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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The Arizona recount has inspired lawmakers in states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia to seek similar “forensic audits” of the 2020 election results. Even Texas and Florida, where Trump won, are now looking at conducting recounts.
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Among those sending angry messages to Logan, it turns out, was Oltmann, who admitted on Thursday’s podcast that he was the person who leaked a fake version of the audit report that said the election should be decertified.“I put out that draft to protect you,” Oltmann said. “I did it for you, people came to me and said ‘Doug is under constant attack, they’ve doxxed his family.’ Look, I would have flown to wherever with an AR-15 and stood in front of your house and popped the first person who came up to your door.”But in comments under the video, Trump supporters continued to blast Logan. “This is why nothing will happen, because of spineless scaredy cats like him,” one commenter wrote. “Doug Logan is a sell out,” another wrote.
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Meanwhile, in Washington, the Republican members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors were recounting to the House Oversight Committee how they too had been attacked by the right because they dismissed the audit as nothing more than a sham run by “grifters and con artists.”“I have had police vehicles parked in front of my house overnight on many nights because of very specific threats against me,” Jack Sellers, the chairman of the board, told lawmakers.Meanwhile Bill Gates, the vice-chairman of the board, said: “I have three daughters, and we have been subjected to many threats. Over the past few months, we have been doxxed, one of our colleagues had 90 people outside of his house one evening, and we've had phone calls into the Board of Supervisors saying that people were going to come and slaughter us and our families.”Gates also told the committee that one state Senator had sent out a fundraising email to supporters that warned the election officials: “We are coming for you. You better check your six.” Gates didn’t name the lawmaker, but it was GOP Sen. Wendy Rogers, who has become one of the most prominent Big Lie proponents in recent months.