The Conversation (0)
Sinead Butler
Apr 20, 2021
Trump loyalist and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was left red-faced during his livestream to launch his “free speech” focused social media platform called Frank - after getting targeted by two prank callers.
Lindell who was hosting the two-day “Frankathon” livestream decided to take live calls on his phone - a decision he would later regret.
It seems some managed to slip through the screening process undetected as one prank caller who claimed to be former PresidentDonald Trump and another who said they were a reporter from The Wall Street Journal managed to get on the air.
The first caller from the “reporter” was clearly a prank call when they began to tell a fabricated story about a colleague dying of a drug overdose, Lindell abruptly hung up on the caller.
“This is a prank call. This is a prank call,” Lindell shouted.
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“Do you see what they’re doing, everybody? Do you see what they’re doing, everybody? That was an attack there.”
Later on in the livestream, the screener broke the “breaking news” to Lindell that that Donald Trump was on the line and ready to talk on the air.
“Hello everyone,” a recording of Trump played, duping the live stream host.
“We have the president here, our real president, everyone,” an excited Mr Lindell said. “Hello, Mr. President.”
The prankster then revealed himself by shouting expletives down the phone, causing an embarrassed Lindell to abruptly cut the call.
“You see what they’re doing?” Mr Lindell responded. “They’re attacking us.”
A paranoid Lindell also declared it was proof that “they” are “hacking into our phones,” …without any concrete proof to back up this claim.
Last week, Lindell announced plans to launch social media network, Frank after being banned from Twitter for spreading conspiracy theories about last year’s election results. He said he’s been working on the website for the past four years.
The Trump loyalist also funded many of Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the election.
In February of this year, he was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for promoting unproven claims that its machines were used to help President Biden steal last year’s election from Trump.
Dominion Voting Systems is seeking damages of $1.3 billion.
MyPillow Inc. - where Lindell is founder and CEO - is now countersuing Dominion Voting Systems for defamation and seeking more than $1.6 billion in damages over his unproven claims.