NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
Social media users shared a range of false claims this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out.
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Replacement of Milwaukee election official unrelated to 2020 election
CLAIM: Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall was fired in recent days for her role in rigging the 2020 presidential election.
THE FACTS: A spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Woodall’s removal had nothing to do with how she ran elections, adding there “was no indication of election impropriety” in Milwaukee’s 2020 vote. He pointed to internal issues “that raised” concerns as the reason for the dismissal.
With the 2024 election just six months away, social media users continue to promote erroneous claims of election-related fraud in 2020, most recently with a spotlight on Wisconsin.
“Claire Woodall, the Milwaukee elections director was replaced just 6 months before the presidential election,” reads one X post. “The reason? Mainstream media says it’s nothing to see here but some reports say otherwise. Claire printed 64,000 ballots in a back room at City Hall in Milwaukee and had random employees fill them out for the 2020 presidential election. Biden won Wisconsin over Trump by a margin of 20,649 votes.”
The post had received approximately 26,000 likes and more than 12,700 shares as of Friday.
Johnson replaced Woodall in a surprise move on May 6, announcing that her deputy, Paulina Gutierrez, would be in charge of the election commission. But the change has nothing to do with how Woodall ran elections, including in 2020.
The reason for the
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