Social media was, effectively, part of the downfall of Eric Swalwell, leading him to leave not only the California gubernatorial race but also Congress.
It turns out that his use of Snapchat, despite the service’s supposed anonymity and ephemerality, provided some ammunition to accusers who said he sent, as theNew York Postput it, “sexual messages and explicit images” to staffers.
In other news, he’s still using Snapchat. To talk to ex-staffers!
Yes, in a month that’s been filled with don’t-you-ever-learn sort of news, the fact that Swalwell — once called “the Snapchat king of Congress” when that was actually agoodthing — is still using the app with disappearing messages to privately communicate with people, including people who used to be in his employ.
This comes after he got sacked for inappropriate relationships with people, including those who used to be in his employ.
“Mr. Swalwell is still using Snapchat. As recently as this week, Mr. Swalwell communicated directly with a former intern on the app and asked her why she had taken a screenshot of their chat history, based on images provided to The Times, though the messages were not sexual in nature,”The New York Timesreported Friday.
The Swalwell piece was an effective and illuminating dissection about how social media was critical to both Swalwell’s rise and his demise, allowing him to not only contact potential sexual partners privately but allowing people he allegedly abused to connect — notably through Cheyenne Hunt, a progressive activist with Gen-Z for Change who helped break the story.
Most of it is merely straight reporting, the kind of thing The New York Times does well when forced to put its resources behind it as opposed to lazy liberal advocacy hidden behind a thin patina of just-the-facts-ma’am.
It notes that one influencer who initially promoted Swalwell, Arielle “Mrs. Frazzled” Fodor, “received several private messages warning her to stay away from him” as soon as she did.
“She heard rumors of sexual misconduct as she began inquiring among Capitol Hill staffers, political acquaintances and a member of Congress, whom she declined to name.”
Source: VidNews » Feed
