Pennsylvania bombarded with disinformation on Election Day


False information surrounding the election, and particularly mail-in voting, has been at its worst in Pennsylvania.
The media insights company Zignal Labs has tallied more than 1.1 million instances of misinformation regarding mail-in voting in the past two months leading up to the 2020 election. Nearly a quarter of those instances have happened in the key state of Pennsylvania, The New York Times reports.
Among some of the earlier mentions of misinformation included reports that a small number of military ballots were thrown out in Luzerne County, with some of them allegedly marked for President Trump. The ballots were found quickly after they were discarded and the contractor who tossed them was fired. But like he had with other false claims of mail-in voter fraud, Trump and his allies inflated the story into evidence the election was rigged against him.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The misinformation didn't stop on Election Day, where as soon as 7 a.m., a false report of election malfeasance was already swirling. A Trump campaign staffer posted a photo of Democratic campaign posters purportedly hung outside a Pennsylvania polling place, alleging it was breaking rules against posting campaign material too close to the polls, BuzzFeed News reports. The Philadelphia district attorney decried the tweet as "disinformation" a few hours later. But it had already fueled a meme suggesting Democrats were trying to "steal the election" in the swing state, and right-wing media outlets and social media personalities such as Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. sent it swirling across the internet, Vice News reports.
Toward the end of election day, the American Civil Liberties Union said it had received no reports of voter intimidation around the U.S. so far. Kathryn Krawczyk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advice
the explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'
Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious characters
Feature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20
Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peace
Speed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest war
Speed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summit
Speed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position
-
US, China extend trade war truce for 90 days
Speed Read The triple-digit tariff threat is postponed for another three months
-
Europe counters Putin ahead of Trump summit
Speed Read President Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week for Ukraine peace talks
-
Israeli security cabinet OKs Gaza City takeover
Speed Read Netanyahu approved a proposal for Israeli Defense Forces to take over the largest population center in the Gaza Strip