Revealed: The Democrats’ campaign strategy for using Elon Musk’s X against Trump

The DNC team is claimed to be using its activists’ social media platforms in a shadow war against the former president

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is using staff to discredit fact-checking of accounts that support Kamala Harris on X, according to screenshots allegedly leaked from a Discord server.
The DNC team is claimed to be using its activists’ social media platforms in a shadow war against Donald Trump on a platform owned by one of his most influential supporters.
Reportedly leaked screenshots from a Discord server allegedly used by DNC staff seem to show a co-ordinated attempt to discredit “community notes” on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, that are directed at accounts that support Ms Harris.
Community notes are a feature on X that allow users to fact-check content on the platform and provide greater context to video clips.
Other users can mark the notes as “helpful” or “not helpful”. Community notes marked as “helpful” are more likely to remain underneath the original post and be seen by other users.
Screenshots published by The Federalist, a conservative online magazine, appear to reveal the DNC’s strategy on X – a platform where support for Trump is commonplace, including in messages posted by its owner, Elon Musk.
The magazine said the apparent leak had come from within an online group used by DNC staff and activists.
In one reported message, Timothy Durigan, an official at the DNC, appeared to send a link to a post by @‌KamalaHQ, Ms Harris’s official “rapid response” account.
The post, a video of Trump describing Democrats as “dangerous”, had received a community note that suggested the former president was referring to a specific whistleblower from the State Department.
According to the message, Mr Durigan asked: “Can folks rate notes on this as ‘not helpful’?”
In another post, a different purported Democratic staffer posted a link to a negative community note on an X post by @‌RNCResearch, an official GOP account.
Mr Durigan allegedly replied: “Just rated helpful.”
The alleged strategy comes amid a fierce online battle between supporters of Trump and Ms Harris, which has played out extensively on X during the 2024 election cycle.
Videos posted by @‌RNCResearch were a major driver of stories about Joe Biden’s mental state before he dropped out of the presidential race, signal-boosting his gaffes and slips on the world stage.
X’s terms of service do not allow users to engage in “platform manipulation”, which is defined as using the site “in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behaviour that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience on X”.
Election content on X has become even more widespread since Mr Musk, the company’s owner and chief executive, endorsed Trump on July 13.
The billionaire posts about Trump multiple times a day, and has appeared alongside him on stage at several events in the final weeks of campaigning.
Posts by Mr Musk are especially popular on X, and drive users towards a network of Trump-supporting accounts on his platform.
To fight back, the Discord screenshots suggest Ms Harris’s team is spreading word about positive posts via a separate app, Reach, and passing on messages to be repeated online by her supporters.
Earlier this month, a report by BetMGM Sportsbook Canada found that Trump has an advantage over Ms Harris on X. His posts receive more likes and reposts, and he gained more followers in the month of September.
Much of the content about Trump is reposted from his own media platform, Truth Social, which he has long used to post his thoughts about the news and his campaign.
On Aug 24, Trump made a return to X after more than two years of absence. He was banned in January 2021, before Mr Musk owned the platform, and returned to post his mugshot after being booked in the Georgia election interference court case.
The DNC was contacted for comment.