The Lincoln Project

History of the Lincoln Project:

"Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics. As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character.

That’s why we are announcing the Lincoln Project, an effort to highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations. This effort transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than preservation of the principles that so many have fought for, on battlefields far from home and within their own communities."

The quote above is from an interview about the Lincoln Project by one of it's co-founders in December of 2019. The founders themselves consisted of former and current Republicans with the four original founders being George Conway (the husband to Kelly-Anne Conway), Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson

It has been stated in many of their interviews that there intended audience is Donald Trump himself, and that it was to deter not only his personal campaign focus, but his team as well, "so that the Biden campaign and Joe Biden can have the freedom of movement and the green air to do the things that they need to do.” 

These men, and the other people behind the Lincoln Project, have stated that they do not share similar policy beliefs as the Democratic Party.

Evidence about sexual harrasment allegations as well as other criminal activity was revealed in early 2021. Axios, a broadcasting network, released evidence about founder John Weaver and an investigation into claims of sexual harassment between Weaver and minors, with more than twenty younger boys and men reporting different cases.

Another founder was caught in a social media scandal in early 2021. George Conway, along with his wife Kelly-Anne, were a aprt of an investigation into child abuse allegations when their daughter Claudia Conway posted a series of videos on the popular social media and video site TikTok showing situations within the home,

Measurement of the Propaganda: 

 

Qualitative:

1. Language (Insulting v. Flattery)

   - The language in this video is insulting to the intended audience, which from the voice of the Lincoln Project, was Donald Trump himself. It insults the republicans that are in office refusing to confirm the election results. This video was made prior to the Janurary 6th Insurrection on the Capital as well as before the Second Impeachment of Donald Trump. The video does not insult voters, or the community surrounding the voters, but rather just the politicians themselves. 

2. Slippery Slope (Positive v. Negative)

   - The slope of this video is much more negative than the Joe Biden Campaign video. This one, although negative, is more eye-catching than the other, and holds the attention of the audience with specific claims and accompanying videos. 

3. Character (Protaganist v. Antagonist)

   - The clear character of this video is the Republican Party members that are in office. It shows the members as the antagonists that are against the American people (i.e. the voters).

4. Exaggeration (Misrepresented or Extravagant)

   - The few mentions of "enemies of America" and the various taboo countries such as Russia, North Korea, and Iran lead to misrepresentation on how the Republican party should be viewed and how the foundations for this election were laid. It leads to confusion and perhaps even a lack of interest due to how outlandish the claims are.

Quantitative:

1. Sense of Community (What does the public think? Do they follow this line of thought?)

   - In the two selected comments from the YouTube video, there are views that agree with what the video's message was meant to be. The intended audience, Trump himself, or the Republicans that it is demoting, do not respond directly to the video. Those two different audiences have responded to similar videos and accusations though, often with criticism and anger towards the Lincoln Project.

2. Reliability (How reliable is the message that is being promoted? How will the public think of this in the long term?)

   - The video was released very quickly by the Lincoln Project team, which is necessary for social media competition in marketing and propaganda. It is reliable for what information was available at the time of production. This video is unlikely to change much in opinion, as what it states and conveys to it's audience is in the moment and due to circumstances at a specific time, that has since finished in the most general sense of the term. 

3. Authenticity (Is it factual to the information available to the public?)

   - The information available to the public was still being changed daily during the time of the productiuon of this video. The information available now is much more complete than what it was now, so the video is authentic to the original circumstances. 

4. Audience (Who is this intended for? Does it promote or demote any audience?)

   - The audience, as stated by the founders of the Lincoln Project, is Donald Trump himself. The actual audience though, are the communities of dissapointed Republicans, and swing-voters. The video definitely demotes the active Republicans in office, but does not promote any other group, except for the ending endorsement of the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris Campaign that finished their video. 

Two Selected Comments from the YouTube Video, "Democracy"