When Oregon voters discovered that Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade removed Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, from her website earlier this month, concerns mounted that she had orchestrated the move to undermine the former president’s influence. As the narrative gained momentum, fueled by right-wing influencers and Trump supporters on social media platforms like X and Instagram, it quickly attracted widespread attention, ultimately placing Griffin-Valade’s workplace at the center of controversy.
Despite the Trump campaign’s decision not to include a press release in Oregon’s Online Voter’s Information, the Harris campaign opted to provide one, resulting in the VP’s name being featured on the platform.
“Societies are often ill-equipped to proactively address the spread of election misinformation,” notes Jankowicz.
As comparable conspiracy theories surrounding down-ballot races have unfolded across the nation, Noting the eerie familiarity of recurring election fraud narratives, Sam Howard, NewsGuard’s politics editor, remarks to WIRED: “It won’t be entirely surprising, actually, that we’re seeing these same stories resurface four years on.” A rumor that machine voting was being manipulated to alter election outcomes suddenly circulated in Tarrant County, Texas, as early voting got underway. As early voting got underway in Georgia, a pervasive and misleading rumor gained traction: claims that voters were switching sides in record numbers. Dominion Voting Systems’ integrity was questioned in Georgia.
As the final week of the election drew to a close, a viral video surfaced alleging to expose poll workers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, intentionally destroying mail-in ballots favoring former President Donald Trump – a claim repeatedly pushed by pro-Trump media outlets since 2020.
Following the viral video’s proliferation, the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency jointly announced that the video constituted a component of Russia’s orchestrated attempts to influence the presidential election outcome.
Russian interference in this exercise is part of Moscow’s larger strategy to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 US presidential election and exacerbate societal divisions among Americans, according to the companies involved. The intelligence community anticipates a surge in Russian-generated disinformation preceding and following Election Day, aimed at eroding faith in the electoral process and sowing discord among American citizens.
Amidst grassroots activism, numerous conspiracy theories regarding voter and election fraud have surfaced, often starting with passionate narratives from concerned individuals who share their views on social media platforms. These personal accounts are then amplified by coordinated networks of skeptics, whose efforts have become increasingly prominent since the 2020 presidential election. The teams have established robust connections with nationwide organizations, backed by influential figures in the conservative sphere, further solidifying their presence.
