As online misinformation about fraud soared in the run-up to the US elections, election officials face challenges to debunk the lies and maintain voter confidence in the run-up to Election Day on Tuesday the 5th of November. Not only individuals, but also independent and Republican-affiliated groups and a small number of Democrats are spreading false posts, as well as foreign actors, including Russia, allegedly have circulated fake videos to undermine confidence in the electoral process, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
Misleading content about the upcoming US elections, including hundreds of allegations of electoral irregularities, has received millions of views on social media.
Many of the posts reflect Donald Trump’s false claims of victory in the 2020 elections and suggest that he could be deceived again in the upcoming vote on the 5th of November.
During the recent debate, Trump said he would only accept the results of the 2024 elections if they were “fair and legitimate”, while a CNN/SSRS poll shows that
70% of Americans expect him not to accept the election results if he loses.
This week, Trump himself claimed that fraud is widespread in Pennsylvania, a swing state. The state’s chief election official, Republican Al Schmidt, urged caution and warned voters to be wary of “half-truths” and misinformation circulating on social media.
Other online posts falsely suggest that non-citizens can vote and spread distrust in the counting process.
For example, a fabricated video of Haitian citizens voting in Georgia was published. US security officials blamed “Russian influence agents” for the distribution of the video. In another misleading report, a picture of a Canadian voting in the Florida elections was published on X, which was also found to be fake and linked to the extreme news platform 4chan.
In addition, a video from Pennsylvania showing a man delivering a container of ballot papers to a courthouse was published on X, which was said to be suspicious. It turned out that he was a postal worker delivering postal ballot papers, which is a common procedure.
Experts say that isolated incidents of ballot fraud and administrative errors always happen in US presidential elections,
which run across all 50 states and in 2020 involved more than 150 million voters.
Real incidents, such as the discovery of dozens of ballot papers in a storm drain in California or the illegal vote of a Chinese student in Michigan, are inflated along with false claims online, thus feeding conspiracy theories about “rigged” elections.
While the authorities stress that these incidents are proof of electoral security measures, as all real irregularities are recorded and investigated, online disinformation undermines public confidence in democracy by attracting those who want to question the integrity of elections, said Luis Lozada, head of Democracy Works.
Disinformation about the elections is expected to continue beyond election day, with the Department of Homeland Security warning on Monday that conspiracy theories could fuel extremism in the country.
Polls suggest that the election will be one of the closest in modern US history and that it could take several days to count all the votes and determine the winner.
Despite this “ecosystem of distrust”, Luis Lozada of Democracy Works argues that “truthful information is being disseminated”, noting that election officials remain committed to ensuring a fair electoral process.