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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Twisting the Facts on ‘Dirty Money’ in the Georgia Race

Twisting the Facts on ‘Dirty Money’ in the Georgia Race

Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff’s production company received payments from a Hong Kong media company and Al Jazeera for the rights to air investigative pieces, but a Republican TV ad misleadingly claims Ossoff got cash from “Chinese communists and terrorist sympathizers.”

Opening Ads in the Perdue-Ossoff Runoff

Opening Ads in the Perdue-Ossoff Runoff

In the first TV ads of the runoff campaign that could help decide the balance of the Senate, Republican Sen. David Perdue warned his opponent would “radically change America,” while Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff accused his opponent of downplaying the coronavirus.

Biden Adviser Didn’t Propose Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine for Food Stamps

Biden Adviser Didn’t Propose Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine for Food Stamps

A report from two dozen experts — including a doctor named to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board — recommended using existing social service programs to connect people with COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The report did not advise requiring vaccination in order to receive such services, as social media posts falsely claim.

Fabricated Claim of Biden Campaign Official’s Arrest

Fabricated Claim of Biden Campaign Official’s Arrest

A viral tale on social media falsely claims that a campaign official for President-elect Joe Biden was arrested in an illegal ballot-harvesting scheme in Texas. He has not been charged or arrested. The false claim stems from unverified allegations in an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by a group of Republicans.

Bogus Theory Claims Supercomputer Switched Votes in Election

Bogus Theory Claims Supercomputer Switched Votes in Election

A baseless conspiracy theory claims that a secret supercomputer was used to switch millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Experts — and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — have said the theory is a hoax and that safeguards, including paper trails, would deter such an effort.

Biden Did Not Invent the ‘Office of President-Elect’

Biden Did Not Invent the ‘Office of President-Elect’

Social media posts falsely claim that former Vice President Joe Biden “invented the Office of President-elect.” Donald Trump and Barack Obama also used the term during their transitions to the presidency.

Ballot ‘Curing’ in Pennsylvania

Ballot ‘Curing’ in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania employed inconsistent policies when it came to “curing” ballots — notifying voters of an error in their mail-in ballot so they could fix it. But contrary to claims by the Trump campaign, that inconsistency didn’t fall strictly along party lines.

Trump Tweets Conspiracy Theory About Deleted Votes

Trump Tweets Conspiracy Theory About Deleted Votes

In a tweet, President Donald Trump on Nov. 12 pushed the baseless theory that voting systems deleted millions of votes for him and switched thousands of votes cast for him to his Democratic rival, President-elect Joe Biden.

Pennsylvania Postal Worker Waffles on Election Fraud Claim

Pennsylvania Postal Worker Waffles on Election Fraud Claim

A postal worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, claimed that his superiors were backdating postmarks on ballots, then told federal investigators that he didn’t actually know that — and then went back to his original position. Despite the flimsiness of the claim, President Donald Trump and his supporters have used it in their effort to blame widespread election fraud for his electoral defeat.