The mass election fraud claims spreading on social media have been aided by a network of groups crowdsourcing the allegations.
Groups like Texas-based True The Vote, founded in 2009, have long been at the forefront of raising questions about election security.
On an app called VoteAlert, developed by True the Vote, supporters post stories of alleged election fraud.
They compiled a wide range of claims, from minor security oversights to allegations of deliberate vote rigging. The organization also has people monitoring live streaming cameras pointed at ballot drop boxes in several states. Many local officials have repeatedly outlined the steps they have taken to make the boxes safe.
“Our hope is that you won’t see anything in these drop boxes,” True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht said recently during one of her regular online meetings for supporters.
But she also implied that pro-Democratic groups were aiming to commit election fraud on a large scale.
“If they are going to try to pull the kind of things we saw in 2020, there is very little chance of getting away with it because we literally have eyes everywhere,” she added.
The BBC has contacted True the Vote for comment.
Several other groups are asking supporters to report allegations of misconduct.
Elon Musk’s American Political Action Committee started a community (similar to a bulletin board) on X filled with rumors and suspicions about voting. It has 50,000 members, with multiple posts every minute, almost 24 hours a day.
Other efforts include the Election Integrity Network, a group founded by a former Trump lawyer that challenges voter registration and recruits poll watchers (partisan observers who attend polling places).
The volume of messages on these platforms makes it nearly impossible to verify each claim, as some are vague and the sources are often anonymous.
These groups and the Trump campaign say these efforts are solely to ensure the integrity of the vote. The BBC has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
