Ballots floating on the U.S. map

Andrea Austria / Media Matters

Right-wing media have spent a year trying to discredit the 2020 presidential election in promotion of the Big Lie

Written by Chloe Simon & Gideon Taaffe

Published

In the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump and allied right-wing media figures worked hard to undermine the election results, using broad and debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud and supposed Democrats’ efforts to steal the vote. Protests against the election process, like Ali Alexander’s “Stop the Steal," were mobilized nationwide in the weeks before Election Day. And in the final presidential debate, Trump went as far as to baselessly claim,“This is going to be a fraud like you have never seen.” 

The efforts have continued since the election. From November 3, 2020, to October 28, 2021, Media Matters published scores of articles exposing right-wing media’s numerous allegations of illegal election activity - whether lies about Dominion Voting Systems or cockamamie election “audits.” The “Big Lie” has now spread beyond the 2020 vote and poses an existential threat to the credibility of elections. 

Here are the methods right-wing media have been using to try to discredit the election over the past year:

Election disinformation methods

Campaign to undermine the results

  • Campaign to undermine the results

    Right-wing media made a lengthy effort on and after Election Day to sow doubt in election results with various suggestions of Democratic and other malfeasance. 

    • Even though votes were still being counted, a One America News Network host claimed Donald Trump won the election and Democrats were delaying results “to create confusion.” [11/4/20]
    • Days after the election, Media Matters rounded up instances of right-wing media pushing fake voter fraud claims, including false claims about ballots, voters, polling locations, and poll watchers. [11/5/20]
    • Fox News host Sean Hannity said, “I can factually tell you tonight, it will be impossible to ever know the true, fair, accurate election results.” [11/5/20]
    • On her nightly Fox show, Laura Ingraham blamed “huge amounts of money” from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and billionaire philanthropist George Soros in local races for influencing the 2020 election. [11/5/20]
    • Fox host Tucker Carlson said that “we need to find out exactly what happened in this election” and that “democracy is always a voluntary arrangement.” [11/9/20]
    • Sean Hannity cited mail-in voting for why “there's good reason here not to have confidence or not to believe this is fair.” [11/12/20]
    • Fox News pushed the ignorant argument that Biden’s chief of staff undermined confidence in elections in 2014. [11/12/20]
    • Conservative media personalities complained about the media calling the presidential election. [11/12/20]
    • Fox News ran promos hyping its “opinion” hosts casting doubt on election results. [11/13/20]
    • After it called the presidential election, Fox cast doubt on the results or pushed conspiracy theories more than 250 times in just four days. [11/13/20]
    • Fox cast doubt on or pushed conspiracy theories about the election results nearly 600 times in the nine days after it called the election for Biden. [11/18/20]
    • Almost 20 days after the election, Fox’s Pete Hesgeth said, “It is premature to declare that Joe Biden is the president-elect.” [11/22/20]
    • Fox's flagship “straight news” program downplayed Trump’s lies about the election. [12/2/20]
    • Sean Hannity falsely claimed that “less than a thousand people” tuned in to Biden’s Thanksgiving Day message. He suggested that given the message’s allegedly low viewership, people should be skeptical about Biden winning the 2020 presidential election. [12/8/20]
    • Newsmax host Greg Kelly claimed Trump's election lawsuits are “coming together” and “alive and well.” [12/8/20]
    • A ​​poll found that a large majority of Americans accepted Biden’s win in the 2020 election — except for Fox News viewers. [12/9/20]
    • Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said on his podcast, “It's still a big possibility to have a contingent election.” [12/9/20]
    • While speaking about elections on his radio show, Sean Hannity said, “If we don't fix it, it's over. You're never going to have an honest election.” [12/9/20]
    • Sean Hannity asked his prime-time audience, “How does anybody trust the election results?” [12/11/20]
    • Fox Business host Lou Dobbs reported Attorney General Bill Barr's resignation and immediately called for investigations into the Biden family, the election, and “Obamagate.” [12/14/20]
    • Newsmax hosts Grant Stinchfield and Greg Kelly embraced a conspiracy theory claiming Trump can still win since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris hadn’t resigned her Senate seat. [12/16/20]
    • Greg Kelly declared that “ Biden is not the president-elect.” [12/16/20]
    • Touting fake GOP electors in states Trump lost, Fox Business guest declared that Biden is not the president-elect. [12/16/20]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade said Biden is president-elect “according to some.” Later, co-host Ainsley Earhardt said Biden is “what they're calling the President-elect Biden.” [12/17/20]
    • In mid-December 2020, after the Electoral College had confirmed Biden as the president-elect, Media Matters noted the pattern of right-wing media personalities continuing to sow doubt about the election results. [12/17/20]
    • One America News Network declared: “We are the only broadcast news network out there with the integrity to report that this election isn't over.” [12/17/20]
    • Steve Bannon called for former independent counsel Ken Starr to be appointed special prosecutor to investigate the presidential election. [12/21/20]
    • Media Matters named Fox News as the misinformer of the year in part due to its coverage of the 2020 election. [12/30/20]
    • A timeline of Fox News’ 2020 coverage showed that the network spent much of November and December promoting misinformation about the election. [12/30/20]
    • Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain defended “skepticism” of election results because “it certainly feels like society is rigged.” [1/4/21]
    • Ainsley Earhardt defended those casting doubt on the election over allegations of voter fraud and rigging, saying, “I think people who are staunch conservatives in our country just feel so, just so defeated because of this election. They do feel like it was rigged.” [1/4/21]
    • Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich likened Biden’s election to the worst assault on America, “maybe since the previous Civil War.” [1/5/21]
    • Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo continued to try to undermine confidence in the 2020 election, even after the January 6 insurrection. [1/12/21]
    • Several Cumulus Media radio personalities such as Dan Bongino who claimed that “we had an election with unbelievably suspect behavior,” continued to spread doubt and misinformation about the election post-January 6 insurrection and even after the company issued a memo saying that rhetoric about the election not being over would no longer be tolerated by on-air personalities. [1/13/21]
    • In the two-week period after the network called the 2020 election for Biden, Fox News personalities cast doubt on the election 774 times. [1/14/21]
    • OAN’s Pearson Sharp speculated that Joe Biden “wasn’t actually elected by the people.” [1/20/21]
    • Trinity Broadcasting Network host Mike Huckabee touted businessman Mike Lindell's debunked conspiracy theory video about the election: “There's a lot of compelling arguments there.” [2/21/21] 
    • Fox News host Greg Gutfeld refused to say that Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. [5/19/21]
    • Greg Kelly said, “I still have concerns about the election of 2020, and it's OK to have concerns.” [8/3/21] 
    • Newsmax host Greg Kelly praised businessman Mike Lindell as “committed to finding out what really happened in the 2020 election.” [8/12/21]

  • Claims that the election was stolen

    Many in the right-wing media echo chamber made claims that the election was stolen before the results were even in. Conspiracy theories surrounding election workers and poll watchers have continued to spread throughout the media bubble in 2021. 

    • Right-wing media claimed Trump poll watchers were being prevented from observing vote counts after a Trump poll watcher was turned away from a polling place in Philadelphia, even though he was later let in. [11/3/20]
    • Right-wing influencers rallied around the #StopTheSteal hashtag to buoy Trump's attempts to undercut democracy. [11/4/20]
    • Fox host Sean Hannity complained on his radio show that the election was corrupt and former Fox host Bill O'Reilly said the FBI should be sent to states still counting. [11/4/20]
    • Immediately after the election, the right-wing media quickly rushed to discredit it by promoting lies and conspiracy theories about vote counts and election procedures. [11/5/20]
    • On Fox News, contributor Newt Gingrich called on then-Attorney General Bill Barr to arrest election workers. [11/6/20]
    • As the votes were still being counted, Fox News started collaborating with conservatives who were falsely declaring that the election was being stolen through widespread voter fraud. [11/6/20]
    • Right-wing media platformed a GOP election watcher who got ejected from a vote count for repeatedly breaking the rules. [11/6/20]
    • Fox contributor Newt Gingrich called Trump's loss “a left-wing power grab financed by people like George Soros.” [11/8/20]
    • Rush Limbaugh claimed on his radio show, “There's simply no way Joe Biden was legitimately elected president. I just can't believe it.” [11/9/20]
    • Right-wing media pushed a conspiracy theory that government software changed vote totals in favor of Joe Biden in key states. [11/9/20]
    • Lou Dobbs said on his Fox Business show, “Many are trying to steal this election from President Trump.” [11/9/20]
    • Right-wing pundits and GOP officials cited a white supremacist and antisemitic outlet to claim that the election was “stolen.” [11/16/20]
    • Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon targeted a Michigan citizen who exposed two Republican Wayne County Board of Election members for undermining the election results in the state, saying the local businessman should be reported as a domestic terror threat. [11/18/20]
    • Right-wing news personalities began to fundraise off claims that the election was stolen. [11/25/20]
    • Sean Hannity claimed that a Texas legal challenge is “very serious” because states that voted for Trump were “disenfranchised” by election results. [12/8/20]
    • While talking about the 2020 presidential election on his radio show, Sean Hannity said, “There's no doubt this was stolen.” [12/18/20]
    • Fox host Tucker Carlson said that “virtually every power center on earth” had worked to ensure the election for Biden. [1/4/21]
    • Fox News personalities justified GOP efforts to overturn the election under the premise that there are people who “feel” it was rigged. [1/5/21]
    • Steve Bannon claimed that the 2020 elections were “illegal.” [1/5/21]
    • Newsmax host Greg Kelly alleged that Biden “stole the election” and argued that “Trump should not concede because he didn’t lose.” [1/7/21]
    • Greg Kelly called for Biden to be impeached due to “election fraud.” [1/11/21]
    • Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo allowed a guest to falsely claim that 80 million people voted for Trump. (He received 74 million votes.) [1/20/21]
    • Facebook allowed numerous “Stop the Steal” posts to widely circulate on the platform. [1/28/21]
    •  Eric Bolling's final America This Week episode on Sinclair spread the Big Lie that the election was stolen. [1/28/21]
    • Fox News anchors Bill Hemmer and Harris Faulkner allowed Trump to continue lying about the 2020 election on-air without pushback. [2/17/21]
    • OAN’s Pearson Sharp repeatedly promoted lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. [2/24/21]
    • Fox and Friends hosts promoted Trump’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he claimed that he would have to beat the Democrats “the third time.” [3/1/21]
    • Lara Trump, who was later hired as a Fox News contributor, voiced a myriad of election conspiracy theories and claimed that millions of people “will always think” Trump won the election. [3/29/21]
    • Newsmax host Heather Childers and Trump discussed efforts the GOP should make to prevent another stolen election like 2020. [4/6/21]
    • Sinclair Broadcasting aired an interview with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) about the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol without acknowledging that Johnson promoted the election fraud lies that inspired the attack in the first place. [4/20/21] 
    • Maria Bartiromo allowed Trump to claim that he “won the second election” without any pushback. [4/29/21]
    • Tucker Carlson and The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway cast doubt on the 2020 election. [5/12/21]
    • Infowars’ Owen Shroyer spoke about the election outcome, saying, “Historically speaking, this type of evil, this type of corruption has never been resolved peacefully.” [5/20/21]
    • Fox News host Pete Hegseth refused to admit that Trump actually lost the election. [7/13/21]
    • Fox News anchor Bret Baier failed to contextualize and push back on Trump’s CPAC speech on the election being fraudulent. [7/13/21]
    • Fox Nation host Lara Logan speculated that an invite for United Nations envoys on racism and human rights to visit the U.S. was an “act of desperation”  to “divert attention away” from imminent findings that the 2020 election was stolen. [7/15/21]
    • Fox News hosted members of Congress who spread doubt about the 2020 election or who voted no on election certification almost 600 times from January 6 till July 27. [7/27/21] 
    • A Fox-owned station in Minneapolis ran an ad for businessman Mike Lindell’s “cyber symposium” about supposed election fraud after Fox News declined to run it. [8/9/21]
    • Media Matters noted the right-wing outlets promoting Mike Lindell’s “cyber symposium.” [8/9/21]
    • Fox News posted two versions of a Trump interview online online, one containing his containing his election fraud lie and one without. [8/9/21]
    • Media Matters noted the platforms and channels platforms and channels that aired Mike Lindell's elections lies at his “cyber symposium.” [8/11/21]
    • Trump lawyer John Eastman touted his plan to overturn the 2020 election in interviews with right-wing media. [9/21/21]
    • Steve Bannon and right-wing radio host John Fredericks claimed that Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin agreed with them that the 2020 election was stolen. [10/15/21]
    • Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe and a guest claimed that January 6 prosecutions are an effort to “silence political dissent” over the 2020 election. [10/20/21]

  • Push for sham election “audits”

    Conservative media frequently used so-called “election audits” as a tool to undermine the election. These “audits” were pushed by pro-Trump groups and found no evidence of widespread fraud, yet their existence was a major boon to right-wing groups that sought to overturn the election results. Most notably, two One America News Network personalities raised money for the Arizona “audit” and provided a friendly platform for politicians pushing them to spread misinformation.

    • Right-wing media and Trump touted a Michigan “audit” by a group with QAnon links. [12/16/20]
    • OAN’s Christina Bobb connected conspiracy theories about computer programs changing votes with a call for formal election audits. [1/27/21]
    • Christina Bobb claimed that the Arizona election “audit” will “unravel the Democrats' schemes from 2020” and said, ”Joe Biden is not a legitimate president.” [4/26/21]
    • Media Matters covered OAN’s shady involvement with the conspiracy theory-based Arizona election “audit.” [5/5/21]
    • Right-wing YouTube channels promoted election audits in Arizona. [6/14/21]
    • OAN personalities have routinely called for election audits all over the country, with host Natalie Harp calling the one in Arizona “America’s audit.” [6/21/21]
    • Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers promoted the sham election “audit” on an antisemitic network that warns of “seditious Jews.” [6/23/21] 
    • OAN’s Pearson Sharp called for “execution” of “traitors” who were connected to illegal voting activity supposedly demonstrated in the Arizona election audit. [6/24/21] 
    • Christina Bobb plugged her election “audit” nonprofit on-air 22 times in a month. Those 22 separate appeals aired over 140 times combined. [7/6/21]
    • Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s inner circle disseminated “data” to listeners of his podcast to push for election “audits” in all 50 states. [7/16/21] 
    • Right-wing media outlets championed a discredited Arizona “audit” hearing. [7/17/21]
    • Christina Bobb’s nonprofit donated $605,000 to the Arizona “audit.” [7/29/21] 
    • Wisconsin state Rep. Timothy Ramthun promoted his call for a supposed 2020 “forensic audit” on a QAnon show. [7/30/21] 
    • Steven Bannon regularly hosted Qanon follower Toni Shuppe on his podcast to push for an election audit in Pennsylvania. [9/17/21] 
    • An Arizona newspaper exposed ties between election “audit” and QAnon-linked individuals conspiring to overthrow the election. [9/20/21] 
    • Steve Bannon and his panel pushed for an Arizona-style “audit” in Georgia. [9/23/21]
    • Steve Bannon touted a QAnon-linked Arizona election announcement: “The decertification process starts tomorrow.” [9/23/21] 
    • Media Matters reported on how right-wing figures were manipulating a vague table in the draft Arizona “audit” report to make claims about massive voter fraud. [9/24/21]
    • Mainstream media outlets failed to provide substantive criticism of the sham Arizona “audit” report. [9/27/21]
    • In the aftermath of the bogus Arizona audit, OAN pushed for audits across America. [9/27/21]
    • Fox News’ Jesse Watters lied about the Maricopa County “audit” to promote debunked election fraud claims. [10/8/21]
    • In the wake of the sham Arizona audit, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk called for continued investigations while laying the groundwork for more voter suppression. [9/29/21]
    • OAN hosts have led a targeted campaign to mobilize their viewers to contact state legislators asking for election audits. [10/25/21]
    • On Steve Bannon's podcast, businessman Mike Lindell called for “at least 25” state audits of the 2020 election. [10/25/21]

  • Allegations of voter fraud

    During and after the 2020 elections, conservative media publicized debunked claims of voter fraud and misrepresented facts as they continued to cast doubt on the 2020 election results.

    • Right-wing media accused Pennsylvania’s attorney general of rigging the election after he called for all the votes to be counted. [11/3/20]
    • Radio host Rush Limbaugh pushed the lie that “Wisconsin now has more votes than people who are registered to vote." [11/4/20]
    • Right-wing media figures promoted a lie that fake ballots were being brought in on wagons in Michigan. [11/5/20]
    • Right-wing media personalities pushed a lie about high voter turnout in Wisconsin to suggest that the election was fraudulent. [11/5/20]
    • Right-wing radio hosts in Pennsylvania tried to undermine the vote-counting process by falsely claiming that counting legal votes is actually election fraud. [11/5/20]
    • Fox contributor Trey Gowdy argued the U.S. Supreme Court should throw out Pennsylvania votes. [11/5/20]
    • Fox News continued to push a conspiracy theory that Sharpie pens used to mark ballots would lead the scanner machines to not properly read the votes, even though the claim had already been debunked. [11/6/20]
    • Sinclair Broadcast Group spread debunked Project Veritas disinformation about Michigan ballots. [11/6/20]
    • Rush Limbaugh’s show became a hotbed of election conspiracy theories in the days following the 2020 election. [11/6/20]
    • Sinclair’s national news desk pushed pro-Trump conspiracy theory claims that many nonresidents voted in Nevada during the 2020 election. [11/9/20]
    • Right-wing media spread a misleading claim that the Arizona election results had a 3% error rate. [12/4/20]
    • Fox’s Sean Hannity attacked Georgia's Republican secretary of state for not investigating bogus claims of election fraud. [12/4/20]
    • Fox News promoted a video of election workers supposedly counting “suitcases” of ballots in off hours as a serious allegation of voter fraud, even though Fox News also reported that these allegations are “simply not true.” [12/4/20]
    • Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo and Fox contributor Newt Gingrich pushed a stream of debunked conspiracy theories about the election. [12/7/20]
    • Sean Hannity called for a special prosecutor to investigate bogus claims of election fraud. [12/9/20]
    • Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner told a GOP senator that an effort to throw out election results would “benefit everyone.” [1/5/21]
    • OAN’s Natalie Harp claimed that there were “a lot of dead people that voted in the last election.” [4/28/21] 
    • Sean Hannity let Trump’s son Eric Trump voice a number of conspiracy theories about ballot harvesting. [5/4/21] 
    • Maria Bartiromo pushed Trump to answer questions about the “new evidence” of illegal votes in Georgia which could “tip the 2020 results.” [7/11/21] 
    • Fox host Tucker Carlson continued to promote debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud and altered ballots. [7/15/21]
    • Fox News platformed lawyer Cleta Mitchell who worked with Trump in his efforts to overturn the election. [8/4/21]
    • Discredited political smear merchant John Solomon invented a fake scandal about ballots being “altered” in Georgia. (They were not.) [8/10/21] 
    • Pro-Trump media amplified a debunked election fraud story from a partisan website masquerading as local news. [8/13/21]
    • Right-wing figures like Steve Bannon and OAN personalities amplified a claim that hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes were cast in Arizona. [9/10/21] 
    • Right-wing pundits alleged without evidence that “unknown” votes are missing from the election returns. [9/14/21]
    • CNN’s New Day anchor hosted former Trump official Alyssa Farah and failed to mention that she had helped spread lies about voter fraud. [9/15/21]
    • Media Matters reported on how Trump spread election fraud conspiracy theories in his appearances on a number of fringe right-wing media outlets. [9/29/21]
    • MyPillow's Mike Lindell told Steve Bannon that he's tricking Fox News into running his ads promoting election fraud conspiracy theories. [10/1/21]

  • Attempts to subvert mail-in voting

    Mail-in voting expanded greatly in the 2020 election due to the coronavirus, and this expansion drew the ire of many in the right-wing media sphere. Conservative media frequently cited false information about mail-in ballots and used it to undermine and create confusion around the results of the election. 

    • Trump’s Fox News propagandists sought to invalidate hundreds of thousands of mail-in votes as Biden’s lead surged. [11/4/20]
    • Right-wing media falsely claimed that ballots are “magically appearing” for Democrats overnight. [11/4/20]
    • Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo hyped “tons of ballots” found under a rock in Arizona. There were only 18 ballots, and all were delivered. [11/4/20]
    • Fox News contributor Bill McGurn said “we should do everything to try to prevent” Pennsylvania from counting legal votes. [11/4/20]
    • On his radio show, Fox host Mark Levin compared American media's election reporting to their coverage of the Holocaust: “You would've think the Holocaust was going on when the media wouldn't report to the American people about the Holocaust and the slaughter of 6 million Jews.” [11/12/20]
    • A Fox host thanked a former candidate for “keeping up the fight” to get mail-in ballots thrown out. [11/29/20]
    • Fox Business correspondent Jackie DeAngelis falsely claimed early voting “wasn’t commonplace” before 2020. [4/8/21]
    • Maria Bartiromo criticized Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) for not acknowledging the “issue around mail-in ballots.” [5/6/21] 
    • Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Trump’s White House chief of staff Reince Priebus spread lies about the ballot process in Wisconsin to push for an election audit. [8/24/21]

  • Dishonest use of voting machines as a boogeyman

    Right-wing media used Dominion and Smartmatic voting machines to create a boogeyman for the 2020 elections. From fringe outlets to Fox, media figures falsely blamed Dominion for switching votes from Trump to Biden and creating election irregularities. 

    • Media Matters highlighted the Trump-Fox feedback loop on misinformation around Dominion. [11/13/20]
    • Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo repeatedly promoted debunked Dominion conspiracy theories. [11/16/20]
    • Sinclair aired a news package with Steve Bannon promoting debunked Dominion conspiracy theories. [11/20/20]
    • Right-wing pundits feuded over Dominion conspiracy theories, with Maria Bartiromo platforming Sidney Powell. [11/20/20]
    • Fox's Jeanine Pirro spread a debunked conspiracy theory on her radio show about voting servers being seized. [11/23/20]
    • On Fox Business, Sidney Powell pushed unhinged conspiracy theories about voting machines. [11/24/20]
    • Sidney Powell told Fox host Sean Hannity on his radio show that “there’s a substantial CIA component” to the Dominion conspiracy theory. [11/30/20]
    • Trump recycled OAN’s debunked Dominion voting machine conspiracy theory that the machines switched 2-3% of the vote from Trump in Biden’s favor. [12/16/20]
    • Media Matters charted how Smartmatic conspiracy theories spread throughout the right-wing media. [12/22/20]
    • Media Matters published a guide highlighting the many conspiracy theories Fox News personalities spread about Dominion Voting Systems. [1/21/21]
    • Fox host Tucker Carlson platformed businessman Mike Lindell to spread lies about Dominion Voting Systems. [1/26/21] 
    • Rush Limbaugh's election lies about Dominion Voting Systems reached millions of listeners. [2/3/21]
    • Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories targeting Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.  [2/26/21]
    • Fox anchor Bret Baier reported that “no reasonable person” would believe Sidney Powell’s Dominion Voting System conspiracy theories even though many on Fox amplified her claims. [3/24/21]
    • OAN continually perpetuated debunked lies about Dominion Voting Systems. [4/15/21]
    • Infowars’ Alex Jones used lies about Dominion Voting Systems and the 2020 election to line his pockets. [8/3/21]
    • OAN spread Dominion conspiracy theories just before Dominion's defamation lawsuit. [8/10/21] 
    • The Associated Press turned a far-right county clerk’s conspiracy theories about voting systems into a bipartisan “feud.” [8/13/2021] 
    • Right-wing commentator Larry Elder promoted conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems interfering with the election. [8/17/21]
    • OAN played hours of a Mike Lindell “special report” that alleged conspiracy theories about the Dominion Voting Systems. [8/18/21]
    • Fox News ignored a memo from Trump’s team that showed the Trump campaign knew its election claims were false and debunked allegations concerning election services providers Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. [9/22/21]

  • Feedback loop between Trump and right-wing media

    The right-wing media’s close relationship with former President Donald Trump became more evident than ever during the presidential election as the media began to parrot Trump claims and give his allies a platform to spread election misinformation. Media Matters frequently showed how Trump’s media consumption of these right-wing networks was impacting his talking points in the days and weeks following the election. 

    • Fox & Friends let Trump campaign senior adviser David Bossie push nonsense voter fraud claims to defend premature claims of Trump election victory. [11/4/20]
    • Fox's Brit Hume previewed Trump's legal strategy to steal the election. [11/4/20]
    • Trump recycled the Fox-approved message about how a state legislature can steal the election. [11/6/20]
    • Media Matters highlighted the Trump-Fox feedback loop of false election claims. [11/9/20]
    • Fox’s “news side” kept supporting Trump’s challenges against the 2020 election. [11/18/20]
    • An Infowars host praised Trump attorney press conference: “This sounds like exactly like what Infowars has been saying for months.” [11/19/20]
    • Rush Limbaugh praised deranged election conspiracy theories of Trump lawyers. [11/19/20]
    • Fox News figures, including Lou Dobbs, lavished praise on Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell’s unhinged press conference about their plan to subvert the election. [11/19/20, 11/19/20]
    • Media Matters showed how right-wing media were essential in promoting Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories following the 2020 presidential election. [11/20/20]
    • GOP politicians used right-wing lies about election fraud to justify suppressing votes in future elections. [11/25/20]
    • Media Matters highlighted Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo’s platform for Trump to spread election related conspiracy theories. [11/29/20]
    • Fox “straight news” ramped up coverage of a sham Arizona meeting after Trump complained on Twitter. [11/30/20]
    • Fox host Lou Dobbs called on Trump to take “drastic action” over nonexistent election fraud. [11/30/20]
    • Fox News touted the president's deranged and lie-filled speech: “Trump unleashes on why Biden can't be president.” [12/2/20]
    • In December, Media Matters curated a list of the right-wing media voices that amplified Trump’s lies about the election. [12/3/20]
    • Trump’s live tweets showed he was increasingly watching Fox’s fringe-right competitors. [12/3/20]
    • One America News Network’s Chanel Rion became a major media conduit for the Trump campaign and Rudy Giuliani’s election-related disinformation. [12/5/20]
    • A Fox “straight news” program explicitly promoted Trump's attempted coup, with the Twitter account for Outnumbered Overtime tweeting out “#stopthesteal” hashtag while promoting a related story. [12/7/20]
    • The far-right Epoch Times’ parent company was reportedly behind a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” event in Taipei. [12/21/20]
    • Media Matters showed how Trump’s media diet was posing a frightening threat to American democracy in the final days of his administration. [12/22/20]
    • Right-wing media figures like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. [1/8/21]
    • Right-wing media scrambled to spin Trump’s threatening phone call with Georgia’s secretary of state. [1/4/21] 
    • Trump-affiliated officials amplified QAnon election fraud conspiracy theories. [1/5/21]
    • A guest on Steve Bannon’s podcast claimed that Mike Pence was “divinely appointed” to overturn the results of the 2020 election. [1/5/21]
    • The Epoch Times and other related YouTube Channels spread “Stop the Steal” events and misinformation prior to the January 6 riots. [1/26/21]
    • Steve Bannon made the argument that Trump’s impeachment team should focus on election fraud to “fix November 3.” [1/29/21]
    • The 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference was dedicated to spreading lies about the 2020 election. [2/26/21]
    • Bret Baier and the Fox News “straight news” side bolstered Trump’s election lies and conspiracy theories. [5/14/21]
    • Media Matters reported on how six months after the Capitol riot, Facebook was allowing Trump and his allies to promote rallies filled with election misinformation. [7/6/21] 
    • Right-wing media were instrumental in letting Trump spread all kinds of disinformation about the 2020 election. [9/24/21]

  • Calls for election results to be overturned

    As it became clear that Joe Biden had won the presidential election, right-wing media cited their own misinformation as a reason to overturn the election. Conservative media personalities frequently urged electors to vote for Trump despite what their state’s votes were. Some on the fringe argued for martial law and violent protest as a means to getting the election overturned. 

    • Pro-Trump media pivoted to faithless electors and urged GOP legislatures to assert control. [11/5/20]
    • Fox’s Sean Hannity said on his radio show that “the remedy” if Trump loses the election is state electors going against the popular vote in their state. [11/5/20]
    • Former Trump aide and right-wing media host Sebastian Gorka said that “we should just force our way in” election centers. [11/5/20]
    • On his Fox News show, Sean Hannity called for a “do-over” of the Pennsylvania election as “the only remedy” for voter fraud. [11/5/20]
    • A report by CNN showed that a Fox executive instructed staff to reject election results. [11/6/20]
    • Infowars' Alex Jones said the White House encouraged him to speak at the Arizona anti-democracy, event where he made violent threats and fomented civil war. [11/6/20]
    • Fox’s Laura Ingraham claimed, “We don’t know exactly what the Supreme Court will do but there is precedent for courts overturning the results of elections.” [11/6/20]
    • Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo said “I have not given up on Bill Barr” investigating the presidential election. [11/9/20]
    • On Infowars, the Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes said he has men stationed outside of Washington, D.C., ready to engage in violence on Trump’s order. [11/12/20]
    • Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon suggested that Americans should fight and die for a second Trump term. [11/13/20]
    • Alex Jones called on supporters to “surround” the Georgia governor’s mansion to prevent election results from being certified. [11/17/20]
    • Sean Hannity attacked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for allowing election results to stand. [11/17/20]
    • Fox News downplayed the allegation that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pressured the Georgia secretary of state to toss legal mail-in ballots. [11/18/20]
    • Michigan Republicans tried to block all votes from Detroit and then backtracked. Fox’s “news side” said GOP officials were “caving in.” [11/18/20]
    • Fox’s Will Cain said on Fox & Friends: “There may not be enough evidence for a court system, but there should be enough evidence for state legislators to change their electors.” [11/30/20]
    • OAN aired a call for Trump to use the Insurrection Act to overturn the election. [12/2/20]
    • After calling for a military coup, Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn appeared on Fox with Lou Dobbs. [12/2/20]
    • Lou Dobbs warned there “will not be a quiet surrender” if election results aren't overturned. [12/2/20]
    • Media Matters highlighted the Fox personalities who tried to subvert the election results. [12/3/20]
    • Right-wing figures like Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, and Lin Wood called on Trump to use the military to overturn the election. [12/3/20]
    • Days after he called for a military coup, Michael Flynn told Fox’s Jeanine Pirro that governors should “not certify these elections.” [12/5/20]
    • Radio host Rush Limbaugh cheered on an armed mob outside the Michigan secretary of state’s home. [12/7/20]
    • Lou Dobbs called the Supreme Court “cowardly” for denying Republican appeals to overturn the election. [12/8/20]
    • Fox’s Mark Levin said the Supreme Court rejected the Pennsylvania case trying to overturn the election because it is scared of a Biden administration. [12/8/20]
    • State attorneys general behind a lawsuit that sought to overturn the election wouldn’t speak to CNN — while Texas' attorney general went on a right-wing media tour. [12/10/20]
    • While hosting Lin Wood, Newsmax host Greg Kelly praised his effort to overturn election results. [12/10/20]
    • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did a right-wing media tour on his lawsuit to steal the election for Trump. [12/10/20]
    • Talk of secession and civil war began increasing on the far right, thanks to a boost it got from talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. [12/11/20]
    • Greg Kelly had a meltdown over the Supreme Court rejecting a Texas case trying to overturn the election. [12/11/20]
    • Right-wing media and Trump supporters encouraged secession and martial law after the Supreme Court defeat. [12/13/20]
    • On the day the Electoral College voted to certify the election, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo continued to push conspiracy theories to “stop and overturn this election.” [12/14/20]
    • Right-wing media promoted fake “elector” slates for Donald Trump. [12/14/20]
    • Newsmax host declared that the election “is not over” despite Electoral College certification. [12/14/20]
    • On Newsmax, Michael Flynn called on Trump to send the military into swing states and “basically rerun an election.” [12/17/20]
    • A viral 4chan hoax about Chief Justice John Roberts refusing to hear the Texas case that sought to overturn the election tricked a presidential elector and pro-Trump media, like Newsmax. [12/18/20]
    • Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway dismissed a report of Trump floating martial law when meeting with conspiracy theorists in the Oval Office by calling it “fake news.” [12/20/20]
    • Fox News barely covered Trump’s reported flirtation with martial law. [12/21/20]
    • Judicial Watch's Tom Fitton urged state legislators to appoint new electors and overturn election results. [1/4/21]