Right-wing media outlet busted for running sensationalistic hit piece on Democratic Socialists of America that turned out to be a hoax

On Thursday, August 8, right-wing media outlet Quillette published a hit piece on the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) that was allegedly written by a construction worker in Queens named Archie Carter, who expressed deep frustration with the “hipster comics and neurotic office workers” of the DSA. Carter’s exposé , which played up the right-wing notion that the left is badly out of touch with blue-collar workers, quickly went viral. Problem: the article was a hoax and a fabrication. “Archie Carter” (described as a “Marxist-Leninist-Alinskyite” in the article, which ran with the headline “DSA Is Doomed”) was a fictional character, and the 24-year-old Illinois resident who wrote it had deceived Quillette — which took the bait and was humiliated badly.

In an interview with Jacobin Magazine, “Carter” discusses his hoax and his reasons for baiting and brutally deceiving Quillette. “Carter,” who describes himself as a “left-populist,” set out to prove how gullible right-wing media outlets can be — and Quillette fell right into his trap by not even bothering to fact-check the article or verify that “Archie” (who claimed to be a New York Mets fan) was a real-life construction worker from Queens.

“Carter” told Jacobin that not only did Quillette take his bait — they embellished the piece and made it even more sensationalistic and ridiculous. The original article that “Carter” submitted painted DSA members as a bunch of pathetically silly hipsters, and Quillette added details to make them look even sillier.

The writer told Jacobin, “I chose Quillette because they would have a lower standard of proof…. Some of the conservative, reactionary critiques I included because I believed Quillette would publish it.”

The Illinois resident agreed to a phone interview with Jacobin on condition of anonymity, although Jacobin verified “Carter’s” real identity.

Before Quillette removed the article from its website, some readers found it suspicious — especially the “Marxist-Leninist-Alinskyite” part. Right-wing media can be notoriously gullible, as evidenced by the fact that Quillette was so quick to believe “Carter’s” fabrications. But the idea that a hardcore Marxist-Leninist would also be a disciple of the late community organizer Saul Alinsky is ludicrous, even by right-wing media standards. The writer set out to make right-wing media look bad, and Quilette was more than happy to take the bait.

“My hope is that it does damage right-wing credibility,” the Illinois resident told Jacobin.