Brussels Reporter
  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      Raul Castro confirms he’s resigning, ending long era…

      April 16, 2021April 17, 2021

      Europe

      Italy to ease coronavirus restrictions ahead of schedule

      April 16, 2021

      Europe

      New audio app Clubhouse ‘has significant problems with…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

      Europe

      Sweden to ease COVID-19 restrictions for those who’ve…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

      Europe

      China ramps up vaccination drive with free eggs…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business

Brussels Reporter

  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      Raul Castro confirms he’s resigning, ending long era…

      April 16, 2021April 17, 2021

      Europe

      Italy to ease coronavirus restrictions ahead of schedule

      April 16, 2021

      Europe

      New audio app Clubhouse ‘has significant problems with…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

      Europe

      Sweden to ease COVID-19 restrictions for those who’ve…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

      Europe

      China ramps up vaccination drive with free eggs…

      April 16, 2021April 16, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
Home Europe What misinformation is there on social media about US voter fraud?
Europe

What misinformation is there on social media about US voter fraud?

by editorNovember 5, 2020November 5, 2020
November 5, 2020November 5, 2020

As voting counting resumes in a drawn-out US election stalemate, misinformation and conspiracy theories have found fertile ground online.

In Arizona, social media users claimed that election officials had provided voters with “Sharpie pens” in a theory being shared under the hashtag #Sharpiegate.

Social media posts falsely suggested that election officials around the US provided voters with “Sharpie pens” that stopped vote tabulation machines from reading them, specifically those for President Donald Trump.

There is no evidence for this.

Arizona election officials confirmed that “Sharpies” were used in voting, but they said that would not invalidate a ballot.

The Maricopa County Elections Department tweeted on election day that voting centres use Sharpies so that ink does not smudge when ballots are counted.

“New offset columns on the ballots mean bleed through won’t impact your vote!” they tweeted in an informational video.

Still, one video with more than 821,000 views showed a woman speaking about how four different polling places were using Sharpies and a man asks her if “those ballots are not being counted” and “are invalid.”

“They are invalidating votes is what they are doing,” the man says. He went on to falsely suggest voters use a ballpoint pen instead.

But Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has stated that ballots will be counted “no matter what kind of pen you used – even a Sharpie”.

Meanwhile, in Allegheny County in Pennsylvania – another key swing state – officials told Euronews that claims about allegations about the use of Sharpie pens or makers were just “rumours”.

“If the scanner is unable to read the ballot, the scan is tried several more times,” said a spokesperson.

“If still not successful, the ballot would be recreated and verified during the Return Board process and would then be scanned and counted.”

#StopTheSteal

Another misinformation trend surfacing throughout election day was hashtag #stopthesteal, as part of an unfounded claim that Democrats were fraudulently trying to steal the election.

In Pennsylvania, an out of context video surfaced of election officials turning a poll watcher away from the voting station went viral, collecting more than three million views.

Trump’s election operations director, Mike Roman, retweeted it claiming that Democrat officials were “banning” Trump poll watchers, saying “the steal is on”.

Philadelphia’s city commissioners’ office has said it was an honest mistake by the polling official, who was following previous regulations.

The poll watcher was allowed in after the situation was cleared up, the office added.

This hashtag has manifested through social media platforms, with a #stopthesteal Facebook page collecting more than 260,000 members.

“Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes. It’s up to us, the American People, to fight and to put a stop to it’ the page reads in the information section.

“Our teams are monitoring the hashtag #StopTheSteal and related tweets, and if they find violations of the Twitter Rules, they will take enforcement action accordingly,” a Twitter spokesperson told Euronews.

On Wednesday, Twitter had labeled as potentially “misleading” a tweet by US President Donald Trump which accused Democrats of trying to “steal the election”.

Source link

previous post
Madison Cawthorn: America’s youngest Congressman since 1965
next post
Trump’s former aide hints he would run for president again in 2024 if he loses this year

Related Posts

The morning after – VoxEurop (English)

February 1, 2020

Germany’s highest court rules VW should offer Dieselgate...

May 25, 2020

Crunch time for French conservatives

March 11, 2020

NASA astronauts splashdown to Earth on SpaceX capsule...

August 2, 2020

POLITICO 28 Class of 2020 — By the...

December 3, 2019

Antoine Griezmann: What will the response be from...

December 11, 2020

In Europe ‘at war’ with coronavirus, borders are...

March 18, 2020

World’s cartoonists on this week’s events

December 21, 2019

Stealth political ads flourish on Facebook

March 6, 2020

Helicopter counting sheep discovers mysterious monolith in Utah...

November 24, 2020
Promotion Image

Recent Posts

  • Hijab regulations: Two women’s experience
  • Raul Castro confirms he’s resigning, ending long era in Cuba
  • Italy to ease coronavirus restrictions ahead of schedule
  • New audio app Clubhouse ‘has significant problems with moderation’
  • France Mia kidnapping: Four men held over abduction of girl aged 8
Promotion Image

GO!

Lifestyle

  • Scientists are using satellites to count elephants from space for the first time

  • France: Hospital workers demand more resources to fight COVID-19

  • Alexei Navalny: Millions watch jailed critic's 'Putin palace' film

  • Covid vaccine: WHO warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’

  • Belgium looks good in white

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Beware of scammING. Dirty money of famous bank

    October 6, 2020
  • 2

    Major US Twitter accounts hacked in Bitcoin scam

    July 16, 2020
  • 3

    The global campaign to make environmental destruction an international crime

    April 8, 2021

Editor’s Choices

  • European Parliament will set up vaccination centers for MEPs, staff and locals

    January 21, 2021
  • Why ‘equal access’ to coronavirus vaccines is failing poor countries

    January 20, 2021
  • Merkel era may only just be beginning

    January 16, 2021

Opinions

  • Italy to ease coronavirus restrictions ahead of schedule

    April 16, 2021
  • EU Confidential #196: Ukraine tension — Merkel succession battle — Marine litter

    April 15, 2021
  • EU picks vaccine sides for future pandemic fight

    April 14, 2021

@2018-2021 - Brussels Reporter (www.brusselsreporter.com). All Right Reserved.