RandyGDub's Post Office Worker Troll

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Overview

RandyGDub's Post Office Worker Troll refers to the controversy surrounding a tweet sent out by Weird Twitter personality @RandyGDub in which he claimed to be a Columbus, Ohio post office worker who ripped up absentee ballots for 2016 Republican Presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

Background

On October 16th, 2016, "Raandy" tweeted^[1] "i love working at the post office in Columbus, Ohio and ripping up absentee ballots that vote for trump." This was a joke riffing on recent allegations from Trump and his campaign that the 2016 Presidential Election was being rigged against him.^[2]

raandy @randygdulb Following i love working at the post office in Columbus, Ohio and ripping up absentee ballots that vote for trump RETWEETS LIKES 2,1375,033 5:09 PM-16 Oct 2016

Notable Developments

Drew of Toothpaste for Dinner retweeted^[3] the tweet, which drew the attention of Trump supporters who weren't in on the joke. After @RandyGDub continued the gag by telling the Trump supporters what he was doing was legal, conservatives taking him seriously began reporting on the tweet as though it were a blatant demonstration of voter fraud. Gateway Pundit^[4] published an article expressing outrage at the tweet. The article was then linked to in a tweet by conservative media aggregator Drudge Report.^[5] Later that day, conservative media personality Rush Limbaugh referenced the false rumor on his radio show (quoted below).^[6]

So you've got a postal worker out there admitting he's opening absentee ballots that have been mailed in and he's just destroying the ones for Trump. What happens if he opens one up for Hillary, gotta reseal it? I guess they don't care, what does it matter, as long as it says Hillary on it, what do the Democrats care where it came from? It could be postmarked Mars and they'll take it.

Outraged Twitter users tipped off the Columbus Ohio Police Department^[7] and the United States Postal Service, who responded to concerned Twitter users, including the Ohio Secretary of State,^[9] with a statement assuring that they were conducting an investigation into the matter.^[8]

Yesterday USPSHelp @USPSHelp @Jennifermarx66 "The Postal Service has completed an initial investigation of the mentioned tweets and does not believe these tweets were made by a postal employee. However, the Postal Service will continue to monitor this situation and if it is determined that the individual making the tweets is a postal employee and there is substantiated evidence of mail being tampered with or destroyed, then the Postal Service will take appropriate corrective action to address the situation." Arl Reply t Retweet ☆Favorite

The entire controversy was covered by several major media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times,^[10] The Daily Beast,^[11] and The Intercept.^[12] It also was reported on that evening by Chris Hayes of MSNBC.^[13]