Fact check: Examining viral narratives after the US midterm elections

After Democrats made major gains in the closely watched US midterm elections, social media posts spread unsupported claims of illegal voting and election rigging. The false narratives matter because they can undermine trust in the vote, even as some races are still being counted.

One viral post claimed footage from Lewiston, Maine, showed a scheme to steal votes, but state law allows voters who need help to receive assistance marking their ballots. Maine officials said they had received no credible reports of interpreters committing fraud. Another post falsely alleged that the FBI had found more than 20,000 fraudulent ballots in a Houston storage facility; the FBI confirmed no election-related operation took place, and the images came from unrelated sources.