A turbulent weekend at OpenAI that began with CEO Sam Altman's ouster culminated Tuesday night with his return to the company, after hundreds of employees threatened to resign and follow Altman to Microsoft.

The saga, which captivated the internet as it played out, drew a flurry of memes detailing Altman's return—some of which were posted even before his return was announced.

The best Sam Altman memes

"The last week in OpenAI history," wrote Mike Bird on Wednesday morning, alongside an image that Joseph Stalin infamously had edited. But in Bird's series of photos, the final image shows Stalin removed instead.

"This has gotta be the Games of Thrones in the tech industry..." posted another X user with the GigaChad meme

Another X user used a clip from The Office to demonstrate what Altman's return would look like.

But not everyone's memes came in response to the news of Altman's return. Some memes all but predicted it.

"Sam Altman practicing how he’s gonna walk back into the OpenAI offices on Monday morning," wrote one user with a clip of the Talking Heads' David Byrne rehearsing dance moves.

"Exclusive: Footage of Sam Altman returning to OpenAI as CEO," posted someone else on Saturday with a nearly 2-minute clip from the show Entourage, showing a character returning to his office with a paintball gun after being rehired.

Along with Altman's return, OpenAI announced a new initial board that includes former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and current board member and Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo.

"We are collaborating to figure out the details," the company said of Altman's return. "Thank you so much for your patience through this."

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Sam Altman memes: The best reactions to his departure, return to OpenAI appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Audio captured from a self-described "pro-Israel exclusive" X spaces shows two activists discussing shooting Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a progressive lawmaker who has been outspoken in criticizing Israel.

The discussion came ahead of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) annual fundraising banquet in Arizona last week.

The audio was released by CAIR, who said in a press release that a handful of X users in the Space were discussing whether it would be legal to yell a sexually explicit insult at Tlaib during the banquet before pivoting to talk about the Arizona state gun laws.

As one user mused about bringing a gun to CAIR's event, another user on the Space objected, saying: "Who would even want to bring a gun to an event like that? That's dangerous and not smart."

"I would never do such a thing, and plus there's security there and you're not allowed to bring weapons to something like an event like that, unless you're like a police officer or security," the user added.

A separate user then interjected, saying: "What I'm hearing is that if you want to shoot her at the event, you need to do it from far away."

The first user replied that he needed to "shut the fuck up" and told the host of the Space to "drop his ass."

The Space ended shortly thereafter.

In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell called the discussion "bone-chilling" and "the latest proof that Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism are absolutely out of control in the United States." 

“The only thing more disturbing than the matter-of-fact discussion about targeting Rep. Tlaib is the fact that none of the hundreds of pro-Israel activists who heard this conversation live bothered to report it to law enforcement or warn Rep. Tlaib," Mitchell added.

Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, has served in Congress since 2019 and has frequently come under criticism for her remarks about Israel.

Earlier this month, Tlaib was censured by the House after lawmakers voted 234-188 in favor of rebuking her for “promoting false narratives” surrounding Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and for “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”

Critics in the House specifically took issue with her use of the slogan "from the river to the sea," which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea—or in other words, the complete eradication of Israel.

In response, Tlaib said her words had been distorted and that her criticism was always directed toward the Israeli government.

"It is important to separate people and governments ... The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it's being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation," Tlaib said after the censure resolution passed.

The X Spaces discussion comes as Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents are on the rise, but it's far from the first time Tlaib has been targeted.

Last July, a Florida man was sentenced to three of probation for emailing death threats to Tlaib and three other congresswomen. Tlaib previously recounted receiving her first death threat on the first day of orientation, before she'd even been sworn in, and of another threat that touted the Christchurch mosque shootings.

"Receiving constant death threats—including against my family—will not silence me, but this kind of hate and threat of violence should not be the inherent cost of any woman participating in politics," Tlaib said in March upon re-introducing legislation to mitigate violence against women in politics.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Pro-Israel activist muses about shooting Rep. Rashida Tlaib on X Spaces: ‘You need to do it from far away’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.

X users are posting screenshots of their searches for white nationalist and antisemitic terms and hashtags—attempting to debunk Elon Musk's big new lawsuit.

On Monday, Musk's X filed a lawsuit against the progressive watchdog group Media Matters after a report showed that X displayed advertisements from major companies such as Apple, Xfinity, IBM, and Oracle next to pro-Nazi content.

The lawsuit does not deny that the ads were displayed next to that content, but alleges Media Matters "manufactured" images and portrayed them "as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform."

The lawsuit accuses Media Matters of employing inauthentic activity "until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers' paid posts."

"In fact, IBM’s, Comcast’s, and Oracle’s paid posts appeared alongside the fringe content cited by Media Matters for only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters," it added. "Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms as described above."

But as X continues to defend its safety protocols for advertisers, users on X tried to see if they would find advertisements when they searched for problematic terms like #HeilHitler.

One user, Avi Bueno, called out Twitter CEO Linda Yacarrino, who defended the lawsuit by posting the same claim that "Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content."

"Linda cannot be genuinely making this claim," they wrote.

"It took me about 30 seconds to find X placing advertisements for @TheAthletic, @ShopTemu, @ActionNetworkHQ, and @Visit_NJ alongside a search for 'killjews,'" he said. "This place is broken and advertisers should be worried."

He added in subsequent posts that the results were not a fluke and he'd found advertisements when searching for other terms including "heilhitler," "r*peiscool," and "g*dhatesgays."

And he wasn't the only one posting about finding ads next to offensive content.

"Like others, I searched #HeilHitler for an experiment and these were the ads that popped up," Evan Hurst wrote alongside a screenshot of ads for the conservative Media Research Center, an apparel company, and a vintage Banknotes seller. "I didn't have to 'excessively scroll' anything, it took under a minute to find all three."

"how could there not be an ad blacklist for some of this stuff???" wrote a separate X user of a screenshot of an ad for a Christian fundraising campaign that appeared under a search for "#Jewskilledjesus."

"Holy shit. If you search HeilHitler, you get a ton of ads. I literally just got the German Government's 'come live in Germany' ad on the search," wrote independent journalist Erin Reed. "The German Govt is literally accidentally advertising to Hitler searchers to 'come live in Germany.' Media Matters was not lying."

Users also claimed Musk and X were aware of their efforts to point out the inaccuracy of the suit.

"It would appear in response to multiple people confirming this, Twitter has nuked all search ads," Reed added Monday night.

Multiple companies suspended advertising on X in the wake of Media Matters' report. IBM told the Financial Times it "suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation" and Apple reportedly paused its advertising on the platform as well.

Other companies not named in the report have additionally halted advertising, according to Media Matters.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post People are debunking the bold claims Elon Musk made in massive advertising lawsuit—in real-time on his own site appeared first on The Daily Dot.

The parent company of Truth Social, the social media platform founded by former President Donald Trump, sued a slew of news organizations on Monday that reported the company had lost $73 million in 2023.

The lawsuit alleges "an unprecedented and seemingly coordinated media campaign" aimed at damaging Trump Media & Technology Group's reputation and financial standing.

The lawsuit follows a number of reports on Truth Social's losses in 2023—though it is unclear where that figure came from.

"This number was an utter fabrication," the lawsuit reads. "Each defendant, in apparent coordination, reported the exact same false number within approximately 24 hours of one another, each citing to a public Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') filing, in which the mystery $73 million loss appears nowhere."

The actual figure of losses, from Truth Social's launch in early 2022 to mid-2023, is $31.6 million. Many outlets, such as Axios, have already updated their stories.

"As a result of these widespread lies, TMTG has suffered actual damages," the lawsuit, filed in Sarasota County, Florida, states. "Committed and potential investors have reacted negatively to the false news of TMTG supposedly losing $73 million, and TMTG’s ability to raise additional capital has been impaired."

The media organizations named in the suit include Reuters, MSNBC, CNBC, the Guardian, Axios, the Hill, and more. Trump Media & Technology Group is seeking a total $1,500,000,000 in damages and a ban on "the publication or republication of the defamatory statements."

The lawsuit comes as Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) are aiming to go public via Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company that plans to merge with the group

In a statement to its platform, Truth Social said on Monday night: "To the Fake News outlets that think themselves above accountability: we’ll see you in court."

Trump has previously falsely boasted that the fledging social media platform—billed as a free speech alternative to the likes of Twitter—has outperformed every other platform.

Truth Social has around 861,000 monthly active users on iOS and Android as of October, amounting to under 1% of those on Elon Musk's X, according to an analysis by Fox News.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Trump demands $1.5 billion over ‘unprecedented fabrication’ that Truth Social lost $73 million since launch appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been the source of a number of viral images and memes over the years, as the curmudgeoenly elder statesmen developed a Millennials and Gen Z fandom during his runs for president in 2016 and 2020.

But what are the best Bernie Sanders memes?

Bernie Sanders Memes

'I am once again asking'

One of the most popular formats is an image of Sanders taken from a fundraising appeal for his 2020 presidential campaign, in which he says he is "once again asking for your financial support."

The image was quickly repurposed for personal requests, advice, and a variety of jokes.

Sanders dropped out of the 2020 race in April and threw his support behind President Joe Biden, becoming the subject of another meme at Biden's inauguration less than one year later.

Inauguration Mittens

Sanders—captured donning mittens and the same winter coat seen in the video above at Biden's inauguration in January 2021—quickly spurred an onslaught of memes that have continued to circulate online nearly three years later.

The photo was taken by Agence France-Press photographer Brendan Smialowski, who later told CNBC that he thinks the "picture is really not that great" but that it resonated with people because Sanders "has a very well defined brand and image" and the photo captures "Bernie being Bernie."

The photo itself quickly spread with quippy captions before being turned into a meme.

"This could've been an email," wrote one user on X the day of the inauguration. That post gained over one million likes and more than 100,000 reposts.

The image was photoshopped into movie scenes, artwork, and historical images, among other backdrops.

One person developed a website enabling users to place the image of Sanders anywhere in Google Street View photographs, while even The Bachelor reality TV show franchise got in on the trend.

Sanders laughed off the attention his inauguration outfit gained, saying in an interview that "in Vermont, we know something about the cold, and we're not so concerned about good fashion."

He added in a later CNN interview that he was glad the photo went viral because it "makes people aware that we make good mittens in Vermont."

Sanders also created a sweatshirt using the image with 100% of its proceeds going to Meals on Wheels Vermont. The crewneck sweatshirt sold out right away.

The mittens in question were made by Jen Ellis, a Vermont schoolteacher, who said they were "made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece (made from recycled plastic bottles)." According to the New York Times, Ellis gave Sanders the pair after he lost the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

While those are two of the most prominent examples of Sanders becoming a meme, other moments of his have gone viral as well.

Soccer Mommy

One instance of this is when Sanders thanked a number of Indie bands for their support, including a singer-songwriter called Soccer Mommy.

Capitol Steps

Another meme moment comes from an image depicting a dejected Sanders lounging on the steps of the Capitol during the push to pass the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022.

"It really do be like that," one X user wrote while comparing Sanders to an image from Schoolhouse Rock's educational song "I'm Just a Bill." The post garnered more than 100,000 likes.

TikTok bombing

The Vermont senator became a meme again in February when he accidentally stumbled into a TikTok creator's video.

"The man is just a meme machine. It’s uncanny," wrote one X user in response to the TikTok.

"Unbelievably relatable man," concluded someone else. Which is perhaps why so many Sanders' memes wind up going viral.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Is Bernie Sanders our most meme-able congressman? appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Activists calling for a ceasefire in Gaza say they were attacked by police during a peaceful protest outside of the Democratic National Committee Wednesday night and rejected the characterization that the protesters were violent.

"Police violently attacked them, causing over 90 injuries, including being pepper sprayed, minor cuts, and dragged by the hair," IfNotNow, a movement of American Jews who oppose Israel and helped organize the protest, said in a statement.

"Protesters were choked and violently handled by multiple offices at once, thrown against the wall, then grabbed and picked up and thrown down the front stairs," the statement added. "At least two protesters' glasses were smashed by the police."

The Capitol Police said in a statement that six officers were treated for injuries "ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched" and one protester was arrested for assaulting an officer.

The protester arrested was identified as 24-year-old New York resident Ruben Arthur Camancho, who Capitol Police say was witnessed by a female officer slamming "another officer into a garage door and then punch[ing] the female officer in the face."

The protest occurred during a candidate event at the DNC, with multiple lawmakers including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) present.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) called the demonstrators "pro-terrorist" and accused them of "attempting to break into the building."

Semafor reporter David Weigel countered on X:" Sherman is wrong. I was outside the building and saw a [Capitol Police] officer spray protesters, not vice versa."

Other lawmakers similarly put the protesters on blast.

"All U.S. House buildings locked down while Pro-Hamas rioters trying to storm the offices of the Democratic National Committee," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) said Wednesday.

Weigel once again countered that "they blocked the entrances; they didn't try to storm the offices" and noted that some lawmakers are making "confident, wrong statements about stuff that was filmed by dozens of people."

DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement that he was "grateful that staff & visitors at the DNC were safely evacuated as law enforcement acted quickly to respond to protests outside our building last night."

"As Americans we have a right to demonstrate peacefully, but violence is never acceptable," Harrison added.

The groups that co-organized the protest slammed the characterization of the protest.

"We are horrified to see elected officials like Brad Sherman, Marco Rubio, and Speaker Mike Johnson spread misinformation and accuse Jewish activists of being 'antisemitic' ‘pro-Hamas,’ especially since many of our members are grieving Israeli loved ones who were killed on October 7," IfNotNow said in a statement Thursday. "It is offensive, hurtful, and dangerous. These leaders should apologize and retract their dangerous and hurtful statements."

"They spread misinformation about our nonviolent protest, but have nothing to say about American funding of violent Israeli bombs dropping on the children of Gaza."

Jewish Voice for Peace Action, another co-organizer, replied to Harrison's statement saying the demonstration was peaceful.

"As videos and photos from last night have made clear, police officers rushed at nonviolent protestors without any prior warning or requests to disperse," the group said. "Over 90 demonstrators were injured by police violence."

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Activist groups blast lawmakers’ depiction of DNC protest calling for ceasefire in Gaza appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) announced Thursday he would not seek reelection, following a bombshell report by the House Ethics Committee which determined the freshman representative misused campaign funds on trips to Atlantic City, Botox treatments, and purchases at OnlyFans.

The 55-page report accuses Santos of seeking "to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit."

In a post on X, Santos accused the report of being biased and the committee of going "to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming."

"It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk," he said. "Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves."

Santos added that he "will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed" but has decided not to seek reelection "as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time."

The lawmaker has been embroiled in controversy after it was discovered he fabricated key details about his education and employment history and lied about a number of other things, including that he founded an animal charity and that he lost four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.

Santos currently faces a 23-count federal indictment related to wire fraud, campaign fund misusage, and lying to Congress. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Ethics Committee "has unanimously voted to adopt the [Investigative Subcommittee's] report, and with it, refer the substantial evidence of potential violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice for such further action as it deems appropriate," reads a letter from the committee's top leaders.

"The Committee concurs with the ISC's determination that Representative Santos' conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House," it added.

Politico reported that the subcommittee found that Santos put $1,500 on a campaign debit card for "Botox," more than $2,000 on trips to Atlantic City, more than $3,000 on an Airbnb while vacationing in the Hamptons, $6,000 worth of luxury goods at Ferragamo stores, $800 at a casino, and more.

"After the $50,000 from RedStone was deposited into Representative Santos’ personal accounts, the funds were used to, among other things: pay down personal credit card bills and other debt; make a $4,127.80 purchase at Hermes; and for smaller purchases at OnlyFans; Sephora; and for meals and parking," the subcommittee report states.

RedStone is a self-described independent expenditure group that supported Santos and said it raised more than $800,000, though the Federal Election Commission has no record of the group.

It appears Santos may have found himself in another lie, because in March, Santos denied having an OnlyFans account, stating he discovered what the pay-for-content platform was "about three weeks ago when it was brought up in a discussion in my office."

Since reports of Santos' fund misusage surfaced, his campaign has struggled financially—issuing more money in refunds than it took in from donors, who have fled the campaign.

He survived an expulsion effort earlier this month, but will likely face a renewed ouster push following the report. A number of lawmakers indicated they could vote in favor of expelling depending on the Ethics Committee's findings.

House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest plans to file a motion tomorrow to expel Santos.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post George Santos won’t run for reelection after bombshell Ethics report reveals campaign funds spent on inappropriate online subscription services appeared first on The Daily Dot.

A decades-old letter allegedly written by Osama Bin Laden explaining why he planned the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000 has gone viral on TikTok, with many users stating they just discovered its existence.

"So I just read a Letter to America and I will never look at life the same," one TikToker shared on Wednesday in a video that has already garnered nearly 170,000 likes. "I will never look at this country the same. I will never. Please read it. And if you have read it, let me know if you are also going through an existential crisis in this very moment because in the last 20 minutes, my entire viewpoint on the entire life I have believed and I have lived has changed."

The letter rebukes a number of American policies and values, calls AIDS "a Satanic American Invention," and strongly condemns the creation of the State of Israel and the U.S.'s support for it.

"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased," the letter reads.

It also repeats antisemitic tropes, including the false allegation that Jews control the U.S. economy, media, and "all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense."

Many TikToks and comments on the platform showed users to be sympathetic to Bin Laden's viewpoint. Many videos also appeared with the hashtag #freepalestine or the Palestinian flag.

"This letter is so well written and so reasonably structured," one TikToker said, adding moments later: "Like everything he said was valid."

@alteamaureen Please read the questions he answered on pages 2-6. Its mind boggling!! 🤯🥺#islamtiktok #trend #viralvideo #fypage #fyp #worldwide #muslimtiktok #arabtiktok #blacktiktok ♬ original sound - Godiva Goddess 🪩✨

In a second video, she added: "The way our minds were shaped, everything was a lie. And the veil of reality that we knew prior to this October has dropped completely."

Another person posted a video denying that she was defending Bin Laden, but added that she wasn't "about to sit here and act like he's just the worst person in the world when America has literally been terrorizing people since the beginning of history."

One comment under that video, which received 78 likes stated: "I understand he had a reason. America is a terrorist organization."

"When a big fucking bully murders MILLIONS of your people and steal your resources!! YES," the commenter added in a follow up. "We deserved it. Were lucky it wasn't more people."

The circulation of the letter and the TikTokers' response to it has been widely blasted on social media.

"You do not, under any circumstances, gotta hand it to Osama bin Laden," wrote one user on Wednesday.

The Guardian, which published a copy of the translated letter in 2002, also removed it from its site without an explanation on Wednesday.

Another X user wrote: "If 9/11 happened today bin Laden would just have to post an Instagram screenshot with some 20 year old woman making a pouty face with overlaid text that said THE INFIDELS HAD IT COMING ACTUALLY."

Concluded someone else: "deconstructing american propaganda is very important but please don’t let it be because of osama bin laden. like please god lets be smarter and read actual books and academic articles."

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ‘Like everything he said was valid’: Why is TikTok suddenly here for Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who sparked headlines yesterday after renewing his fight challenge against Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, revealed that he'd be willing to bite O'Brien.

"By the way I'm not afraid of biting. I will bite," Mullin said in an interview.

"In a fight, I'm going to bite," he added. "I'll do anything. I'm not above it. And I don't care where I bite by the way."

O'Brien challenged Mullin, a former MMA fighter, in June, writing on X: "You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.”

During a congressional hearing Tuesday, Mullin took O'Brien's offer seriously and prepared to fight him on the spot.

“Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You want to run your mouth?” Mullin said Tuesday. “We can be two consenting adults—we can finish it here.”

O'Brien accepted the challenge, prompting the Oklahoma Republican to begin to remove his wedding ring before Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) intervened.

“You’re a United States senator, sit down. This is a hearing, and God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress.” Sanders said.

On Tuesday night, Mullin told Fox News' Sean Hannity that O'Brien shouldn't "run your mouth at me and expect me to just sit there."

"You should've seen the fear in his eyes when I stood up too," Mullin said. "I'm not joking, I'm not looking for a fight. I used to get paid to fight professionally. I'm not really looking for it, but I'm sure not going to sit back and let somebody do that and not call them out on it."

Mullin doubled down in justifying the possible showdown in a separate interview as well.

"Some people say, is this behavior unbecoming to a senator? I don't know," Mullin said. "But I will tell you this for sure: That's not we behave in Oklahoma, and I'm an Oklahoman first and so if you're going run your mouth, you're going to be called out on it, and that's what happened here."

Mullin added: "He was scared out of his mind. He was very thankful that Bernie Sanders stopped us ... I was ready to shut his mouth up."

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post GOP senator says he’s ‘going to bite’ Teamsters boss if they fight—and doesn’t care ‘where’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Republican 2024 presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley argued against the existence of anonymous social media accounts on Tuesday, saying the issue amounts to a "national security threat."

"Social media companies, they have to show America their algorithms. Let us see why they're pushing what they're pushing," Haley told Fox News. "The second thing is every person on social media should be verified by their name. That's, first of all, it's a national security threat."

"When you do that, all of a sudden, people have to stand by what they say," she continued. "And it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots, and the Chinese bots. And then you're going to get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say, and they know their pastor and their family members is going to see it. It's going to help our kids and it's going to help our country."

She doubled down on her call during a separate interview on the conservative Ruthless Podcast, saying that social media companies need to "verify every single person on their outlet ... I want everybody's name."

Her remarks were delivered in front of a prominent anonymous X user—@ComfortablySmug—and said the ban should extend to him as well.

"If 'Smug' is on your driver's license ... and look you can put 'Smug' in parentheses, but I want everybody's name" she countered.

Haley's proposal was widely criticized by other conservatives online, who believe the idea is anti-free speech.

"[Haley] is *openly* pushing for the government to use private tech companies to censor speech," primary opponent Vivek Ramaswamy said. "This is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and straight out of the Democrats’ playbook. Any politician who thinks it’s OK for the government to use the private sector as its censorship bureau shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House."

Christina Pushaw, the Rapid Response Director for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), wrote on X Wednesday: "I am no lawyer but isn't this blatantly unconstitutional? Free speech includes anonymous speech."

"I was wondering where [Haley] got the idea that the federal government should ban anonymous speech on social media. Perhaps from the WEF conference in China that she attended and listened to the CCP premier keynote? Or perhaps her former boss." Pushaw continued, including a screenshot of a 2013 tweet from former President Donald Trump.

The Trump tweet reads: "It should be mandatory that all haters and losers use their real name or identification when tweeting - they will no longer be so brave!"

Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk weighed in as well, writing: "Nice try, Nikki. Anonymous speech is a core part of free speech — which the founders would know, since many of them (including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison) wrote anonymously."

X owner Elon Musk has previously said he aims to "authenticate all real humans," though the proposed goal stems from the desire to counter spam and bots as a company—not from a government-imposed mandate.

X's current blue verification mark for its premium users requires a confirmed phone number but allows for anonymous usage, like Comfortably Smug.

Haley has recently risen in Republican primary polls and currently notches 9% of support nationwide, according to RealClearPolitics. That puts her roughly five points behind DeSantis and four points ahead of Ramaswamy, though all four are still far behind Trump's numbers.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post Nikki Haley demands ban on anonymous social media accounts while on influential anonymous conservative poster’s podcast appeared first on The Daily Dot.