The WalkAway campaign, also styled #WalkAway, is a social media campaign that was launched ahead of the United States 2018 mid-term elections by Brandon Straka, a hairstylist and actor from New York City. According to the campaign's website, the campaign "encourages and supports those on the Left to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today."
Brandon Straka was the first passenger reported to be banned by a major U.S. airline for refusing other passengers the courtesy of wearing a mask during the Covid-19 epidemic. News sources have debated the extent to which WalkAway is an example of astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement. David A. Love of CNN condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda, a psychological operation" and "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots". The website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russia's interference on U.S. elections, reported that WalkAway was "connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots to manipulate voters into thinking the movement was more popular and active that it actually was." However Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept claims "Hamilton 68 was, and remains, incredibly opaque about its methodology, refusing even to identify which accounts they designate as “promoting Russian influence online.”" Abby Ohlheiser in The Washington Post claimed "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions – or even thousands – of Democrats", and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video. ThinkProgress characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation," noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees. Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Straka of presenting royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock and claiming they were of people who had left the Democratic Party. Straka has denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign. Snopes posted a tweet from Stern stating that the wife of Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas shared the meme. Straka has stated that WalkAway does not receive major donations and that "everything is grassroots support from Americans who send us $5 or $100.", the Center for Responsive Politics reported that of the $20,004 donated to WalkAway in 2020, $7,521 were contributed by nine large donors—of which Straka is one.
