Trump or Marin Buzzfeed quiz is memory-holed

A Buzzfeed quiz that had asked readers to guess whether certain outrageous things were done by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump or Ontario-ombudsman-turned-PC-candidate André Marin was removed from the Internet, but not before it was promoted by the Ontario Liberal Party.

The Ontario Liberal Party had been circulating it online via Twitter.

Can you guess who did it? Take the Official @Ont_AndreMarin or Donald Trump Quiz here: https://t.co/kB6uyntoud

— OntarioLiberal Party (@OntLiberal) November 7, 2016

The quiz was under the Buzzfeed Community umbrella, which means it was created by a member of the public, not Buzzfeed staff. The site's guidelines specifically ask corporations and people with overt political agendas  to refrain  from creating posts and quizzes, warning such posts will be deleted. They say the site is meant for "insights into identity and fandom, personality quizzes, and the occasional ode to Benedict Cumberbatch."

The quiz was taken down from the site Monday, because it was in violation of the guidelines, according to a Buzzfeed spokesperson.

The quiz had highlighted some of the allegations made against Marin during his tenure as Ontario ombudsman, but mixed them in with some of the racist and sexist things Trump has said and done — and which Marin has never been accused of doing.

Here are the quiz questions and answers:

1. He is known for his meltdowns on social media, and his outbursts have been mocked by journalists. (Answer: Both)
2. His former staff have complained that they were ordered to watch his maid while she cleaned his condo. (Answer: Marin)
3. He likes to rate women by number using a scale of 10. (Answer: Trump)
4. In 2010, a number of his staff filed an official complaint claiming that he created a culture of fear and harassment at the workplace. (Answer: Marin)
5. He has openly stated that illegal immigrants who are Hispanic are rapists and criminals. (Answer: Trump)
6. A report published in 2006 stated that he created a dysfunctional workplace which led to 150 staff departures. (Answer: Marin)
7. He likes to shame women, and has called many high profile models and actresses fat. (Answer: Trump)

The quiz isn't the only new-media attack the Ontario Liberal Party has used in the byelections. It has also been tweeting a series of questions to ask Sam Oosterhoff about his socially conservative beliefs, as Oosterhoff had been ducking the Queen's Park media. Oosterhoff engaged in his first press gallery scrum Monday evening, but the Liberal account continued to tweet its questions Tuesday.

10 Questions to Tweet at @samoosterhoff as He Refuses to Speak to Media #onpoli

— OntarioLiberal Party (@OntLiberal) November 8, 2016

Meanwhile, Marin hit back at the Liberals in an email to PC supporters that said his time as ombudsman is what prompted him to run for the PCs, and take a stand against the Liberal government.

"I’m an anti-corruption and ethics expert and this is one of the most unscrupulous and unethical governments in Ontario’s history. It’s one of the worst cases I’ve seen in my career," the mailer says. "I thought I saw rock bottom when I was an Ombudsman. Not even close, [NAME]. The CEO of the Ontario Liberal Party and another Liberal operative were recently charged with bribery. This is why I put my name forward. Ontarians expect better of their government than this — I want to help deliver better."

In an interview with QP Briefing earlier in the campaign, Marin had separated his impartial work as Ombudsman from his partisan role as a political candidate.