FALLOUT

A Georgia Election Worker Has Gone Into Hiding Because of False Online Accusations He Tossed Ballots

Video of the poll worker throwing away a piece of paper had gone viral on Facebook and Twitter.

An election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, has gone into hiding after a misleading video whipped up conspiracy theories that accused him of tossing ballots in the trash, according to Fulton Election Director Rick Barron. A clip of the worker throwing away a piece of paper had gone viral on Facebook and Twitter in the preceding days. Barron described the man as “having to leave his house and go stay with friends. He’s afraid to drive his car because the information about his car and his license plate is out there. The release of the video and its caption led viewers to believe the worker was agitated, which led to the worker crumpling and discarding his ballot. However, one thing that you need to know is that those ballots are 8.5 by 19 inches long. At no time did you see him extract anything from the envelope, and that crumpled piece of paper was [a sheet of] instructions, and it was a smaller piece of paper.” As the nation waits for swing states to tabulate votes, misinformation and conspiracy theories have proliferated online amid uncertainty and unease. President Donald Trump himself has falsely claimed victory in the contest and promoted a baseless conspiracy theory about Fulton County, proclaiming that a pipe that burst in a ballot-counting location actually exploded miles away.