Before the Patriots Run Project was removed from Facebook earlier this month, the reportedly fake grassroots organization had cajoled at least one user to run for office: Montana Libertarian Congressional candidate Dennis Hayes.
The Patriots Run Project had, through a network of pages and groups propagated over social media, claimed to be a multi-state organization engineering a takedown of “the cabal of globalist elites” it and others have called “the Uniparty.”
Research by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit that researches disinformation, found that network was actually managed by a single person, or a small group of people posting the same content across a multitude of pages to create a bigger presence. Those behind the group remain unknown, and the organization’s website bears no contact information. It’s only known street address is that of a mailbox at a UPS store in Washington, D.C.
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Politico first reported on ISD’s new report and its connection to Hayes’ candidacy.
The six-hour outage of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp on Monday was a headache for many casual users. But the outage was far more serious for many people worldwide who rely on the social media sites to communicate with relatives, friends and neighbors and run their businesses.
Hayes, 70, is a prolific Facebook user, reposting or sharing dozens of posts a day striking at Anthony Fauci, lionizing Donald Trump, highlighting motorcycles, or warning of Democrats ruining the country.