Trump’s Twitter Feed Is Being Run By A Fake News–Er, ‘Alternative Facts’–Peddler (TWEETS)

Less than 24 hours before Inauguration Day, we got reason to hope that integrity still mattered in the political world. After David Vogt, a Republican state delegate from Maryland, learned that one of his aides was the man behind one of the most pernicious fake news sites to crop up during the campaign cycle, he fired the aide on the spot. Vogt felt he had no choice to do so because he could not tolerate dishonesty. Well, Vogt may want to talk some sense into his party’s new leader. The man who is now running Donald Trump’s official presidential Twitter account is one of the most notorious promoters of fake news on the Internet.

Given Trump’s notorious use of Twitter, it’s hard to believe that he actually had a professional staffer running his social media operation. But he did–longtime communications professional Dan Scavino. Just before Christmas, Trump announced that Scavino would be the first-ever White House social media director. In that capacity, Scavino formally took over the official White House Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube feeds when Trump was sworn in. He also runs the “@POTUS” Twitter account, Trump’s “official” Twitter feed–a fact noted in an update on Sunday.

Scavino and Trump first met in 1990 when he caddied for Trump at Briar Hall Country Club in Westchester County. Their paths crossed again more than a decade later, when Trump named Scavino as assistant manager of what was now Trump National Golf Club Westchester. He eventually became general manager, and later executive vice president, of the Westchester club. He was one of the original members of the Trump campaign team, and took over as social media chief in February 2016.

Scavino’s appointment as head of the White House social media operation got very little notice. But if there was ever a more telling sign of the kind of administration that Trump will run, it’s the fact that his social media operation is now being run by a guy with a sordid history of promoting fake news and conspiracy theories. Oh, silly me–in the words of Trump information minister Kellyanne Conway, these are “alternative facts.”

As Trump’s social media chief, Scavino was the man responsible for swiping a blatantly anti-Semitic image of Hillary from an alt-right imageboard and posting it to Trump’s Twitter account. But it’s not the first time he has revealed himself to be one of the worst people in the world. Far from it.

Media Matters compiled an extensive dossier on Scavino when he was named to the Trump administration in December. For one thing, Scavino has a bad habit of promoting stories from leading conspiracy theory pusher Alex Jones. Take this tweet, for instance–from July 2015.

He also frequently promoted stories from known fake news sites, such as this ridiculous story from Gateway Pundit.

He also has a bad habit of using Twitter to smear Muslims. One of the worst was a video he shared in December 2015, which he claimed showed Syrian refugees rallying for ISIS. In truth, the video showed Salafist Muslims protesting a rally by a far-right German group. That tweet has since been deleted.

However, two other blatantly Islamophobic tweets from Scavino are still available. They promote his boss’ claim that thousands of New Jersey area Muslims were celebrating the 9-11 attacks.

However, several reporters who Trump says saw the celebrations have stated in no uncertain terms that they saw no such thing, and that claim has been extensively debunked by many news outlets. For this, The Washington Post gave Trump’s claim four Pinocchios.

He also hasn’t been above engaging in vicious smears against anyone who dares cross his boss. One of the worst moments came when he retweeted a video a Trump supporter put together accusing Ted Cruz of having an affair with one of his staffers, Amanda Carpenter.

He also fired off a really chilling tweet attacking Megyn Kelly for her October interview with Newt Gingrich.

Kelly claims that this and other incendiary tweets from Scavino have caused a number of pro-Trump thugs to threaten her, forcing her to hire an armed guard. She personally begged Scavino to knock it off.

In short, this is a man who is not fit to clean the White House, let alone work in it. Yet, Trump saw fit to hire him. Then again, we shouldn’t be that surprised. After all, his chief strategist and adviser, Steve Bannon, is a full-on racist with close links to racist outfits around the world, and has a past so sordid he wouldn’t have gotten a security clearance under normal conditions. Combine that with Trump’s desire to give us “alternative facts,” and Scavino fits right in.

(featured image courtesy Scavino’s Twitter)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.