A prominent Michigan lawmaker who is Jewish says people have been sharing a fake audio clip claiming he said the entire purpose of his campaign for the U.S. House is to ensure America continues to support Israel.
The clip, which purports to be a recording of state Sen. Jeremy Moss’ voice, has been shared thousands of times on X and listened to by more than 1 million people, according to the social media company’s tracking.
“I would never say these things,” Moss told The Detroit News last week. “This has been going around the internet since a little bit before Election Day.
“The clip is manipulated, either stitched and edited together or just a complete fabrication.”
The situation points to the continued tension among Michigan Democrats over Israel and the growing and unchecked role of altered media in campaigns.
In the Aug. 4 primary election, Moss of Bloomfield Township won the Democratic nomination over three competitors for the 11th Congressional District seat, which U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham vacated to run for the Senate.
Ahead of the election, the audio clip surfaced on the internet, was touted by one of his primary opponents and was eventually picked up by social media influencers, Moss said. The account American Independence Project posted it on X on Aug. 7, gaining more than 10,000 likes.
Moss said the clip was “part of a very troubling and quite frankly dangerous pattern of things I’ve experienced throughout this campaign.”
Someone in a Facebook forum contended that Moss was indoctrinated to Israel because he attended a Jewish day school in Oakland County, and his home was the target of a bomb threat last September, Moss said.
As a lawmaker, Moss leads the Michigan Senate’s elections committee and has previously spoken out against disinformation.
“It is eroding our democracy,” he said.
However, Democrat Aisha Farooqi, who lost to Moss in the primary, has continued to tie the audio clip to Moss.
“Taking money from PACs working against the interests of Americans is deeply anti-American,” Farooqi wrote to Moss on X on Aug. 18. “This has nothing to do with you being Jewish.”
She added, “A simple audio analysis can confirm that it is, in fact, your voice and speech patterns.”
Jocelyn Benson talks first act as governor
Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson revealed on Aug. 19 what she wants her first act to be in the state’s top office if she wins her election in November.
“If I were to have the opportunity to sign legislation in the future in any particular role, I intend to have my first act be signing the Voting Rights Act for the state of Michigan into law,” Benson said at an event in Grand Rapids with U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten.
To get to have the chance to do that, Benson, Michigan’s current secretary of state, would have to defeat Republican U.S. Rep. John James this fall.
Democrats in the state Legislature have been backing a plan to institute a state-level voting rights policy after the U.S. Supreme Court has issued multiple rulings rejecting elements of the federal Voting Rights Act.
The Michigan proposal would specifically prohibit a local government or state agency from imposing any law or practice that would impair the ability of a protected class to participate in the political process. The bills define a protected class as individuals who are members of a “racial, color, or language minority group.”
Republicans have opposed the measures. In June, state Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, said the legislation would facilitate lawsuits against local units of government.
“These bills would cost taxpayers millions of dollars and create new obstacles for our clerks and local units of government that are simply unnecessary,” Johnson said during a speech in the Michigan Senate. “These bills go far beyond the protections already afforded to all our citizens under both the U.S. and Michigan constitutions, as well as current federal and state law.”
But Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, said the state-level voting rights standards were needed to “help ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard and strengthen the integrity of our elections for generations to come.”
Barrett attends ribbon cutting after opposing incentives
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, was among the officials present for a ribbon cutting at a $2.6 billion battery plant in Delta Township, roughly five years after he voted against an incentive program used to finance it.
Barrett, a staunch opponent of business incentives, was among a few Republicans in the GOP-led state Legislature in 2021 to vote against the creation of the controversial Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve program. The cash-for-jobs program has since been largely defunded, but one of the first projects it subsidized was the Ultium Cells battery plant, then a joint venture between General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solutions.
The Ultium project received about $180 million in incentives, while another GM plant in Orion Township received about $480 million. GM later sold its share in the battery operation to LG Energy Solutions.
On Tuesday, when asked whether his attendance at the ribbon cutting indicated a change in his position on incentives, Barrett said his opposition to business incentives in general is no secret. Still, he said he wanted to welcome the new plant to the community.
“I respect any investment that’s going on in my district and I wanted to be there to show that today,” he said. “I don’t want projects to fail. That’s never been my position.”
New candidate for Michigan GOP chair?
Vance Patrick, chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party, didn’t rule out running for Michigan GOP chairman next year, during an appearance on The Detroit News Political Insider video podcast on Aug. 20.
Patrick was first elected to lead Oakland County’s party in 2023. He also runs a construction company.
“There’s a lot of people that want me to throw my hat into the race,” Patrick said.
But he added, “At this point, there’s no official announcement.”
State Sen. Jim Runestad of White Lake is the party’s current chairman. Patrick could be a challenger to Runestad if Runestad seeks a second term early next year, when delegates will vote on the upcoming two-year term.
Tweet of the Week
The Insider report’s “Tweet of the Week,” recognizing a social media post that was worthy of attention or, possibly, just a laugh, from the previous week goes to Zach Gorchow, president of the political newsletter Gongwer Michigan.
Ahead of Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson announcing her pick for lieutenant governor on Aug. 19, Benson’s campaign posted on X that “BIIGGGG NEWSS” coming and shared a mystery image asking who the running mate would be.
By the time of the post, the expectation was that Benson would pick Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids.
“Gonna go out on a limb here and say it’s not Roy Schmidt,” Gorchow tweeted in response to the Benson campaign, referencing the controversial former state lawmaker who switched parties to join the Republicans in 2012 and then lost his reelection bid to Brinks.
Brinks’ campaign against Schmidt launched her into the world of state politics. She went on to serve three terms in the Michigan House and two terms in the Senate, where she became Michigan’s first-ever female majority leader.
“Fourteen years ago, when Democrats needed to field a candidate for my state representative seat, many of my neighbors urged me to run as a write-in candidate,” Brinks said at a press conference in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. “And while I could think of a million reasons not to, I knew that if I wanted to see things change, I couldn’t wait for someone else to do it.”
cmauger@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan lawmaker says viral audio clip of his voice is fake | Insider
Reporting by Craig Mauger and Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Mauger and Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
