(2/4/21)

Two weeks ago, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. This came after a seemingly never-ending slew of back-and-forth attacks between Biden and then President Donald Trump. With countless claims of election fraud, misinformation campaigns, and many other tactics, this past presidential candidacy cycle was undoubtedly one of the most tumultuous we as a country have seen in years. With the utilization of social media and modern-day communication tactics, the spread of misinformation and fake news has been in heavy supply.

While we as a country do our best to fulfill our duty to be well-informed voters, unfortunately, there is now an increased ability to spread fake news, along with misleading or even completely false claims, that can sway voters to then make decisions that are not in their true best interest. In the days following the election, widespread claims of voter fraud began to circulate through the country, with some going as far as to claim to have video and photographic proof. While these claims were never proven, they created a whirlwind of misinformation campaigns and slandering of many public officials.

A tweet sent by former President Trump addressing the alleged voter fraud that occurred during the 2020 election.

Former President Trump was undoubtedly one of the most vocal promoters of voter fraud claims, citing alleged faults in voting machines, and even going as far as to state blatant disregard for ballots that were cast for the Republican President and his fellow party candidates. While these claims tended to be made without any evidence, some seemed to support the President’s claims, even going as far as to provide video evidence of the alleged voter fraud being committed. Many of the states that were called into question were swing-states, in which results took several days, and in some, weeks, to determine. Most of these states were won by President Biden by a slim margin, causing some uproar in the media.

One of Georgia’s local stations, CBS46 Atlanta, provided a video they had obtained in one of their segments, seemingly showing poll workers pulling boxes of excess ballots out from under tables, and proceeding to count the ballots “after hours, with no election supervisor present.” This was one version of the many videos and photos provided by citizens and poll workers, some taken from phone cameras, and some going as far as to provide security footage of the rooms where ballots were counted like the one shown on the segment (see link below for full segment clip).

With many claims of voter fraud and election fraud that were spread in the days following the election, we were not made aware that Biden was in fact the victor until weeks after election day, which took place on November 3, 2020. While many of the claims were dismissed, this caused much distress among many voters, most of whom had voted for the then-President or other Republican candidates, and election integrity was called into question. These kinds of misinformation campaigns are roots of the increased polarization we are currently experiencing in this country, and President Biden has stated that to unite us once again, he intends to be a “President to the people.” Only time will tell whether or not he is able to uphold his promise.

CBS46 Atlanta’s segment on the alleged voter fraud that occurred at a polling place located in Fulton County.

Sources:

Murphy, Adam. “Video Prompts Question of Voter Fraud in Georgia.” Youtube.com, Google, 3 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEpy89d5aW4&feature=emb_title.