The 2020 election is a case study in how unproved claims can be weaponized. For decades, former president Donald Trump’s party warned of significant voter fraud while successfully pushing policies such as voter ID. In 2016, Trump laid a predicate for contesting an election by suggesting there was massive fraud, even in an election he had won. By 2020, when Trump lost, it culminated in a huge portion of the electorate believing a “stolen election” theory for which there is vanishingly little actual evidence.
Some have done more than raise questions, though. They, like Trump and often in search of his allies’ support, have alleged actual massive fraud.
But now they’ve been asked to account for it. And crucially and increasingly, they have backed down. Continue reading.