Viral posts falsely claiming election fraud have proliferated on social media following the US midterm elections, in which Democrats achieved significant gains. DW Fact Check examined multiple claims and found them unsupported or fabricated.
A right-wing media outlet posted security camera footage from a polling booth in Lewiston, Maine, claiming it showed "a highly coordinated scheme to steal an election." The video depicted a man assisting voters with their ballots. Maine election law permits such assistance for voters unable to read or mark ballots due to physical disability, illiteracy or religious faith. Authorities in Lewiston told DW that they had denied a public records request for the footage because ballots were visible and disclosure could violate state law. The secretary of state's office said it had not received credible reports of interpreters committing fraud.
Another viral post claimed the FBI raided a Houston storage facility and uncovered over 20,000 fraudulent ballots for Democrats. The FBI stated in writing to DW that "no election-related operation occurred" and the claim was false. Reverse image searches showed the photographs were taken from unrelated sources. One FBI image came from a 2020 election-related raid in Georgia. A second image came from a Public Storage website. A third showed San Francisco ballots.
A third fabricated post attributed to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, designed to resemble an NBC broadcast still, claimed he said the election result "was not free or fair." Paxton did not make this statement. In reality, he conceded the race and congratulated the winner, Democrat James Talarico, who won the Texas state senate seat.
Multiple other posts circulated with doctored NBC graphics falsely showing Republican election victories.