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N.H. Political Activists Want to Catch a Ride on Pokemon Go's Coattails

The smartphone game Pokémon Go has quickly become one of the most-used apps in the country. Now a political advocacy group in New Hampshire is hoping to coopt some of that enthusiasm.

  By now, you’ve probably heard about the massively popular Pokémon Go smartphone game where players roam the real world looking for virtual critters.

You’ve probably also heard the concerns some have raised about what can happen to you while you play: from getting lost, to trespassing, even being robbed.

Now you can add political solicitation to the list of things that can happen to you while playing. Organizers with the advocacy group NextGen Climate are planting in-game objects around the state this weekend to lure players to them. Kate Corriveau is with NextGen Climate.

“We’re meeting folks where they’re at and doing something that they’re interesting in doing and taking the opportunity to engage with them, if they’re inclined to, on an important issue that’s going to affect them in this election,” says Corriveau.

That means for some unsuspecting Pokemon Go players hoping to find a rare creature this weekend; they might instead find a climate activist holding a clipboard.

Jason Moon is a senior reporter and producer on the Document team. He has created longform narrative podcast series on topics ranging from unsolved murders, to presidential elections, to secret lists of police officers.
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