Why We Vote Ep. 124: Inside the ActBlue Smurfing Scandal with The Protagonist and Tino Bambino

In this powerful and eye-opening episode of Why We Vote, hosts CannCon and Ashe in America are joined by special guests Kayla (The Protagonist) and Tino Bambino for an in-depth investigation into political money laundering, digital identity theft, and the systemic manipulation of U.S. elections. The duo shares their firsthand experience working on a nationwide citizen journalist operation initially launched under the O’Keefe Media Group, uncovering how elderly Americans, many unaware, are having their identities hijacked to funnel millions through platforms like ActBlue.

Tino recounts his fieldwork confronting a supposed top donor in Colorado, revealing a woman living in a retirement home who had no idea over $200,000 was attributed to her name. Kayla outlines the scale and method of the fraud, from addictive Facebook donation prompts to absurd levels of micro-transactions used to fabricate donor data. Together, they explain how this scheme, dubbed "smurfing", violates multiple federal statutes, yet continues unchecked.

But the bombshells don’t stop there. The guests drop insight on WinRed’s similar tactics, the bipartisan nature of political laundering, and how NGOs are complicit in exploiting migrant crises for cash and influence. From fake grassroots narratives to taxpayer-funded digital pipelines, this episode exposes the tangled web of corruption fueling America’s controlled opposition, and why citizen journalism might be our last line of defense.

Packed with footage, field reports, and a healthy dose of righteous outrage, this episode is a must-watch for anyone who still believes your vote, and your name, should belong to you.