A supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump holds a sign at a 'Stop the Steal' protest as President-elect Joe Biden is declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Unraveling viral disinformation and explaining where it came from, the harm it's causing, and what we should do about it.
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But how could the canvassers have known? Maybe the large gate blocking entry to the property could have given them a clue.
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Or maybe simply looking up the address on Maricopa County’s own website and cross-checking it against publicly available voter registration records would have helped.
Hours later, Harris changed the picture on the front of its report to another “vacant lot” but again got it completely wrong:
The whole situation could be dismissed as simply incompetent and even hilarious—if it weren’t so dangerous.Within minutes of the report being released on Wednesday, Harris, an ardent Trump supporter who was among those who helped get the audit approved by the Arizona Senate, appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast.Bannon credulously covered the report, even though it contains no actual evidence for the claims it makes. Then Bannon and Harris said the report was proof that audits and canvasses like Arizona’s were needed across the country.The audit in Maricopa County is the epicenter of a nationwide push to undermine the democratic process by baselessly claiming the 2020 election was marred by widespread voter fraud. The bogus recount has inspired right-wing lawmakers in other states to call for similar audits.
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