Maybe one day I will get the chance to tell you Microchip's story. To tell you OUR story. For it is the wildest reporting adventure I've ever been on.
It's a story about my hunt for him, the cat-and-mouse game we played, the crazy dysfunctional relationship that results...
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Wish I could stay to see Doug Mackey aka Ricky Vaughn testify today as the ONLY witness for his defense, especially because I've done so much reporting on him. But I was at the trial on my own dime.
The feds were able to nab Mackey after my 2018 piece:
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When the government finally arrested Mackey in 2021 for federal election interference, they named several alleged co-conspirators in the indictment -- but only by their Twitter IDs.
I identified a few of them at the time:
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The most significant of them was Microchip. There's much I could say about the notorious far-right botmaster. I know him as well, I think, as anyone outside his family. Maybe better.
What I can say now: He is the king of the trolls.
THE KING.
The devil broke the mold here.
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...and the insights gained into the psychology of the social media-enabled authoritarians threatening our country.
Microchip led an elite crew of these Trumpian fascists, who weaponized Twitter to upend elections and radicalize conservatives.
He was a cartel boss of disinfo.
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In court, he spoke about some of his methods/goals -- about infecting normies with his mind virus and using humor to manipulate.
He wasn't exaggerating. I'd watched him work his dark meme magic in real time. Yesterday, I watched him take the stand and charm both jury and judge
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For years, Micro sat at the nexus of extremism, foreign influence and the Trump operation. His tentacles snaked deep into the platforms and private rooms where operatives and influencers plotted to destroy democracy. Where they plot still.
Now Micro is working for the feds.
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I'd long suspected that he was an informant. He'd hinted at it to me in our chats, which run over the course of six years.
But the details of how he became such a valuable government asset are also astounding...
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I do hope to share more one day, mainly because I have never in my career encountered a character like Microchip. He's smarter and more devious and dangerous than anyone thinks. He is a marvel of malevolence.
And he changed our politics at the highest level. For the worse.
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