05-26

Tuesday, May 26

May 26: Twitter puts fact-check labels on tweets by President Trump for the first time. Biden calls Trump a ‘fool’ for mocking face masks

Alien invasion movies and TV shows like Independence Day or V or Signs have that scene where the invading spaceships appear over multiple cities all at the same time. Inevitably, there comes a moment when all the nations of the world settle their differences, marshal their resources, and turn against the alien oppressors. The whole point of those movies is to show that all of us are in this together. The Lord of the Rings does much the same thing—proud elves, gritty dwarves, greedy humans, aloof ents, clueless hobbits, and inscrutable wizards can all work together, provided there’s a strong enough evil to combat.

History rarely works like that. FDR, Churchill, and Stalin eventually came together to fight the Axis menace. But they were also terribly divided, with the English and Americans leaving the Soviets to fight alone on the Eastern Front, waiting until June 6, 1944 (by which point the Soviets had already lost 15 million people, had defeated the Germans at Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk, and had the Germans on the run). When asked why the English had not opened the much needed second front sooner, Churchill responded that it would just create a “running sore” for England.

I’ve always wondered what would actually happen if a truly cataclysmic threat appeared. I once thought a pandemic would work. Now, I’m not so sure.

The day started with a presidential tweet, unsurprisingly. He rails against people submitting ballots through the mail, claiming that alone will make it a fraudulent election. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington already allow mail-in voting and, despite two hours of digging through the sources, I can find no hard evidence that any of those states have problems with mail-in voter fraud. Trump picks California and frets that “anyone living in the state no matter who they are or how they got there, will get [a ballot].” There is almost no evidence of that happening. Even his supporters can find nothing solid.

It is newsworthy, right up until the news media starts playing the updates from yesterday. First it’s a story about Ahmaud Arbery’s killers. Then an Amy Cooper who makes a call to the police while in Central Park, falsely claiming that Christian Cooper (no relation) is threatening her. What he really does is ask her to leash her dog, in line with the policies for this part of the park. But she retaliates, emphasizing to the dispatcher that an African American man was threatening her. Her voice escalates in pitch and volume as she repeats the message: “…an AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN….” It’s a talisman. And dangling at the end of it is a Black man dead by police.

Which is exactly what we see out of Minneapolis later in a day that ends up feeling like a pivot point in this pandemic year ….

Crowd shot of Minneapolis protests 5/26

Darnella Frazier's recording of the death of George Floyd.

https://www.facebook.com/100005733452916/videos/1425398217661280/

Overhead shot of first day of Minneapolis protests 5/26

Melody Cooper's post of her brother, Christian Cooper's video of Amy Cooper (no relation) threatening.

https://twitter.com/melodyMcooper/status/1264965252866641920?s=20

Twitter flagged this tweet by Trump because it was spreading misinformation about voting.

https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2020/05/twitter-fact-checking-donald-trumps-tweets-joe-scarborough-obamagate-jack-dorsey

Brittany Shammas, Timothy Bella, Katie Mettler, and Dalton Bennett. “Four Minneapolis Officers Are Fired after Video Shows One Kneeling on Neck of Black Man Who Later Died.” Washington Post, May 26, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/26/minneapolis-police-death-custody-fbi/.

NBC News. Watch A Minute-To-Minute Breakdown Leading Up To George Floyd’s Deadly Arrest | NBC News NOW, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiSm0Nuqomg.

The New York Times. How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody | Visual Investigations, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vksEJR9EPQ8.

*If the pdf thumbnails are not appearing, please reload the page.

Nir, Sarah Maslin. “White Woman Is Fired After Calling Police on Black Man in Central Park.” The New York Times, May 26, 2020, sec. New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html.

Williamson, Kevin D. “The Firm That Fired Amy Cooper Promoted a Male Heir Who Beat His Wife.” New York Post, May 30, 2020. https://nypost.com/2020/05/30/the-firm-that-fired-amy-cooper-promoted-heir-who-beat-his-wife/.

Elder, John. “Investigative Update on Critical Incident – Minneapolis Police.” Inside MPD, May 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200526183652/https:/www.insidempd.com/2020/05/26/man-dies-after-medical-incident-during-police-interaction/.

The city and police both expect protests will happen today. Someone has organized at least one via FB. Personally, throughout the morning three people have stopped us to either ask more about the video or share how upset they are after seeing it. pic.twitter.com/CT2mO3rOWh
— Christiane Cordero (@ChristianeWCCO) May 26, 2020

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A post shared by Keedron Bryant (@keedronbryant)

#amycopper Lynching of African Americans was terrorism. A widely supported phenomenon used to enforce racial subordination & segregation. Lynchings were violent & public events that traumatized black people throughout the country and were tolerated by State and Federal Officials pic.twitter.com/LUZbcivMJH
— Equity, Equality & Inclusion for All (@abutler04) May 26, 2020

And apparently you can get paid leave for the first one…
— Humna Anjum (@HumnaAnjum) May 26, 2020

Trump’s effort to create illusion of normalcy just got worse: * New federal testing blueprint is full of deceptions * Wants packed GOP convention despite dangers * Wants protections for companies to force people back to work at risk of death New piece:https://t.co/Jn08zMNZoV
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 26, 2020

MORE: Video obtained by CBS News shows what appears to be the start of the confrontation between George Floyd & Minneapolis police officers. A restaurant’s security footage shows cops taking him into custody, but the restaurant owner says it does not show Floyd resisting arrest. pic.twitter.com/KR8r7B1WPl
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 26, 2020

His name was George Floyd, per @AttorneyCrump. pic.twitter.com/QuI8s6TeZa
— Christiane Cordero (@ChristianeWCCO) May 26, 2020

In light of the #antiBlackWar lynching in Minneapolis Minnesota by race soldiers, and the unpunished hate crime committed by Amy Cooper, I’m going to repost the list of 10 Things That All Black People Must Understand pic.twitter.com/RsZGXHeXkb
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) May 26, 2020

This is how Amy Coopers begin.#TheyWereHerProperty pic.twitter.com/tFzBslh5xm
— DAP/ADOS TRIBE🇺🇸 (@Black_Action) May 26, 2020

That’s not how voter fraud works.
This is exactly how GOP voter-suppression works, though. His fear is palpable, and I love it. pic.twitter.com/eN0KiJEyxR — Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) May 26, 2020

Hahaha he changed 8 Ballots from Democrats to Republican year right this influenced the vote complete!!! pic.twitter.com/fBcObbCxXL
— Michael Brown (@45needstogo1) May 27, 2020

(Video taken at 5:45pm but wouldn’t upload due to service issues).
Sound of motorcycles revving sends crowd at George Floyd protest running, many confused or scared by what’s happening. Motorcyclists actually there in support of protest/march.@WCCO pic.twitter.com/yXJpKQqMS5 — Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) May 26, 2020

The video of a Minneapolis police officer killing a defenseless, handcuffed man is one of the most vile and heartbreaking images I’ve ever seen. The officer who stood guard is just as responsible as his partner; both must be held fully accountable. This must stop now.
— Mayor Melvin Carter (@MayorCarter) May 26, 2020

meanwhile you still need to work and worry about everything else.
— quinta brunson (@quintabrunson) May 26, 2020

False accusations/framing Black people is literally a lynching tactic w centuries of precedent, think Emmet Till. This BBQ Becky shit we keep seeing is white people is knowingly calling up that legacy and using it to control and scare Black people. Call it what it is, lynch law
— Rebecca Pierce #SaveSilwan (@aptly_engineerd) May 25, 2020

This is the picture from the other side of lynching and why it four racist murderers fired now they need to charged and sentenced to prison if not death. pic.twitter.com/G38X6upB8G
— Lord_DarkSeid_Of_Apokolips 🇺🇸 (@DarkSeidLordAp1) May 26, 2020

Mail-in ballots can be stolen, used multiple times by the same person or “lost” like in 2016 (USPO employee threw a bunch of ballots away). #VoterFraud is real! Just as #MediaBias reports #FakeNews because they are #EnemyOfThePeople #TwitterLies #ThesePeopleAreStupid or think U R pic.twitter.com/kCHK2eAtBS
— v@ (@ultimadkda) May 26, 2020

Alayna Larscheid · 2020-5-26, TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@alaynascibasic/video/6831317201614621957.

Darnella Frazier’s Facebook post documenting the murder of George Floyd, May 25, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/darnellareallprettymarie/posts/1425401580994277.
Berman, Ari. “A Voter-Fraud Witch Hunt in Kansas,” June 11, 2015. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/voter-fraud-witch-hunt-kansas/.

CBS. “Protesters Clash With Minneapolis Police After George Floyd’s Death.” WCCO 4 – CBS Minnesota, May 26, 2020. https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2020/05/26/protesters-clash-with-minneapolis-police-after-george-lloyds-death/

Fisher, Jenny, Jean-Charles Languilaire, Rebecca Lawthom, Rense Nieuwenhuis, Richard J. Petts, Katherine Runswick-Cole, and Mara A. Yerkes. “Community, Work, and Family in Times of COVID-19.” Community, Work & Family 23, no. 3 (May 26, 2020): 247–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2020.1756568.

Heritage Foundation. “Voter Fraud Map: Election Fraud Database.” The Heritage Foundation, May 26, 2020. https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search?state=VA.

Hood, M. V., and William Gillespie. “They Just Do Not Vote Like They Used To: A Methodology to Empirically Assess Election Fraud*.” Social Science Quarterly 93, no. 1 (January 12, 2012): 76–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2011.00837.x.

Ingraham, Christopher. “7 Papers, 4 Government Inquiries, 2 News Investigations and 1 Court Ruling Proving Voter Fraud Is Mostly a Myth.” Washington Post, July 9, 2014, sec. Economic Policy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/09/7-papers-4-government-inquiries-2-news-investigations-and-1-court-ruling-proving-voter-fraud-is-mostly-a-myth/.
NCSL elections team. “All-Mail Elections (Aka Vote-By-Mail).” National Conference of State Legislatures, March 24, 2020. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/all-mail-elections.aspx

Németh, Jeremy, and Sarah Rowan. “Is Your Neighborhood Raising Your Coronavirus Risk? Redlining Decades Ago Set Communities up for Greater Danger.” The Conversation, May 26, 2020. http://theconversation.com/is-your-neighborhood-raising-your-coronavirus-risk-redlining-decades-ago-set-communities-up-for-greater-danger-138256.

Price, Brian, Checkey Beckford, and Kiki Intarasuwan. “Woman in Racial Central Park Confrontation Is Fired From Job, Gives Up Dog.” NBC 4 New York, May 25, 2020. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/central-park-confrontation-goes-viral-white-woman-calls-cop-on-black-birder/2431773/.

Stand Up Republic. “Voter Fraud: Debunking the Myths.” Stand Up Republic (blog), April 22, 2020. https://standuprepublic.com/voter-fraud-debunking-the-myths/.

United States Elections Project. “Voter Turnout Data – United States Elections Project,” 2018 1787. http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/voter-turnout-data.

* Timeline summaries at the top of the page come from a variety of sources:, including The American Journal of Managed Care COVID-19 Timeline (https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020), the Just Security Group at the NYU School of Law (https://www.justsecurity.org/69650/timeline-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic-and-u-s-response/), the “10 Things,” daily entries from The Week (theweek.com), as well as a variety of newspapers and television programs.

Tuesday, May 26

© 2021 Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson