The Democratic party is a progressive party,” Elizabeth Warren’s official account tweeted last week, “even if there are a lot of people on the #DemDebate stage who don’t want to say so.” It was a jab at all the other Democratic candidates except for Bernie Sanders. And it’s easy to imagine Senator Sanders’ supporters “liking” that message.
But that’s not what happened.
The first response came one minute later from an account called @AmazingBernie, and it featured a photoshopped image of Senator Warren’s head on the body of a snake. Soon dozens of replies from Sanders supporters piled on top. “You’re a pathological liar,” wrote someone named Paul. “Go away Republican,” tweeted Robin. “YOU ARE NOT A PROGRESSIVE!” thundered an account named “I’m 1 of the Squad.”