Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1253IR // #c1253Verbatim excerpt
"Our vote model isn’t the kind of thing that you can share with a media outlet. They’d assume that our analysis is just spin." "Via my own Twitter account. Fight fire with fire; fight tweets with tweets. Strike first, on truth’s side."

— Source: This Is the Plan (Ben Wikler)

[Use when]

You know something true before the official source confirms it and a false claim is about to fill the gap.

[Why it matters]

On the morning after the 2020 election, Wikler expected Trump to declare victory early. He called Wisconsin for Biden first, on his own name, based on the party's model. Twitter flagged the post as disputed. The call turned out to be correct.

Filed under situations:When you need a yes and they’re not there yetWhen you must decide and the facts aren’t in

More from This Is the Plan

#c1233"Here’s the operating principle: All other things being equal, you’ll be most persuasive to the people with whom you have the closest…You want to change minds and are about to start with the widest, least personal channel available. #c1234"Keep a CONSTANT WATCH on the DOUBTFUL VOTERS, and from time to time have them TALKED TO by those IN WHOM THEY HAVE THE MOST CONFIDENCE."You need to win over a wavering group and are deciding who should deliver the message. #c1235"Whenever a new way to reach someone unsolicitedly and cheaply pops into existence—mail, texts, Facebook messages—it has a brief twinkling…Your team is excited about a new cheap outreach channel because early numbers look great.

Same situation, different book

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