News/Commentary

Fact-checkers spring into action to correct ridiculous rumor that SCOTUS overturned 2020 election

July 13, 2022 | | Print Article

The so-called “fact-checkers” are being ridiculed for “fact-checking” an obviously ridiculous, unsubstantiated rumor that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the 2020 presidential election.

The rumor reportedly began with the following Facebook post that was published last Wednesday, July 6th:

#Intel ♟ SCOTUS OVERTURNED THE 2020 ELECTION 🗳
I BELIEVE every single thing said here is true.
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Posted by Laire Lightner on Wednesday, July 6, 2022

The “fact-checkers,” who have a history of being dead wrong more often than not, say that the claim then spread far and wide, including to Twitter.

American Wire was able to locate one — and only one — tweet about the Supreme Court overturning the 2020 presidential election.

Look:

“BREAKING: SCOTUS has voted to overturn the 2020 election results, Justices have been placed into protective care, according to a recent leaked report,” the tweet above reads.

These two examples were apparently all it took to spur Reuters, PolitiFact, and the Associated Press to intervene. Not that any intervention was even necessary. The replies to the tweet seen above made it clear that nobody — literally nobody — believed it.

Look:

Yet as is often the case, the “fact-checkers” apparently believed the American people were too stupid to determine the truth for themselves.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has not voted to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, despite claims made online. Legal professors told Reuters that no such decision was made, and the Court is currently in recess, with term to begin in the fall,” Reuters’ “fact-check” reads.

See all three “fact-checks” below:

Critics responded by asking the three outlets to prove that it was necessary for them to run a “fact-check” on this claim that seemingly barely anybody had believed.

“Funny, AP doesn’t bring any proof that there is any widespread misinformation about this nonsense,” one critic wrote on Twitter.

Both Reuters and the AP pointed to the tweet from “Donald J. Trump Tracker” as proof that the claim had spread far and wide. PolitiFact meanwhile pointed to the Facebook post. Combined, that made for only two examples.

The latest “fact-checks” come only days after the AP felt it necessary to run a “fact-check” about a Shinzo Abe meme. Yes, a meme.

As reported by BizPac Review, the meme was comprised of a screenshot of a fake tweet from Abe that read, “I have information that will lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton.”

The obvious joke was that Clinton had orchestrated Abe’s assassination.

Though this was clearly a joke, the AP couldn’t resist “fact-checking” it.

“False. Abe did not tweet this statement, which is a reference to a long-running internet meme. A screenshot purporting to show the tweet has been fabricated. Abe’s verified Twitter account uses a different username and profile picture than the ones shown in the altered image. The Japanese text in the altered image does not mention Clinton, either,” the “fact-check” reads.

Yet as noted by critics, the AP refuses to “fact-check” blatant lies are that are actually being spread far and wide, including the claim that the reversal of Roe v. Wade has somehow affected ectopic pregnancies …

Vivek Saxena
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