats", and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video.[3] ThinkProgress, another Left leaning group, characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation", noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to some march attendees.[10]
Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Straka of presenting stock photographs and claiming they were people who had left the Democratic Party, which were actually royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock.[11] Straka has denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign.[12]
Brandon Straka
Brandon Straka, the campaign's openly gay founder, grew up in Nebraska and now lives in New York City.[1][13] In an interview with i24 News in 2018, Straka claimed not to identify with any political label other than "ex-liberal".[14] He has since added "Conservative" to his Twitter biography along with "on a mission to #RedPill humanity".[15]
Wider usage
Others using the phrase include Blexit campaigner Brandon Tatum.[16]
See also
References
- ^ a b FitSimons, Tim (August 21, 2018). "Meet Brandon Straka, a gay former liberal encouraging others to #WalkAway from Democrats". NBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ #WalkAway Campaign Official YouTube (2018-06-29), #WalkAway - Brandon Straka, "Why I left the Democrat Party", retrieved 2018-11-03
- ^ a b https://www.facebook.com/aohlheiser. "Analysis | The #WalkAway meme is what happens when everything is viral and nothing matters". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help); External link in|last= - ^ "WalkAway March". walkawaymarch.com. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "#Walkaway movement urges liberals to abandon Democrats". New York Post. 2018-10-27. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "#WalkAway movement urges disgruntled Democrats to leave the party behind | Fox News". www.foxnews.com. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "Donald J. Trump on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "Sarah Palin on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ Love, David A. "Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "Pro-Trump #WalkAway March has all the signs of a grifting operation".
- ^ "These people who "walked away from the Democrats" are stock-photo models". Fast Company. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "FACT CHECK: Did the #WalkAway Campaign Use Stock Photographs for People It Claimed Left the Democratic Party?". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "Unfiltered: 'The left practices tolerance in the most superficial ways'". Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ i24NEWS (2018-07-05), 'Walkaway' Founder on Why Democrats No Longer Represent Him, retrieved 2018-11-03
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Brandon Straka (@usminority) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
- ^ Rowland, Maddox (25 March 2019). "Turning Point USA urges CMU students to 'Walk Away' from the Democratic Party". Central MIchigan Life. Retrieved 17 March 2019.