Catturd
{{Short description|American Twitter user (born 1964)}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Unreliable sources|date=July 2024}}
{{Overly detailed|date=May 2025}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Catturd
| birth_name = Phillip Buchanan
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|9|18}}
| movement = {{ubl|
}}
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- {{Marriage||1986|1988|end=annulled}}
- {{Marriage|||1991|end=div}}
- {{Marriage|||2002|end=div}}
}}
}}
Catturd (born September 18, 1964) is the online identity of right-wing{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=David |date=August 10, 2022 |title=Trump Is Peddling a Conspiracy the FBI Planted Evidence at Mar-a-Lago |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/trump-fbi-mar-a-lago-planted-evidence-conspiracy/ |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064452/https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkgapy/trump-fbi-mar-a-lago-planted-evidence-conspiracy |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Joshi |first=Ketan |date=January 18, 2023 |title=The Dawn of Gas Stove Denialism |magazine=The New Republic |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/170045/gas-stove-asthma-cancer-denialism |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218065955/https://newrepublic.com/article/170045/gas-stove-asthma-cancer-denialism |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Li |first=E. Rosalie |others=Research contributions from Alex Kaplan |date=December 10, 2021 |title=Twitter has allowed one user to manipulate the platform by coordinating over 40 hashtags, seemingly in violation of policy |work=Media Matters |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/twitter-has-allowed-one-user-manipulate-platform-coordinating-over-40-hashtags-seemingly |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064455/https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/twitter-has-allowed-one-user-manipulate-platform-coordinating-over-40-hashtags-seemingly |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Tabahriti |first=Sam |date=October 30, 2022 |title=Joe Rogan praises Elon Musk for wanting to bring a 'reasonable exchange of ideas' back to Twitter |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-rogan-musk-wants-reasonable-exchange-ideas-back-on-twitter-2022-10 |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064505/https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-rogan-musk-wants-reasonable-exchange-ideas-back-on-twitter-2022-10 |url-status=live }} American Twitter shitposter and Internet troll Phillip Buchanan.{{cite web |title=Here are the right-wing figures who demanded Elon Musk reinstate a Twitter conspiracy theorist who posted child sexual abuse imagery |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/here-are-right-wing-figures-who-demanded-elon-musk-reinstate-twitter |website=Media Matters for America |access-date=October 20, 2023 |language=en |date=July 28, 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Goforth |first1=Claire |title=Twitter icon Catturd, a Trump favorite, revealed |url=https://www.dailydot.com/news/who-is-catturd/ |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=October 20, 2023 |date=July 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725112221/www.dailydot.com/news/who-is-catturd/ |archive-date=July 25, 2023 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=David |date=February 27, 2023 |title=The Far Right Wants You to Think Ukraine's War Is Staged: 'It Is Clearly a Psyop' |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/far-right-conspiracy-theory-wants-you-to-think-ukraine-war-staged/ |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327102806/https://www.vice.com/en/article/88qwbx/far-right-conspiracy-theory-wants-you-to-think-ukraine-war-staged |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=David |date=March 27, 2023 |title=QAnon Spent the Weekend Spreading a John Fetterman Body Double Conspiracy Theory |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/qanon-john-fetterman-double-conspiracy/ |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327151221/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3y9q/qanon-john-fetterman-double-conspiracy |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Klee |first=Miles |date=November 14, 2022 |title=Elon Musk Keeps Taking Twitter Advice From Right-Wing Trolls |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-twitter-advice-right-wing-troll-1234630432/ |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211084611/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-twitter-advice-right-wing-troll-1234630432/ |url-status=live }} The account is known for its scatological humor, as well as spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation.{{Cite magazine |last=Thakker |first=Prem |date=May 12, 2023 |title=Elon Musk Is the Only One Happy About New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino |magazine=The New Republic |url=https://newrepublic.com/post/172699/linda-yaccarino-reported-twitter-ceo-right-wing-tendencies |access-date=May 23, 2023 |issn=0028-6583}} Buchanan lives in Wewahitchka, Florida, on a "ranch in the middle of nowhere".{{Cite magazine |last=Klee |first=Miles |date=February 9, 2023 |title=Who Is @Catturd2, the Sh-tposting King of MAGA Twitter? |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/catturd2-maga-twitter-shitposting-king-1234674671/ |access-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216142629/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/catturd2-maga-twitter-shitposting-king-1234674671/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Electronic Articles of Organization For CATTURD, LLC |url=https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2019%5C1119%5C30458363.tif&documentNumber=L19000276239 |publisher=Florida Division of Corporations |access-date=November 17, 2023}}
Personal life
Buchanan was born on September 18, 1964.catturd tweeted that in 1969, he was 5 years old, and in a separate tweet on September 18, 2022, requested a birthday hashtag trend.
- {{Cite tweet |number=1509338433600335873 |user=catturd2 |title=I was 5-years-old in 1969 ...if I would've told my father my kindergarten teacher was talking to me about sex - lord help them and have mercy upon their soul. |date=March 30, 2022 |access-date=February 17, 2023}}
- {{Cite tweet |number=1571440550305300480 |user=catturd2 |title=Good morning to everyone - all I want for my birthday is to trend #HappyBirthdayCatturd. That would really trigger the Left - lol. |date=September 18, 2022 |access-date=February 17, 2023}} He is thrice-divorced. He married his first wife, whom he met at a gym when she was 19 and he was in his early 20s, in September 1986. The marriage was annulled in 1988. By 1991, Buchanan had married and divorced another woman. His third marriage happened a few years later, while he was working at a post office and pursuing music. They separated around 1998 and divorced in 2002.
According to Buchanan, he has experienced homelessness and struggled with alcoholism. He decided to join social media at the age of 54 for an "artistic outlet" after losing the ability to play guitar due to developing arthritis in his fingers.{{cite tweet|user=catturd2|number=1681661219608903680|title=At the age of 54, I decided to join social media for the first time because I suddenly got arthritis in my fingers where I lost the ability to play guitar. I was lost again and needed some kind of artistic outlet.|access-date=December 18, 2024}}
Buchanan said he served in the United States Army. In the 1990s, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and later fronted a band in Tallahassee, Florida.
Online activity
In the 2010s, Buchanan began posting on Disqus under stories from websites such as Breitbart News.{{Dubious|date=February 2023|reason=The Rolling Stone article does not concretely say that this was the same person, though they say it was "almost certainly" him.}} The Twitter handle @catturd had been taken in 2010, and Catturd denied being the poster of the suspended account @CATTURD1. @catturd2 was created in September 2018, receiving retweets from Jack Posobiec. Over a year later, his account had over 100,000 followers, and half a million by the end of 2020. Donald Trump retweeted Catturd seven times. Media Matters for America accused Buchanan of violating Twitter's platform manipulation policy, attempting to boost hashtags into the trending topics list.
When Elon Musk acquired Twitter, Buchanan was enthusiastic about the purchase; the two had also previously replied to each other on the platform.{{Cite news |last=Hounshell |first=Blake |date=November 4, 2022 |title=What Twitter's Shake-Up Could Mean: Midterm Misinformation Run Amok |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/us/politics/twitter-midterms-misinformation.html |access-date=February 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064452/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/us/politics/twitter-midterms-misinformation.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Hoard |first1=Charis |last2=McCabe |first2=Audrey |last3=Seavey |first3=Ruby |others=Research contributed by Carly Evans and Kayla Gogarty |date=December 15, 2022 |title=Elon Musk continues to cater to far-right Twitter accounts promoting bigotry, extremism, and misinformation |work=Media Matters |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/elon-musk-continues-cater-far-right-twitter-accounts-promoting-bigotry-extremism-and |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064453/https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/elon-musk-continues-cater-far-right-twitter-accounts-promoting-bigotry-extremism-and |url-status=live }} Buchanan praised Musk for plans to scale back Twitter's content moderation,{{Cite web |last=Griffing |first=Alex |date=March 30, 2023 |title=Elon Musk Confidant 'Catturd' Turns on Twitter Boss |url=https://www.mediaite.com/politics/elon-musk-confidante-catturd-turns-on-twitter-bosss-paid-verification-plan-angered-by-recent-ban/ |access-date=April 22, 2023 |website=Mediaite}} but said his account remained shadowbanned even after the purchase. Musk reached out personally to provide support.{{Cite news |last=Binder |first=Matt |date=October 28, 2022 |title='Chief Twit' Elon Musk's first act: Personal customer support for right-wing trolls |work=Mashable |url=https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-right-wing-twitter-cat-turd |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064452/https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-right-wing-twitter-cat-turd |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=January 17, 2023 |title=Elon Musk Can't Solve Twitter's 'Shadowbanning' Problem |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/twitter-shadow-ban-transparency-algorithm-suppression/672736/ |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064453/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/twitter-shadow-ban-transparency-algorithm-suppression/672736/ |url-status=live }} Later on, Buchanan tweeted that he was "100% wrong about [Elon Musk] changing Twitter."{{Cite news |last=Baragona |first=Justin |date=November 2, 2022 |title=Sorry, Elon! Catturd Turns on Musk, Admits to Being '100% Wrong' About Him |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/catturd-turns-on-elon-musk-admits-to-being-100-wrong-about-him?ref=home |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064452/https://www.thedailybeast.com/catturd-turns-on-elon-musk-admits-to-being-100-wrong-about-him?ref=home |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Binder |first=Matt |date=November 2, 2022 |title=Elon Musk has owned Twitter for less than a week. Conservatives are already canceling him. |work=Mashable |url=https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-angers-conservatives-twitter-already |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218064452/https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-angers-conservatives-twitter-already |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Massie |first=Graeme |date=November 4, 2022 |title='Catturd' Twitter account highlighted by Elon Musk turns on Tesla billionaire |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/twitter-catturd-account-elon-musk-b2217446.html |access-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218070007/https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/twitter-catturd-account-elon-musk-b2217446.html |url-status=live }} In March 2023, leaked internal documents from Twitter revealed that Catturd was among a handful of accounts having their reach artificially inflated by Twitter under Musk.{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-boosting-views-vips-elon-musk-aoc-2023-3 |title=Twitter is secretly boosting 35 VIP users including Lebron James, AOC, catturd2, and Ben Shapiro: report |date=March 28, 2023 |work=Business Insider |first=Aditi |last=Bharade |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328100930/https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-boosting-views-vips-elon-musk-aoc-2023-3 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/twitter-vip-list-boosted-tweets-report-1234704651/ |title=Twitter's Secret VIP List Is Getting Preferential Treatment: Report |date=March 28, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |first=Charisma |last=Madarang |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328100929/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/twitter-vip-list-boosted-tweets-report-1234704651/ |url-status=live }}
The same month, Buchanan conducted a Twitter poll of a hypothetical 2024 Republican presidential primary between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, showing Trump winning 69%. This poll was presented by Trump at a rally and by Trump-affiliated super PAC MAGA Inc. on Twitter.{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-team-touts-catturd2-twitter-poll-showing-lead-desantis-2023-3 |title=Trump touts Twitter poll from '@catturd2' showing him with a big lead over Ron DeSantis |date=March 28, 2023 |work=Business Insider |first=Sonam |last=Sheth |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328100930/https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-team-touts-catturd2-twitter-poll-showing-lead-desantis-2023-3 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|last=Fung|first=Katherine|date=November 17, 2023|url=https://www.newsweek.com/catturd-only-voting-donald-trump-no-other-republicans-2024-1844460|title=King of MAGA Twitter Turns on Republicans|work=Newsweek|access-date=October 15, 2024}}
References
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