Social media platform X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, for a few hours suspended the White Dudes for Harris account. The suspension, which lasted for about 3 hours, raised uproar online. Eerily, the suspension comes at the back of growing speculation that Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, has been suppressing Kamala Harris and previously, Joe Biden’s campaign messages on X. Musk also came under fire for sharing a digitally altered video of Kamala Harris that could be a violation of X’s own policies on deepfakes. The X account associated with the event has since been restored.
White Dudes for Harris X account was suspended a few hours after the group held a very successful online fundraising drive. The Monday night event was geared towards white men supporting Vice President Kamala Harris. Celebrities such as actor Jeff Bridges, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Hamill and Bradley Whitford featured and spoke in the event held via Zoom.
In just one hour, the “white dudes” virtual gathering managed to raise $3m (£2.3m). The call went on for another three hours eventually raising more than $3.7 million. The organizers said it attracted 180,000-plus people. Similar to online events held by Kenyans, profanities abound as speakers reiterated that the Trump campaign should not speak for “all white men“.
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Politicians were also part of the Zoom call. Present were Democratic officials such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, all of whom have been speculated as potential running mates for Harris.
Zoom Calls Key in Fundraising
The funds are for Kamala Harris’s nascent US presidential campaign, which is less than a week old. Despite its short time frame, the campaign is harnessing grassroots energy not seen in President Joe Biden’s campaign, utilizing modern video conferencing to engage motivated voters and raise funds virtually.
With about 100 days to go before Election Day, there have been a series of other Zoom calls to raise money for the Kamala Harris US presidential campaign. The Zoom calls are not organized by Harris’ team, but her campaign is appreciative of the support and the millions of dollars in fundraising they have generated. “Winning campaigns are powered by real, organic support,” said Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler.
