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Political meme creator prosecuted over false voting-by-text messages

Douglass Mackey, known online as 'Ricky Vaughn,' was prosecuted by federal authorities over social media memes posted during the 2016 presidential election. The memes falsely suggested that supporters of Hillary Clinton could vote by text message. Prosecutors argued the posts were part of a conspiracy to interfere with voting rights by deceiving voters. Supporters of Mackey argued the prosecution raised significant concerns regarding political satire, internet speech, and First Amendment protections. The case became one of the most widely discussed speech-related prosecutions of the social media era.