As Election Day approaches, social media is flooded with users looking for evidence of election fraud. Some of these false claims are poised to become the basis for Republican lawsuits challenging the results if former President Donald Trump loses.

One centerpiece of these efforts is the “Election Integrity Community” on ”

The news feed is full of unconfirmed claims and rumors. A video of a Republican poll watcher falsely suggesting that non-citizens can vote as long as they can show a driver’s license has been viewed more than a million times. Other users were suspicious when told by election officials to put their ballots in the ballot boxes. The subject of unfounded conspiracy theories since 2020. There are numerous posts in Georgia and elsewhere claiming that voting machines changed votes. Georgian foreign minister and the manufacturer denied it.

“What we’re seeing is a kind of motivated misinterpretation by people who are already skeptical about whether the election is trustworthy — in some cases some of their favorite candidates have said we can’t trust them,” said Kate Starbird, a University of Washington professor and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public, which tracks election rumors. “The results… “If this candidate doesn’t win,” he said.

Viral false claims could spark lawsuits

Although people collected evidence of alleged fraud during the 2020 election, those who might challenge the election results are more ready to take advantage of the material this time around, Starbird said.

“There are lawyers who are prepared to take these rumors, misperceptions, misinterpretations, turn them into affidavits on Election Day or in the days following, and use that to either challenge whether certain votes were counted in certain places… Starbird said, “To pressure election officials and others not to certify the results.” to work,” he said.

Researchers and election officials say one of the most prominent narratives circulating this year is the false claim that noncitizens vote or are allowed to vote in federal elections, giving Democrats an unfair advantage in what is expected to be a very tight race.

This baseless narrative has emerged as the main focus of Republicans’ efforts to lay the groundwork for challenging the election results if Trump loses. Election law experts say. States cited this as justification for attempting to remove people from the lists. Thousands of eligible voters in Alabama fell prey to such an effort, according to court records. eligible voters in texas And Virginia happened removed Although the total number affected is not yet clear.

It’s not just the votes of naturalized citizens that are being called into question with baseless allegations. Rightmost exit Gateway Expert He claimed that the methods used by some members of the military and Americans living abroad to vote were vulnerable to hacking, and accused Democrats are using overseas ballots to invent votes.

These rumors also appeared and were debunked in 2020. The video that Gateway Pundit cited as evidence was actually part of an incident. Iranian influence the operation called out by the Ministry of Justice in 2021.

But Trump recently reiterated false claim On the Truth Social platform. Republicans have filed lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of some votes cast by U.S. citizens living abroad, but those challenges have not been successful.

Misinterpreting real-life events, viewing routine tasks as suspicious

Many other false narratives about voting are also recycled from years past. Rumors that voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems were flipping votes have spread on social media in recent days. This company became the target of conspiracy theories in 2020, and ultimately $787 million defamation lawsuit by Fox News and numerous ongoing lawsuits.

Posts blaming the company claimed that the poster, or a friend or relative, was ultimately able to vote however they wanted when they realized that the ballot paper output from the machine did not match the candidate they chose.

But although voters were able to choose their preferred candidates, there were also high-profile names among them. Representative Marjorie Taylor GreeneR-Ga., who regularly echoes conspiratorial narratives, continued to amplify the charge that Dominion machines may be changing votes.

In statements to NPR, Dominion Voting Systems said its machines did not change any votes and the page on it Website titled “Setting the Record Out” that addresses widespread rumors about the company.

Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP via Getty Images

Other lies that were easily dispelled quickly went viral. Republican activist Cliff Maloney, who organized door knockers in Pennsylvania to get Republicans to vote early, said one of his contacts identified 53 voters. enrolled in a monastery It’s in Erie County, where no one lives as the link claims. The monastery, which actually hosted more than 50 nuns, was quickly extinguished a response corrects claim and CNN spoke with sisters who are registered voters listed.

But Maloney’s response to the fact check was to double down on his claim. “WRONG,” he wrote to X. Musk, the site’s owner, amplified Maloney’s initial claim, but there is no indication that he, too, shared the fact checks.

Ignoring checks and implemented solutions is another common theme of those trying to cast doubt on election results, University of Washington researchers wrote in an article. September blog post.

High voltage encourages high attention

Concerns about the polls have also resurfaced, with both parties telling their supporters to vote early. Mailboxes opened in three states set on fire. Starbird noted that rumors began to circulate about the incidents, but said they were missing a larger point beyond isolated incidents of stolen ballots.

“This is really problematic for individuals, but it’s unlikely to change the election results,” he said, noting that one of the rhetorical strategies of election deniers is to exaggerate the impact of events.

Starbird worries about how bad it is to be constantly vigilant against voter fraud in a country that has been riddled for years with Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him in 2020; It’s a worldview embraced by many Republicans and demoralizing many Americans. trust the vote.

“At best, what this can do is identify problems quickly so election officials can fix them. That’s what we want,” he said. “The worst thing is when these events get wrapped up in these kinds of false narratives, they get reinforced, and people start to lose trust in the process.”

Starbird said this, too, “can distract election workers and election officials from the real problems.”

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