4 chapters across the catalog
Joy Ann Reid and Shereen Mitchell discuss "divisive" campaigns targeting Black voters on issues like reparations and immigration. They suggest that accounts asking for "tangibles" in exchange for votes are likely Russian-backed or designed to suppress the Democratic vote. The hosts counter that demanding something for a vote is basic political participation, not a foreign intelligence operation.
The hosts revisit themes from episode 18 regarding campaigns that discourage black voters from supporting Democrats. They discuss how demands for "tangibles" or reparations were previously dismissed by media as the work of Russian bots or "Diddy bots." They note the shift in the political landscape now that a major celebrity is publicly using the same language of trading votes for specific returns.
The hosts critique Joy Reid for attributing the "black box" and ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) criticism of Kamala Harris to Russian bots. They argue this was a "believable lie" used by the Democratic Party to explain away Harris's lack of genuine support among the black electorate.
The hosts react to MSNBC's claim that any black person demanding "tangibles" or reparations in exchange for their vote is likely a bot or a victim of disinformation. They characterize this as a desperate and racist attempt to silence legitimate political demands from the black community.
