Vici Media Group

Vici Media Group is a United States political consulting and media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2011, the firm works primarily with conservative candidates, political causes, advocacy organizations, and Republican-aligned groups. Its reported services include campaign branding, website creation, digital communications, and direct-mail design. The company presents itself through an irreverent slogan, “We Kick A**,” in which the profanity is intentionally censored; some versions reportedly use a Democratic donkey in place of the final wordplay. The firm became publicly associated with national Republican politics during the 2016 presidential campaign. According to the company’s Wikipedia profile, Donald Trump’s campaign hired Vici in June 2016 through campaign digital strategist Brad Parscale. Vici was also involved with the 2020 Trump campaign. One widely circulated example of its political creative work appeared in July 2016, when a video responding to Hillary Clinton’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” remark was published on the official Trump Facebook page. The video, titled “Crooked Hillary NO,” became a viral response. The material was not formally attributed to Vici in the post, although its publication on the campaign’s official page was reported as evidence that the campaign had paid for the work. Vici’s client and project history includes conservative and socially conservative organizations such as Live Action, the Texas Federation of Republican Women, Liberty For All PAC, Ohio Right to Life, Texas Right to Life PAC, Texas Pregnancy Care Network, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and Thrive Women’s Clinic. These projects illustrate the firm’s role as a political communications vendor rather than a conventional consumer-facing media brand. Its work has included identity development, advocacy websites, fundraising or persuasion materials, and campaign-facing online content. The firm also attracted attention before the 2020 presidential election for websites that used the names or likenesses of prominent Democratic candidates and presented parody, faux, or adversarial political messaging. Reported examples included JoeBiden.info under the “Biden2020” label, a “Millionaire Bernie” site, ElizabethWarren.co under the heading “Elizabeth Warren for Chief,” a Kamala Harris-related site using the phrase “Kamala Harris for Arresting the People,” and a site associated with Cory Booker. JoeBiden.info reportedly ranked above the official Biden campaign website in Google search results for a period. These projects were part of a broader strategy of using alternative web identities and search visibility to influence how political audiences encountered candidates online. The New York Times traced the sites to Patrick Mauldin through shared analytics tags. Mauldin reportedly requested that he not be identified, while CNBC also discussed the sites without naming him. The Wikipedia account identifies Patrick Mauldin and his brother Ryan Mauldin as the people running Vici Media Group. Patrick Mauldin’s reported Reddit activity included discussion of the sites on r/The_Donald, and his account was later suspended. The company’s public profile is therefore closely tied to highly partisan digital communications, aggressive political branding, and the use of campaign-style content that can blur the line between official advocacy, parody, and disinformation-oriented political messaging.

Vici Media Group was established in 2011 as a political consulting and communications firm based in Austin, Texas. Its reported market is conservative and Republican politics in the United States. Rather than operating as a general-interest advertising agency, Vici has built its profile around election campaigns, political causes, advocacy groups, and organizations associated with socially conservative issues. The firm’s work encompasses several connected parts of political communication. It creates visual identities and campaign branding, builds websites for candidates and causes, prepares direct-mail pieces, and produces digital content intended for social-media circulation. The company’s slogan, “We Kick A**,” reflects the deliberately combative style associated with its public identity. The phrase is censored, and reported variations use a Democratic donkey as part of the visual joke. Vici’s listed projects include work for Live Action, the Texas Federation of Republican Women, Liberty For All PAC, Ohio Right to Life, Texas Right to Life PAC, Texas Pregnancy Care Network, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and Thrive Women’s Clinic. The range of clients indicates a concentration in Republican politics, conservative advocacy, and the pro-life movement. For these organizations, the firm’s role has included presenting policy positions, promoting candidates or causes, and creating online properties designed for fundraising, persuasion, or audience mobilization. The company gained wider attention in 2016 through its reported relationship with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. In June of that year, the campaign reportedly engaged Vici through Brad Parscale. Vici was subsequently associated with the 2020 Trump campaign as well. A notable piece of work from the first campaign was a video responding to Hillary Clinton’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” appeal. The “Crooked Hillary NO” video was published on the official Trump Facebook page and became a popular viral response. Although the post did not attribute the material to Vici or formally endorse it as a Vici production, its placement on the campaign’s official page was treated as an indication of paid campaign involvement. In the period leading into the 2020 presidential election, Vici-related activity moved beyond conventional campaign advertising. Patrick Mauldin created or was connected with a series of websites that used the identities of major Democratic candidates in parody, faux-campaign, or hostile political formats. Examples included JoeBiden.info under a “Biden2020” identity, a “Millionaire Bernie” site, ElizabethWarren.co presented as “Elizabeth Warren for Chief,” and a Kamala Harris site using the phrase “Kamala Harris for Arresting the People.” A further site was associated with Cory Booker. One report stated that JoeBiden.info temporarily appeared higher in Google search results than the official Biden campaign website. The sites generated media scrutiny because their presentation could make it difficult for visitors to distinguish official campaign properties from partisan opposition content. The New York Times reportedly identified a connection to Patrick Mauldin through shared analytics tags. Mauldin asked not to be named, and CNBC likewise did not identify him in its account. His Reddit account was later suspended; before that, he reportedly discussed the sites on r/The_Donald. These events shaped Vici’s public reputation as a political operator using search optimization, imitation campaign identities, and provocative digital tactics. The available public record does not establish a separate corporate parent, public listing, ticker symbol, or consumer product portfolio for Vici Media Group. The company is best understood as a privately held political communications brand whose significance comes from its campaign and advocacy work, especially its digital strategies and its association with Republican and Trump-aligned political messaging.

• 2020

  Association with the 2020 Trump campaign

  [1]Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Vici Media Group was reported as being involved with the Trump campaign during the 2020 presidential election cycle.

• 2020

  Faux Democratic-candidate websites receive media scrutiny

  [1]Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  A group of parody or adversarial websites using the names of prominent Democratic candidates was linked to Patrick Mauldin through shared analytics information.

• 2016

  Reported engagement by the Trump campaign

  [1]Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Trump campaign reportedly hired Vici in June 2016 through Brad Parscale.

• 2016

  “Crooked Hillary NO” campaign video

  [1]Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  A viral video responding to Hillary Clinton’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” remark appeared on the official Trump Facebook page.

• 2011

  Vici Media Group founded

  [1]Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Vici Media Group was established as a political consulting and communications firm in Austin, Texas.

A partisan political communications and consulting firm serving conservative candidates, Republican-aligned campaigns, PACs, and advocacy organizations, with an emphasis on provocative branding, digital distribution, and electoral persuasion.

• Political communications service

  Political campaign branding

  Vici develops visual and verbal identities for candidates, campaigns, political action committees, and advocacy organizations. The work is positioned around partisan persuasion and recognizable campaign presentation rather than consumer branding. Publicly described examples include branding associated with conservative and pro-life causes.

• Digital political communications

  Campaign and advocacy websites

  Website creation is a central part of Vici’s reported offering. The firm has produced or been associated with sites for Republican-aligned candidates, PACs, and advocacy organizations, as well as adversarial or parody properties using the names of opposing political figures.

• Political advertising · 2016

  Digital political content

  The company creates online political messaging, including social-media creative and campaign videos. The “Crooked Hillary NO” video, published on the Trump campaign’s official Facebook page in 2016, is the most prominently reported example.

• 2020Faux Democratic candidate websites

  United States

  Before the 2020 presidential election, Vici personnel were associated with parody or adversarial websites using the names of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker.

  Outcome. The sites received national media attention, and JoeBiden.info reportedly ranked above the official Biden site in Google results for a period.

  Source
• 2016Trump presidential campaign communications

  United States

  Vici was reportedly hired by Donald Trump’s campaign through Brad Parscale and contributed to campaign communications during the 2016 presidential election.

  Source
• 2016“Crooked Hillary NO”

  United States

  The video responded to Hillary Clinton’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” message and was posted on the official Trump Facebook page. It became a widely circulated viral campaign response.

  Outcome. The video achieved substantial online circulation, although the Facebook post did not publicly attribute it to Vici.

  Source

• 2020

  Deploy candidate-themed adversarial websitesStrategy

  Background

  The 2020 presidential contest created a highly competitive online environment in which search visibility and candidate-name recognition could affect how voters encountered political information.

  Action taken

  Patrick Mauldin created or was linked to parody, faux, or hostile websites using the names of prominent Democratic candidates.

  Aftermath

  Media investigations connected the sites through shared analytics tags and highlighted the difficulty of distinguishing official campaign properties from partisan opposition sites.

  Source

• 2016

  Use viral-response video in Trump campaign communicationsOther

  Background

  Hillary Clinton’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” remark created an opportunity for a rapid partisan response during the 2016 presidential campaign.

  Action taken

  A video titled “Crooked Hillary NO” was produced or supplied in connection with Vici and published on the official Trump Facebook page.

  Aftermath

  The video circulated widely online, but the post did not identify Vici as the creator.

  Source

1. 1Vici Media Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Vici Media Group official websitevicimediagroup.com