Online misinformation fuels doubt as 2020 vote kicks off
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign stop at Hiatt Middle School, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa.[(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)]
Voices on the right and left are offering up unsubstantiated claims about voting fraud and rigged elections as Iowans cast the first votes of the 2020 presidential campaign.
The state’s Republican secretary of state has criticized a conservative group for using old statistics and bad math to make a false claim about voter fraud.
Some supporters of Democrat Bernie Sanders have taken to social media to spread unfounded speculation that the caucus would be rigged to ensure Sanders loses. That’s a claim President Donald Trump repeated in a tweet.
Experts say such unfounded claims undermine confidence in the electoral system.