White House staffer tied to prominent MAGA Influencer account

A high-profile MAGA influencer account on X with hundreds of thousands of followers has been exposed as being secretly run by White House staffer. According to Wired, Johnny MAGA appeared to be an independent voice amplifying Trump's Truth Social posts and attacking Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom. The account pushed misleading claims about flag-burning demonstrations and the killing of Renee Good. Created in January 2021, Johnny MAGA actively targeted former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. Wired identified Garrett Wade, who works as a rapid response manager for the Trump administration, through phone records and confirmed the connection with a White House source. Wade did not respond to Wired's request for comment. The discovery illustrates the use of "sock puppet" accounts to artificially amplify support, a practice with historical precedent including Fox News and Sen. Mike Lee's accounts.

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