Turning Point Action (TPA) is an American 501(c)(4) organization, which by law can campaign either for or against candidates running for office. It is an affiliate and the political advocacy arm of the conservative 501(c)(3) Turning Point USA, both founded by Charlie Kirk.[1]
In July 2019, TPA acquired leasing rights to the web domains and social media platforms of Students for Trump, which had been founded in 2015 by John Lambert and Ryan Fournier.
In May 2019, it was reported that Kirk was "preparing to unveil" Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) entity allowed to campaign against Democrats.[2] While the group claims to be a "completely separate organization" from Turning Point USA, Forbes noted that both were founded by Kirk and use common marketing and branding styles.[3] Kirk has received pay from both Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action.[4]
In July 2019, TPA acquired leasing rights to web domains and social media platforms of Students for Trump, a youth group founded in 2015 at Campbell University in North Carolina by John Lambert and Ryan Fournier.[5][6][1] The Washington Post reported in 2023 that Students for Trump was separating from Turning Point organizations after disputes such as whether to drop "Trump" from the group's name.[1]
In September 2020, The Washington Post reported Turning Point Action had paid young people in Arizona, some of them minors, to post Turning Point content on their social media accounts without disclosing their affiliation with Turning Point, and that Turning Point had given them instructions on making minor alterations to the content to prevent detection that it came from the same source. The posts cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process, and downplayed the threat from COVID-19.[7] The campaign was likened to a "troll farm", avoiding the content moderation processes of social media platforms.[8] According to an examination by the newspaper and an independent data science specialist, the campaign was highly coordinated and included similar messaging under the instruction of Turning Point to prevent detection. Some of the messages were false and some were partisan.[7] One message posted on Twitter claimed that coronavirus numbers had been inflated intentionally and "it's hard to know what to believe", according to The Washington Post. Another tweet warned to not trust Anthony Fauci.[7] Twitter responded to the newspaper's questions by suspending at least 20 accounts for their involvement in "platform manipulation and spam."[9][10]
On Facebook, a comment cast doubts on mail-in ballots because of the potential of mail fraud.[7] An Instagram comment claimed that 28 million ballots went missing in the past four elections, implying voter fraud.[7] In actuality, the missing ballots were neither returned as undeliverable nor returned by voters.[11] Also targeted in the messaging were 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, other Democratic politicians, and news organizations on social media. One message claimed that Biden "is being controlled by behind the scenes individuals who want to take America down the dangerous path towards socialism."[7] Facebook removed a number of accounts during its ongoing investigation.[7][10] Austin Smith, a field director for Turning Point, told The Washington Post: "This is sincere political activism conducted by real people who passionately hold the beliefs they describe online, not an anonymous troll farm in Russia." Jake Hoffman, CEO of a Phoenix-based digital marketing firm that joined Turning Point for the project, said that "dozens of young people have been excited to share their beliefs on social media" and were "using their own personal profiles and sharing their content that reflects their values and beliefs."[9][7]
After the 2020 election, Kirk disputed the results and denied that Trump had lost.[12] On January 4, 2021, Kirk announced in a tweet that Turning Point Action would be sending more than 80 buses to a January 6, 2021, Trump "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House in Washington, D.C, to protest the outcome of the election.[13][14][15] They sent seven buses with approximately 350 participants.[13] Turning Point Action also funneled money to several "Stop the Steal" rally speakers, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, but did not organize or take part in the march to the Capitol that erupted in violence.[16][17] The rally, which was attended by several thousand Trump supporters, ended in a riot and the attack at the U.S. Capitol, where Biden's win was about to be certified.[14] Kirk later deleted the tweet[15] and said on his podcast that it was "bad judgment" and "not wise" to enter the Capitol but not necessarily insurrectionist.[18] A Turning Point Action spokesman later said the group condemns political violence.[14]
In 2021, Turning Point Action questioned the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and started a campaign against college campus' requirements for student vaccinations.[19][20][21]
TPA hosted a conference in July 2023 called "ACTCON",[22] it was hosted in West Palm Beach and drew roughly around 6,000 attendees.[23] It had several guest speakers including the event headliner Donald Trump and keynote speaker Tucker Carlson. According to the New York Times, the two day event drew roughly a third of the Republican presidential field as speakers.[24] [25]
In April 2024, Arizona state representative Austin Smith who was an "election integrity warrior" and the TPA National Field Administrative Director resigned his TPA position and quit his state reelection race after he was accused of forging voter signatures on documents he filed for his reelection run.[26][27]