About this episode

The episode discusses how sexual assault allegations have impacted political races across the U.S., focusing on specific candidates and the role of social media in amplifying these issues.

Sexual assault allegations have upended high-profile political campaigns across the country. This week, Democrat Graham Platner, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, suspended his campaign following an accusation of rape. It comes months after former East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell’s California gubernatorial bid collapsed under similar allegations. Now, a sexual assault allegation has emerged against Manny Yekutiel, owner of Manny’s Café and candidate for San Francisco’s District 8 supervisor. KQED’s Lesley McClurg and Sydney Johnson discuss the fallout. Then, Lesley talks with Hannah Wiley, senior politics reporter at the San Francisco Standard. She recently profiled the 29-year-old Californian who’s played a role in toppling the campaigns of Swalwell and Platner. Cheyenne Hunt is using social media to amplify allegations against men and is connecting accusers with lawyers and reporters. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Lesley McClurg, Sydney Johnson

Guest: Hannah Wiley

Topics covered

• sexual assault allegations
• political campaigns
• California politics
• Maine politics
• social media activism

Keywords

• sexual assault
• political races
• Graham Platner
• Eric Swalwell
• Manny Yekutiel
• social media
• Hannah Wiley

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: San Francisco Standard, KQED

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