This week, news reports broke the story that Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, had made a number of inflammatory comments on the chat forum of a porn web site, including calling himself “the Black Hitler.”

That would be bad enough for any politician, but Robinson’s comments were often diametrically opposed to the extremely conservative, anti-abortion, anti-transgender stance he has taken as a politician. Following this revelation, most of his campaign staff and staff in his current role as lieutenant governor have resigned, though Robinson says he intends to continue in the race.

How was this discovered? Turns out Robinson had used the same user IDs across social media, as well as using his real name and address. Yet, Robinson denies the charges, saying these were AI-generated and not real—in spite of the fact that many of the comments were made before today’s AI tools were released.

In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that anyone—let alone a politician running for office—wouldn’t know that everything we say and do online is recorded somewhere. This includes things you said or did before you entered the public sphere. As I’ve told clients for years, the web is enduring, not endearing. Once something is out there, it’s almost impossible to make it totally go away.

Robinson was significantly behind the Democratic candidate before these revelations were made public. While it was unlikely he’d win before, now his chances for victory are practically nonexistent.

Meanwhile, there’s a lesson for the rest of us. Be wary of what you say or do online. Very few online forums are really, truly private. Presume everything you do is recorded and someone out there will be watching what you say and do—if not now, in the future.

Someone is always watching. Act accordingly!

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