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Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

Right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread debunked viral video falsely claiming a Pennsylvania postmaster was illegally harvesting ballots

A county official confirmed that the “25-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service,” who is now facing harassment, was “lawfully bringing ballots into the election office”

Written by Ilana Berger

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

Published

  • Right-wing media, conspiracy theorists and QAnon supporters amplified a viral video of a postal worker in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, to falsely accuse him of illegally harvesting ballots. The Northampton County executive told NBC News that the postal worker is now facing harassment as a result of the video, which he described as “incredibly stupid election misinformation.”

  • Officials debunked a viral video from a QAnon social media account that claimed to show illegal ballot harvesting in Northampton County, Pennsylvania

    • On X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram, QAnon account MJ TruthUltra posted video of a “man spotted dropping off an Obscene amount of Ballots at Northampton, PA.” County Executive Lamont McClure told NBC News that the man shown in the video is “a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service and the acting postmaster, lawfully bringing ballots into the election office. NBC News verified his identity with a photograph posted on a USPS-linked website.” NBC additionally reported that “McClure said the post officer was already being harassed over the video,” which he also called “incredibly stupid election misinformation.” [NBC News, 10/30/24; Telegram, 10/29/24; Twitter/X, 10/29/24]
       
    • In 2023, MJ TruthUltra posted on Telegram that MyPillow CEO and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell's team had partnered with them to help promote an election denial summit. The account wrote, “I was contacted by an associate of Mike Lindell’s team to join in on a meeting with Mike Lindell to talk about this event” because Lindell “needs help from people like me who have an audience to register people to view this live streamed event he’s got planned.” [Media Matters, 7/28/23]

  • Right-wing media and conspiracy theorists made false claims about the video before it was fact-checked by NBC News

    • Infowars host Alex Jones shared the video on X, writing, “They don’t even try to hide it!” [Twitter/X, 10/30/24]
       
    • Conspiracy theorist Scott Presler and QAnon influencer collective “Pepe Deluxe” also amplified MJ TruthUltra’s video on social media. [Twitter/X, 10/29/24; Telegram, 10/29/24; Media Matters, 10/29/24, 10/22/24]
       
    • MAGA commentator Rogan O’Handley, known online as “DC Draino,” wrote in a now-deleted post that the video “caught an illegal ballot mule in the act in PA.” [Twitter/X, 10/29/24]
    • Right-wing conspiracy theorist Tara Bull wrote, “Something tells me that guy dropping off the huge bin of ballots after hours in Pennsylvania works for a 3 letter agency.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/24]