The Election

For the 2020 election, many U.S. voters planned to vote early or by mail due to the risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19 by voting in person.

This shift in logistics opened the door for certain bad-faith actors to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. Baseless allegations of fraud allowed Trump to organize and embolden his supporters to “monitor” (read: intimidate) polling stations as votes were counted. 

After these efforts failed to deliver him victory, Trump adapted conspiratorial claims. Suddenly there were suspicious voting machine glitches, nefarious activities at tabulation locations, and violations of state constitutions. The president* pursued every disingenuous avenue to undermine the democratic process and eke out another four years in power. He used his Twitter account to whip his base into a frenzy over what he repeatedly called, “the most corrupt election in history.” 

Twitter’s conscious decision to let the president* play by a different set of rules than other users undoubtedly aided in the effective spread of propaganda.