Claims of voter fraud flooded social media ahead of the US election

Rumors, misleading allegations and outright lies about voting and fraud are flooding the internet in unprecedented numbers before a US election.

Hundreds of incidents involving alleged absentee voting irregularities are being collected and distributed by individuals, as well as independent and Republican-affiliated groups. A small number of posts also come from Democrats.

The US government also accused foreign actors, including Russia, of spreading fake videos to undermine confidence in the election process.

A storm of misinformation spreading online is challenging election officials who must dispel rumors and reassure voters, as they prepare to handle Tuesday’s election day.

Many documents alleging election irregularities support the Trump campaign’s false claim that the former president won the 2020 election and suggestions that he may be rigged and not win again on November 5.

When asked if he would accept the result of the 2024 election, Donald Trump said during a presidential debate in September that he would if it was a “fair and legitimate and fair election”.

A majority of Americans – 70% – expect not to accept the result if he loses, according to a CNN/SSRS poll released Monday.

Just this week, Trump himself said that widespread fraud is an important situation.

“Pennsylvania is cheating, and being caught, at unprecedented levels,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social network. “REPORT TO THE COLLECTING AUTHORITIES. Law enforcement must act, NOW!”

The allegations come after officials in three Pennsylvania counties said they were working with law enforcement to investigate voter registration applications for possible fraud.

While Trump and allies held the announcements, the state’s top elections official, Republican Al Schmidt, urged caution and warned voters to be aware of “half-truths” and misinformation being spread on social media.

“This is a sign that the safeguards built into our voter registration system are working,” he said.

The BBC has seen hundreds of allegations of electoral fraud online, on social media and on message boards and chat groups. Some of these posts have been viewed millions of times each.

The post revealed that it is easy for non-citizens to vote, make false claims about voting machines and sow dishonesty in the vote counting process.

One video purportedly shows newly arrived Haitians voting in Georgia.

The BBC found clear clues, including fake addresses and stock footage, that the video was fake. On Friday, US security officials said made by “Russian actors of influence”.

Another person on X who claims to be Canadian posted a photo of the vote and said: “Thought I’d cross the border to vote.”

It’s also fake, and part of a coordinated effort on the 4chan message board. The vote shown is from Florida, a state that requires identification to vote in person and is about 20 hours from the Canadian border.

Meanwhile in Northhampton County, Pennsylvania, a video was posted on X showing a man dropping a ballot container at the courthouse, suspecting a suspicious act. It turned out he was a postal worker delivering mail-in ballots, but the video was viewed more than five million times.

Experts worry an explosion of disinformation just before election day could undermine public confidence in the results – or lead to threats and violence before and after the election.

It has happened before.

In the hours and days following the 2020 presidential election, while the votes were still being counted, then-President Trump took to social media to accuse him of fraud and lying that he was the winner of the election. “Stop stealing” became the slogan of his supporters’ movement to reject the results.

On social media, on forums and during street protests, conspiracy theorists allege widespread voter corruption, leading to chaos at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Meanwhile, in states like Georgia, election officials – civil servants whose job it is to oversee elections – have faced death threats.

Although false claims about voting increased after the 2020 vote, groups that monitor this type of activity say this year it started well before election day.

Wendy Via, founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), said that some right-wing and far-right activists are “preparing for the election to be stolen in a way that was not there in 2020”.

“We cannot ignore the role of conspiracy theories in all of this,” he said.

This doubt has reached Trump’s supporters on the ground. At a rally this week in Wisconsin, another key state, many people said they believed only illegal activity would prevent the Republican nominee from winning.

“I feel very confident about Trump, as long as there’s no cheating,” said Brad Miller of Green Bay, who said he has heard rumors of fraud. “Our only hope is that it’s not big enough to change the outcome.”

After the 2020 election, dozens of court cases alleging election fraud were filed by Trump’s team in many states, but none were successful.

Experts say that isolated incidents of vote fraud and administrative errors regularly occur in the US presidential election, which is held in all 50 states and in 2020 involved more than 150 million voters.

But real events are now being listed and shared online at an unprecedented rate and are being used, along with fake posts, as evidence of widespread cheating.

In southern California, a large number of votes were found in a storm drain. Despite the unknown circumstances of the event, Internet enthusiasts immediately suspected deliberate fraud.

“THEY ARE GOING TO CHEAT,” said one of the thousands of comments posted.

As the cases have grown in recent days – including those in Pennsylvania and a Chinese student charged with illegal voting in Michigan – authorities have repeatedly pointed to their investigations as examples of the strengthening of election protections.

But those who believe in conspiracy theories about widespread fraud see these incidents as evidence of a concerted effort by Democrats to “rig” the election.

“Look at this new voter fraud,” read a common comment in response to news from Pennsylvania. “The Dems are already doing everything they can to steal another election.”

The overall result could have a negative impact on trust in democracy, experts say.

“These incidents are a pillar for those who want to undermine confidence in the outcome of the election,” said Luis Lozada, CEO of Democracy Works, a non-profit group that disseminates information about voting.

A number of allegations of election fraud that have spread on social media have been aided by a group of suspected groups.

Groups like Texas-based True The Vote, founded in 2009, have long been at the forefront of poll security.

In an app developed by True the Vote called VoteAlert, supporters post examples of alleged election irregularities.

They have collected a number of claims, from poor security monitoring to allegations of deliberate vote tampering. The organization also has people monitoring the live broadcast cameras pointed at the ballot boxes in many states. Many local officials have repeatedly stated the steps they have taken to secure the boxes.

“We hope we don’t see anything in these boxes,” said True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht during one of her recent supporter meetings.

But he also pointed out that groups affiliated with the Democratic Alliance intend to commit electoral fraud on a large scale.

“If they want to try to pull these kinds of things that we saw being pulled in 2020, there is little chance that they will succeed because we have eyes everywhere,” he added.

The BBC has contacted True the Vote for comment.

A number of other teams are asking fans to report suspected irregularities.

Elon Musk’s American political committee has started a community – like a message board – on X, full of rumors and suspicions about voting. With 50,000 members, several posts go up every minute, almost around the clock.

Other efforts include the Election Integrity Network, a group founded by a former Trump attorney that challenges voter registration and the hiring of poll monitors — observers who are team members who go to the polls.

The volume of messages on these forums – and the vagueness of some claims, with often anonymous sources – makes it almost impossible to verify the allegations.

The groups, as well as the Trump campaign, say these efforts are only meant to ensure the integrity of the vote. The BBC has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.

The result of this is unexpected.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a memo reported by American outlets including the BBC’s CBS, said on Monday that election conspiracy theories could trigger actions by domestic extremists.

And observers expect the wave of disinformation to continue after election day. Polls suggest the election will be among the closest in modern US history. It may take days to count all the votes and determine the winner.

Luis Lozada of Democracy Works says the election is being conducted in a “system of distrust”.

But despite the planting of skepticism, he says, “accurate information is coming out”.

“Electoral officials are working hard to ensure that the elections are conducted properly, as was the case in 2020,” said Mr. Lozada. “That won’t stop people from taking anecdotes, and trying to poke holes.”

As reported by BBC Confirm