Bot attack against online GOP Gov poll likely
Grok estimates 95% chance of "automated/coordinated (non-organic) voting activity"
An online gubernatorial straw poll conduced by a well respected GOP activist appears to have been manipulated by a bot attack according X’s artificial intelligence agent known as Grok.
In one startling 42 minute stretch on Sunday, the total number of votes cast more than doubled according screenshots of the poll we acquired.
Chester Tam hosted the unofficial, unscientific poll on X for the third month in a row starting Friday and running till Sunday night.
No one has accused Tam, a highly regarded and popular GOP activist, of misconduct.
As of Sunday morning with 12 hours until the poll closed, approximately 1200 votes had been cast, consistent with the two prior polls that concluded with 919 and 1362 total votes cast.
Yet by Sunday night 8,579 votes had been cast, all coming in rapid chunks in the final hours.
With 9 hours and 42 minutes left in the polling Kennealy and Minogue were tied at 42%, Shortsleeve trailing at 16% with 1798 votes cast.
42 minutes later Shortsleeve had 59% with Minogue at 21% and Kennealy 20% with the total votes cast having more than doubled to 3,709.
Over the next 24 minutes another 1,193 votes were cast pulling Minogue up to 35% and dropping Kennealy to 16% (screenshot below).
Minogue won the poll with 46% with Shortsleeve at 44.5% and Kennealy a distant third at 9.5%.
“Groks independent assessment (not my personal opinion): 95%+ confidence that the major spikes aligned with patterns typically seen in automated/coordinated (non-organic) voting activity.” Tam wrote in a post powered by Grok.
Kennnealy’s communications director Logan Trupiano wrote on X:
“This is by far the grossest SCAM I’ve ever seen in politics. Kennealy leads by a wide margin until the last day. Then suddenly: THOUSANDS of votes come in on the last day. GROSS. A slap in the face to the grassroots. Minouge and Shortsleeve blatantly bought votes.”
Jessica Machado, a well know internet personality who asked her “ besties” to vote for Kennealy posted on X last night:
“I noticed today the latest poll had some unnatural activity, including jumps in votes that were disproportionate to other polls @islantstudio has hosted. While I don’t believe Chester has done anything wrong, I am truly suspicious of both @ShortsleeveMA and @MikeMinogueABMD camps artificially inflating their numbers. Fellow voters noticed this as well, including a follower of mine who kindly went to the poll and voted. I am really disappointed.”
