The disgraced anti-Trump Democrat supporting group The Lincoln Project is facing intense backlash for claiming to orchestrate the viral hoax involving tiki torch-holding individuals associating themselves with the Youngkin campaign.
"Anyone who continues to associate themselves with The Lincoln Project owns this. This is who you are," Fourth Watch media critic Stever Krakauer wrote.
"I do not think it’s out of realm of possibility that Lincoln Project is taking blame, because they have no shame and their reputation really can’t get any worse," Washington Free Beacon executive editor Brent Scher tweeted.
"Needless to say, right-wing groups that perpetrated a fraud like this -- causing media figures and campaign operatives to spend all day swamping Twitter with an outright racist lie -- would be instantly banned from social media," Substack journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted.
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"Apparently, it's totally fine to dress up as tiki torch nazis as long as you play for the right team," Daily Caller reporter Andrew Kerr wrote.
Others questioned whether or not the Lincoln Project was actually behind the stunt and was simply taking credit, comparing it to ISIS taking credit for various terrorist attacks.
"What's more likely? That the Lincoln Project hired Democratic insiders in Virginia to hold the tiki torch stunt or that they're taking credit for it after it backfired to keep the backlash away from the McAuliffe campaign?" political commentator Josh Jordan wondered.
The statement comes as Twitter users began claiming they had identified the individuals participating in stunt allegedly having ties to Virginia Democrats. The group issued a statement denying they organized the stunt.