DC Bumble Users are Using the App to Turn in Capitol Rioters

Some female Bumble app users are purposely matching with Trump supporters to identify participants in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and then promptly turning them into the FBI.

One Twitter user posted that she had seen dozens of rioters using dating apps in the DC area and wondered whether it would be useful to law enforcement to gather evidence from these platforms. Immigration Attorney Allison Norris responded, saying her friend was already collecting evidence against them: "She's matching with MAGA bros and they’re bragging and sending her pics and videos of them in the Capitol," she tweeted. “She's sending them to the FBI." 

So many people were outraged by the attack that they have become amateur sleuths, turning to the Internet to identify participants, including using dating apps as a catfishing tool, according to Distractify. On Bumble, these users switched their political profile leaning to “conservative” in order to match with MAGA users, the acronym for Trump supporters. These users then pretended to be interested in the riots and asked their matches if they could show proof that they were there as a way to lure them into a date. Once they had the incriminating information, they handed over the evidence to the FBI.

Many of the insurrectionists took pictures and video when they scaled walls, pushed past barriers, and fought Capitol police to break into the building, pleased that they were able to get past security and roam the halls and chambers of lawmakers so freely. What began as a protest escalated quickly to violence, putting Congressmembers at risk for their lives. Five people died as a result of the violent attack. 

While the FBI has ramped up its investigation in the past week, many participants have removed evidence of their own participation from social media but are still willing to share them privately with their dates. 

In addition, people are searching the web for scrubbed images to give to the FBI in the hopes of tracking down everyone involved. 

Bumble and Tinder have both stated that they are banning user accounts that display any content showing images or descriptions of participation in the Capitol riots. "Where our AI technology flags photos, hate symbols or text content that promotes the insurrection or related activities, those are removed, with repeated offenses or more extreme content resulting in a user being banned," a Bumble spokesperson told SFGATE.  

At the same time, early on January 15th, Bumble announced that it was removing the political filter from its app in order to “prevent misuse” in light of the catfishing tactics of users eager to identify and turn in rioters, according to San Francisco Gate. 

However, just a few hours later, Bumble reinstated the feature.