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While all of the excitement of the Iowa caucus was taking place, a rumor regarding the presidential campaign of retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson began making the rounds on social media.
A reporter for CNN tweeted early in the evening that Carson would be heading home to Florida after leaving Iowa, instead of traveling on to New Hampshire, site of the next primary election.
That initial report was apparently misconstrued to mean that Carson was suspending his campaign, major news that was quickly spread by both mainstream media and rival campaigns like that of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
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But Carson has stated that he in fact wan’t suspending his campaign and was none too pleased about the rumors being spread, accusing the Cruz campaign of “playing tricks” on his supporters in order to help himself.
While the Cruz campaign first flatly denied the charge that they had taken part in tricking voters about the Carson campaign, a tweet by a man seemingly associated with the Cruz campaign lent credence to Carson’s allegations.
Dan Gabriel tweeted: “Source inside Ben Carson’s NH campaign just CONFIRMED to me: Ben Carson is OUT>>>#ChooseCruz”
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Note that Gabriel claimed to have “confirmed” the rumor with a source inside the Carson campaign — a claim that, in hindsight, now appears highly suspicious.
The tweet was apparently later deleted, but not before numerous screenshots were taken of it:
Many may be wondering who exactly Dan Gabriel is, and why his tweet bears any significance to the presidential race.
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According to IMDB, Gabriel is a former CIA operative with a decade’s worth of experience in countering radical Islamic extremism in virtually every conceivable jihadist hot spot around the globe. He is currently working to adapt his experiences into a dramatic television program.
Gabriel has also served as something of a communications adviser, consultant and strategist for policymakers, government officials, media organizations and even foreign governments.
He is viewed as an industry leader when it comes to information and communication technologies, and has been on the frontlines of innovation regarding the use of social media.
When a former spy who is expert in the use of social media to attain strategic goals who is connected to one campaign takes aim at another campaign on Twitter, it is understandable that some individuals may suspect that something more is at play than a mere get-out-the-vote effort.
What do you think was behind this rumor about Ben Carson getting out of the race? Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know.
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