It appears that CNN reporter Rebecca Buck has caught Rep. Tulsi Gabbard lying about the number of donors she has on her campaign website as she attempts to reach the minimum number ahead of the next debate in September. Earlier today, Gabbard’s website said she was at 128, 408 donors:

Earlier today I checked Tulsi Gabbard’s website, which features a “live” count of their unique campaign donors. Here’s what it looked like about 8 hours ago: pic.twitter.com/FuWuDnq70M — Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) August 2, 2019

This is an important number because qualification for the next debate is at 130,000 donors. Via Vox:

Candidates must meet both a polling and donor threshold: At least 2 percent in four national DNC-approved polls and at least 130,000 unique donors, coming from at least 400 unique donors in 20 or more states.

But hours later, Gabbard’s reported number of donors had dropped to 128,403 donors:

And here is what it looks like now. Thoughts @TulsiGabbard? pic.twitter.com/20EMhs3USz — Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) August 2, 2019

And it’s not just fuzzy math:

I’m no Andrew Yang, but this math seems fuzzy ? — Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) August 2, 2019

According to this, Gabbard’s website is coded to generate a random number that maxes out at 128,453 donors:

The website will also trick you if you donate:

Looks like she has a script that starts at 128,403, and if you stay on the page, it will increment up by 1, to give you the impression that a new donor donated. BUT… if you return to the page, it's start again at 128,403. The number & impression of active donations isn't real — Mic Farris (@MicFarris) August 2, 2019

And the word for this is “scam”:

This is not par for the course with campaign digital. It’s pretty much a scam. — Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) August 3, 2019

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