Right-wing pundits and GOP officials are citing a white supremacist and anti-Semitic outlet to claim that the election was “stolen”

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

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Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

Numerous right-wing figures, including Fox Nation host Lara Logan, Trump campaign senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis, and Rep.-elect Pete Sessions, have shared a piece from a white supremacist and anti-Semitic site as supposed proof that the election is being stolen. The story has also been cited in a pro-Trump lawsuit filed by another Trump campaign legal adviser. 

The Red Elephants is a website that has portrayed Black people as violent criminals and has posted a list of “Jews at the top in media.” It was founded by racist and anti-Semite Vincent James Foxx. The Anti-Defamation League wrote last year that The Red Elephants “promotes conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic beliefs and white supremacist mantras. Beyond the virtual world, those associated with the Red Elephants have participated in rightwing and explicitly white supremacist rallies and demonstrations.” The site’s YouTube channel was banned in August. 

The site features headlines such as “Why Black Criminality is a Much Bigger Problem Than Racism or Police Brutality”; “Black Americans Most Likely to Commit Hate Crimes, Join Hate Groups, and Commit Interracial Attacks. Here are the Numbers”; “Black on White Nursing Home Attacks are Extremely Common, Just Like Black on White Crime.” The Red Elephants has also posted numerous anti-Muslim pieces. Additionally, the outlet sells a shirt stating, “IT'S OK TO BE WHITE.” 

The Red Elephants has published a list featuring “the names of Jews at the top in media” and has run headlines such as “Meet The Jewish Billionaire Family Behind the Opioid Crisis in America” and “The 25 Jewish Neocons That Got the US Into the Iraq War.” 

On November 5, The Red Elephants posted a piece falsely claiming to show “undeniable mathematical evidence the election is being stolen.” (The election is not being stolen.)

Nick Martin, whose publication The Informant covers hate and extremism in the United States, tweeted on November 14 that “about a week ago, British pundit @MaajidNawaz promoted The Red Elephants, an explicitly antisemitic and white supremacist website, to raise doubts about the US election.” 

Numerous conservative media figures have promoted the piece on the white supremacist and anti-Semitic site:  

  • Fox Nation host Lara Logan shared the piece on Twitter. 
  • Right-wing pundit and Trump campaign senior adviser Jenna Ellis shared the piece on Twitter and wrote: “Joe Biden says to follow the science.” 
  • The Federalist published a piece by Matthew Cochran that linked to The Red Elephants for support that the election is supposedly being stolen. 
  • Townhall published a piece by Rachel Alexander that linked to support the conspiracy theory that there was an “incredible amount of fraud” in the election.
  • Author and radio host Eric Metaxas shared the piece on Facebook. 
  • Cartoonist and right-wing pundit Scott Adams shared the piece on Twitter. 
  • Washington Times writer Douglas Ernst claimed on Twitter that The Red Elephants “consolidated and explained the giant statistical anomalies.” 

Rep.-elect Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward also shared the piece on Facebook to push the false “stolen” election claim. (Facebook added the following note to the posts by Metaxas, Sessions, and Ward: “Partly False Information. Checked by independent fact-checkers.”) 

A federal lawsuit filed by attorneys Maxwell Goss and James Bopp Jr. regarding supposed fraud in Michigan cited The Red Elephants piece. Bopp Jr. is a Trump campaign legal adviser.

Right-wing media and the Trump campaign have teamed up to push countless conspiracy theories trying to prop up the president's absurd claim that he actually won the election.